This makes sense as cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, and seizures are fairly common. Temporary or permanent paralysis could follow as could coma. The long-term effects are equally dangerous. Even if a person survives, the neurological and physical damage they suffer could affect them for the rest of their lives. According to Atrium Health, severe muscle injuries can cause muscle tissue to break down over time, creating a toxic protein that eventually leads to kidney failure.
Much of the damage depends on the path the lightning took through the body, how long it lingered, and how many vital organs it hit along the way. Some scientists believe that lightning can cause enough damage to the bioelectrical workings of the body that it can alter behavior for your entire life.
Personality changes, memory loss, chronic pain, tremors, twitches, mood swings, and depression could all await you following a strike. Rare cases can lead to strange gifts, however. Take the story reported by University of Miami neuroscientist Berit Brogaard, who studied an orthopedic surgeon who had been struck by lightning, and then learned to play the piano and compose music he had begun hearing in his head.
According to the New York State Department of Health , the best thing to do when someone gets hit by lightning is to call for medical help right away. Then, move to treat any victims who are unconscious. But Holle, who believes that statistic is misleading, set out to crunch some other numbers. If someone lives until 80, their lifetime vulnerability increases to 1 in 13, Then consider that every victim knows at least ten people well, such as the friends and family of Jaime and Justin.
In fact, direct strikes are surprisingly rare. Still, Vail, the trauma surgeon, surmises that Jaime was directly hit, given that he was riding in the desert with no trees or other tall objects nearby. Considered the second most common lightning hazard, side splashes inflict 20 to 30 per cent of injuries and fatalities.
They are more likely to be on the younger side, in their 20s or 30s, and doing something outside, frequently on the water or nearby. But what should you do if you find yourself stranded a long way from a building or car when a storm kicks up? Some guidance is available: avoid mountain peaks, tall trees or any body of water.
Look for a ravine or a depression. Spread out your group, with at least 20 feet between each person, to reduce the risk of multiple injuries. Deaths and injuries that have occurred in tents, or during sports competitions, or to individuals huddled beneath a golf shelter or a picnic shelter or some other type of shelter.
Satellite data has shown that certain regions of the world, generally those near the equator, are lightning-dense. Venezuela, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Pakistan all rank among the top ten lightning hotspots. If thunder rumbled before they reached 30, lightning was close enough to pose a threat.
Housing construction has improved. Jobs have moved indoors. In the US alone, annual fatalities have fallen from more than in the early s to fewer than 50 in recent years. Arizona, for example, ranks high in the US when looking at lightning deaths per state population. Still, people in high-income countries have it easy, compared to those in regions where people have no choice but to work outside in all conditions and lightning-safe buildings are scarce.
In one analysis of agricultural-related lightning deaths outside of the US, Holle learned that more than half of them occurred in India, followed by Bangladesh and the Philippines.
The victims were young early 20s for the men, early 30s for the women and were working in farms and paddy fields. Cooper was hit full-force with the emotional impact of what lightning can do in Africa when she attended a lightning conference in Nepal.
The presenters were arranged in alphabetical order by country, so Cooper, by then retired as an emergency physician but still doing lightning-related work, was sat between the presenters from Uganda and Zambia. Richard Tushemereirwe, the Ugandan representative, kept fussing with his slides while waiting to present. In an email, Tushemereirwe described how the lightning protection that some schools do install can create a false sense of security.
A rod may be installed on the roofline of one school building. Nor does home provide a sanctuary when lightning laces the sky, as housing in rural regions of Africa is frequently constructed from mud and grass. Lightning deaths go unreported or are missed entirely. It might appear, for instance, that a fire killed an entire family. But that assumption misses a key piece of the tragedy. It was a discussion that led to a collaboration and, in , the creation of a non-profit organisation now called the African Centres for Lightning and Electromagnetics Network , with Cooper its founding director.
Zambia was the second country to join after Uganda. Leaders of several others have expressed interest, Cooper says. The organisation is trying to develop a cellphone alert system so that fishermen and others in the Lake Victoria region can report severe weather heading their way. They are starting to educate school teachers about lightning safety and are setting up graduate study programmes.
Another priority is Ugandan schools, frequently the most substantial structures in a given community. The first lightning protection system was installed in a school in late , as were two more earlier this year.
Adults the world over believe they are immune, she states flatly. Still, making headway has been an uphill climb, slowed by fundraising and installation logistics. Cooper sounded a bit weary and discouraged after her most recent trip to Uganda this spring.
The country has thousands of vulnerable schools. Alejandro sat tense, holding on to his terrible knowledge. How do I tell her?
When they arrived, Alejandro was stunned to learn that Jaime was in surgery. There was still hope. Jaime had arrived at the Phoenix trauma centre with an abnormal heart rhythm, bleeding in the brain, bruising to the lungs and damage to other organs, including his liver, according to Vail. Second- and third-degree burns covered nearly one-fifth of his body. Doctors put him into a chemically induced coma for nearly two weeks to allow his body to recover, a ventilator helping him breathe.
Jaime finally returned home after five months of treatment and rehabilitation, which is continuing. When Sara and Alejandro returned home from the hospital the day after the strike, Alejandro called to his wife from the backyard. The electrical current from lightning can cause the same problems as from other electrical sources, depending on how direct the strike is. Participating in outdoor sports activities increases your risk of being struck by lightning.
You need to be evaluated by a doctor if you have been struck by lightning, even if the injury appears minor. Burns from a lightning strike or electrical power also need to be evaluated by a doctor. Stun guns and tasers are called "electronic weapons. The electricity causes uncontrollable muscle contractions.
After being stunned with electricity, the person usually falls to the ground. These weapons are less likely to cause death or injury than other weapons, such as handguns. But stun guns and tasers can cause serious medical problems, such as irregular heartbeats arrhythmias.
Others types of injuries include burns, cuts, muscle problems rhabdomyolysis , twisting of a testicle testicular torsion , and miscarriage.
Blahd Jr. Gabica MD - Family Medicine. Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: William H. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use.
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