Frequently Asked Taser Questions: How Electric Tasers Affect the Human Body

Are you thinking of investing in a Taser for your personal safety or the protection of your family? You may have heard about Tasers, how powerful they are, and what they can do — but do you really know what happens when someone is hit by an electric Taser? From short-term effects to possible long-term consequences – knowing what you’re dealing with can make all the difference when assessing the risks vs rewards associated with using a security Taser. 

How Do Tasers Work?

Tasers are handheld devices that deliver short electrical pulses. Pulling the trigger releases two electrode wires that attach to the body and charges electric pulses into the muscles, causing muscle contractions. Generally, an electric taser will deliver 19 short pulses over 5 seconds with an average current of 2 milliamps. As one of the best defense products, tasers will incapacitate someone without causing them permanent harm. 

What Does a Taser Do To the Body?

One of the biggest questions people have about Tasers is how they affect your body. While security tasers are a nonlethal solution that many police and security guards rely on, people are worried about the risk of injury and the lasting effects. So how damaging is a Taser? Can a Taser kill a human? Studies show that those concerns are unfounded. Serious injuries from an electric taser happen less than one percent of the time. With that being said, police officers, medical personnel, and any other bystanders should carefully assess someone recently tased to make sure there are no injuries. 

Does a Taser penetrate the skin? 

Yes, when the electric wires fire they penetrate the skin. This is where the most common Taser injuries result from. The metal probes can cause minor puncture wounds or superficial burns, especially if the barbs aren’t pulled off immediately afterward. Scrapes are also common if the person who was tased convulsed uncontrollably and scratched themselves. 

What does a Taser do to muscles?

When an electric taser hits someone, it sends a signal to the muscles that cause a state known as neuromuscular incapacitation. This state causes your muscles to flex, making it difficult to make any voluntary movements. This quick incapacitating power is one of the main reasons electric Tasers are an effective defense product. Although muscle contractions can be very painful, they don’t have any lasting impacts. 

Does a Taser affect the heart?

The electrical current of a security Taser is 50,000 volts, which is too low and too short to affect the heart’s muscles or cause unusual heart rhythms, even for those who have heart issues. Will a Taser stop a pacemaker? Many people fear that Tasers could damage medical equipment such as pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, but electric stun gun studies have confirmed those are only rumors. 

How does a Taser affect the brain? 

It is possible for there to be some complications to the nervous system including loss of consciousness, falling leading to head injury, or confusion, especially if they are shot at a short distance or in the head. Out of these possibilities, the most likely to occur is confusion. Being tased is a disorientating experience, so it’s very possible someone who’s been recently tased may have trouble remembering short-term memories and processing information. 

Can a Taser cause paralysis? Yes, but the paralysis is only temporary, lasting for about five seconds or the amount of time the taser is actively stunning someone. Can being tased trigger a seizure? The likelihood of a Taser causing a seizure is very slim but it is possible. 

How long will a Taser incapacitate someone? 

An electric Taser can incapacitate someone for as long as its electrical cycle lasts, typically around 5 seconds. People usually recover immediately and feel no residual side effects, but it’s important to keep an eye on them afterward to make sure that there was no injury for at least 20 minutes afterward. 

What does being tased feel like? 

The most common way being tased has been described is that it feels like a Charlie horse cramp. Everyone experiences it in different ways though, some more severe than others. 

Find Your Self-Defense Products with the Home Security Superstore

At Home Security Superstore, you can find a variety of security taser products, from electric taser for home protection to disguised stun guns like our cell phone tasers or stun gun flashlights, as well as other items such as pepper spray and stun guns. Browse for an electric taser or order one of our other defense products now from the Home Security Superstore!