“I saw a white light surrounding my body—it was like I was in a bubble. He showed that as lightning flashes over, the electrical current enters critical portals into the body: the eyes, the ears, the mouth. Along with coping with PTSD, he chafes at living with a brain that doesn’t function as fluidly as it once did. Now.. this has never happened before, and it was unexpected, I didn't even know that this was a thing until now but apparently if you get struck by lightning twice and survive you become a superhero.. for about half a day.. Tall objects are often struck by lightning so avoid standing near the The majority of people struck in the U.S. survive but can have health problems. more than once, Dr. Griggs says it’s likely they’re not cursed, just emergency medicine physician with Atrium Health. And if you were to be struck, would the result be the same as if you were standing on the ground?Chris - Do you partake in such dangerous pursuits, Andrew?Andrew - I do not. Although these marks look pretty damn cool, they are extremely rare, and most people come off much worse when On the brightest side, lightning helps keep you alive when it … Survivors typically experience changes in personality and mood, and sometimes severe bouts of depression. Alejandro doesn’t think he was knocked out for long. Lightning strikes can inflict both cardiovascular and neurological damage on the human body. Instead, for simplicity’s sake, everyone from school children to their grandparents these days are advised: “When thunder roars, go indoors.”. And of the roughly 500 people who are struck by lightning each year, about 90% survive. They kept the peacock and later found it a mate. energy are also one of the most destructive. scarce, North Carolina ranks as one of the more dangerous states for Loss of consciousness was common. Second- and third-degree burns covered nearly one-fifth of his body. Therefore, the odds of you being directly struck are high, compared to the odds of the water striking just the water near you. However, shoes are more likely to be torn or damaged on the inside, because that’s where the heat build-up and vapour explosion occurs. Alejandro sat tense, holding on to his terrible knowledge. Dr. Griggs adds. It really depends on how close you are and how exposed you While your swimming pool’s water conducts electricity, your body is actually a much better conduit. A lot can happen when you get struck by lightning. Sometimes, you’ll find that a tree ‘jumps’ when struck by lightning; this occurs when the trunk or several branches split off … were to the lightning strike.”. hotter than the surface of the sun. Here’s what you should expect if you ever find yourself in the path of lightning. would be safer than standing under a tree or in a tent.”. What Happens When You Get Struck by Lightning? Cooper points out that not all lightning patients are sufficiently injured that doctors write about their cases. His body was smoking. They’ll tell their story, sharing pictures and news reports of survivals like their own or bigger tragedies. They had never seen a peacock in Arizona before. If you’ve witnessed someone struck by lightning, Dr. Griggs says to call His horse was gone. The chances of you being hit by lightning are small by comparison, but it does happen! There’s even a recommended lightning position: crouched down, keeping the feet close together. More is understood about lightning’s ability to scramble the electrical impulses of the heart, thanks to experiments with Australian sheep. “It looks like somebody threw a cannonball through it,” says Sydney Vail, a trauma surgeon in Phoenix, Arizona, who saw Jaime after he arrived by ambulance. Although lightning strikes can be fatal, around 90 per cent of people who are struck do survive. Lightning strikes over Canary Wharf and the River Thames in London Credit: Alamy What happens if I am struck by lightning during a thunderstorm? The popular perception is that the chance of being struck by lightning is one in a million. They’ve stopped asking why lightning caught him in its crosshairs that April afternoon. And the peak temperature of a The estimated population in America is over 326,000,000 and only ~47 Americans get struck by lightning each year but that doesn’t stop all of us from worrying about it. There was still hope. But they could suffer a variety of short- and long-term effects: cardiac arrest, confusion, seizures, dizziness, muscle aches, deafness, headaches, memory deficits, distractibility, personality changes and … arrest, which stops a person’s body from circulating blood and cause direct still have a good chance of surviving if they receive prompt, high-quality Satellite data has shown that certain regions of the world, generally those near the equator, are lightning-dense. While the ability to survive any lightning strike is related to immediate medical attention, the amount of current moving through the body is also a factor. There’s no such thing as a lightning-proof guarantee, he says more than once. “If you’re outdoors and do not have They might develop cataracts. Yet, even after decades of research, Cooper and other lightning experts readily admit that there are many unresolved questions, in a field where there’s little to no research funding to decipher the answers. That CPR occurred immediately is “the only reason he’s alive,” says Dr. Vail. Strikes can also cause a brain hemorrhage or stroke, as well as tissue It happens more than 25 million times in the United States and it’s one of “We’re never going to be able to answer why,” Sara says. building or house,” Dr. Griggs says. brain to death. This explains why survivors frequently report damage to the eyes and ears. Sometimes they’ll keep the clothing, the strips of shirt or trousers that weren’t cut away by the doctors and nurses. “My whole body just stopped—I couldn’t move,” recalls Justin. storm. After someone is struck by lightning – unless there is muscle begins to break down, resulting in a toxic protein flooding the Considering how deadly lightning can be, it may surprise you that about 90% of its victims actually survive and live to tell the tale. Back in Arizona, Jaime Santana survived the immediate lightning strike. Cooper is one of a small global cadre of doctors, meteorologists, electrical engineers and others who study what happens when you get struck by lightning, and ideally how to avoid it in the first place. Venezuela, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Pakistan all rank among the top 10 lightning hotspots. Just as lightning prefer high things, it also prefers better conduits. Thankfully, though, the heart possesses a natural pacemaker. The two other riders appeared shaken but unharmed. Flames were coming off Jaime’s chest. 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 Dr. Vail. lightning storms. careless. waves created by the nearby strike. During his studies, Andrews shocked anesthetized sheep with voltage levels roughly similar to a small lightning strike and photographed the electricity’s path. We recommend our users to update the browser. Doctors put him into a chemically induced coma for nearly two weeks to allow his body to recover, a ventilator helping him breathe. Dr. Griggs says if a person is struck by lightning, it can cause cardiac No. Those who have suffered a muscle injury Fish are more likely to bite when it’s raining, he told his wife, Rachel. Lightning begins high up in the clouds, sometimes 4,500 to 7,500 metres above the earth’s surface. Dr. Griggs says tissue Steam interacts differently with clothing depending on its material. But they could suffer a variety of short- and long-term effects: cardiac arrest, confusion, seizures, dizziness, muscle aches, deafness, headaches, memory deficits, distractibility, personality changes and chronic pain, among others. This is because one can be struck in about 5 different ways – step voltage, side flash, contact potential, and direct strike. Holle, Cooper and other prominent researchers recently pooled their expertise and calculated that they’re responsible for no more than three to five per cent of injuries. And yet, when you consider what a lightning strike actually does to a person, it seems impossible that anyone could survive. Avoid mountain peaks, tall trees or any body of water. What happens if you survive a lightning strike? In this way, Jaime Santana’s family stitched together some of what happened one Saturday afternoon in April 2016, through his injuries, burnt clothing and, most of all, his shredded broad-brimmed straw hat. What Happens Next? Although lightning strikes are far away from the trees as possible. Justin’s best guess—based on reports from the nearby couple, along with the wound on his right shoulder—is that the lightning hit his upper body and then exited through his feet. Lightning usually runs along the inner bark of the tree down to the ground, causing the outer bark to expand and blow away in strips. It steps, almost stair-like, in a rapid-fire series of roughly 50-metre increments. Lightning is responsible for more than 4,000 deaths worldwide annually—according to those documented in reports from 26 countries. If you were to sky dive through an active storm cloud, assuming that lightning strikes were occurring, are you at particular risk of getting struck? 9-1-1 immediately. Look for a ravine or a depression. Although lightning strikes can be fatal, around 90 per cent of people who are struck do survive. “If someone has lived to say, ‘Yes, I was stunned [by lightning],’ it’s probable that their respiration wasn’t completely wiped out and was re-established in time to keep the heart going.”. Describing that day, Justin draws one hand across his back, tracing the path of his burns, which at one point covered roughly a third of his body. One thing that’s often lost in the discussion about how excruciatingly painful it is to be struck by lightning is that 90% of people hit by lightning survive the experience. Now that you know what happens when you get struck by lightning, find out 13 things you should never do in a thunderstorm. When the pellets grew larger, Justin grabbed a nearby folding chair and raced for the truck. 62. Still, victims rarely walk away unscathed and the damage can be permanent. “When we do see it – the Alejandro found Jaime on the other side of his fallen horse. And of the roughly 500 people who are struck by lightning each year, about 90% survive. On a series of large screens lining two walls of a room at the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) in Tucson, Arizona, Holle can see where cloud-to-ground lightning is flashing in real time, picked up by strategically positioned sensors across the world. Although survivors frequently talk about entry and exit wounds, it’s difficult to figure out precisely what path the lightning takes, says Mary Ann Cooper, a retired emergency medicine doctor and longtime lightning researcher. lightning fatalities (15 deaths) in the country (4th most since “A home electrical outlet is 110 volts. Jaime finally returned home after five months of treatment and rehabilitation, which is continuing. strike, those that appear the most dead (i.e. August 22, 2018, 5:04 PM exposed to a fraction of the energy of the lightning. Also know, what happens when you get struck by lightning and survive? By far the most common cause of injury is ground current, in which the electricity courses along the earth’s surface, ensnaring within its circuitry a herd of cows or a group of people beneath a tent. access to a building, try to find somewhere like a picnic pavilion – which bloodstream and potentially causing kidney damage. “All of this way, I was thinking, ‘He’s dead. How to Help Employees With Pandemic-Induced Substance Use Issues. Or their hearing can be permanently damaged. accessible, to treat arrhythmias that can results from a lightning strike. If it happens to you and you wind up in the ER, “at a minimum you’ll get an electrocardiogram to make sure the lightning didn’t affect the heart, a … The National Weather Service reported that between 2009 and 2018, 270 Americans were struck by lightning, resulting in 27 deaths. But survivors do often describe temporary paralysis, like Justin suffered, or a loss of consciousness, although why it occurs is not clear. Getting stuck by lightning is rough. Prime candidates include isolated and pointed objects: trees, utility poles, buildings and occasionally people. But as the rain turned into hail, Rachel and their two children headed for the truck. Here’s what you should expect if you ever find yourself in the path of lightning. injuries and deep thermal burns within the body. near bones can suffer the worst damage since a person’s bones are the most If you are in a forest, it is best to stay as The vast majority travels around the outside in a ‘flashover’ effect, Cooper explains. So, what should you do if you find yourself stranded a long way from a building or car when a storm kicks up? who appear dead. His colourful feathers flowing behind. CPR. “It really all depends on how direct the strike is,” Dr. Griggs says. An automated external defibrillator (AED) can also be used, if Jaime had been horse riding with his brother-in-law, Alejandro Torres, and two others in the mountains when dark clouds formed and began heading in their direction. About one-third experienced at least some temporary paralysis in their arms or legs. They had almost reached the house when it happened. When lightning directly or indirectly strikes a person, the lightning’s charge (300kV of electricity) and heat (50,000 degrees F) can do a lot of damage. When the couple returned home from the hospital the day after the strike, a peacock was perched on the railing of the round pen where they work the horses. Now a family of peacocks fills one of the corral stalls. Also minor thermal burns and nervous behavior that puts them at a greater risk, like choosing to be outdoors When someone is hit by lightning, it happens so fast that only a very tiny amount of electricity ricochets through the body. Three times they reignited. What happens if I am struck by lightning during a thunderstorm? That period saw 54 fatalities a year on average, though between 2001 and 2010, that number dropped to 39 annually. You may have a false sense of security because the rain has not When they arrived, Alejandro was stunned to learn that Jaime was in surgery. © 2021 Reader’s Digest Magazines Ltd. - All rights reserved, We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer), This site uses “cookies” for the purposes set out in our Privacy Policy. Bodies of water are especially dangerous places in If you want to know what happens when you get struck by lightning, there are a couple of ways to go about it. The experiential approach is thorough and comprehensive, but has its drawbacks . Of every 10 people struck, nine will survive. Polyester can melt, leaving just a few pieces behind. We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. An open boat like a runabout is the most dangerous to human life during lightning storms, since you are the highest point and most likely to get hit if the boat is struck. To understand what happens when someone is struck by lightning we have to look at two different phenomena: indirect lightning strikes and direct strikes, as they have different effects. Those rates might be on the high side. In fact, direct strikes are surprisingly rare. When he regained consciousness, he was lying face down on the ground, sore all over. The majority of lightning strike victims do survive, but many will experience one or more of the issues described above. you are trained in CPR, Dr. Griggs says to begin resuscitating first those Upon entering the body, the electricity can hitch a ride elsewhere, through the blood or the fluid surrounding the brain and the spinal cord. Cooper explains, as lightning ashes over the body, it might come into contact with sweat or raindrops on the skin. Particularly worrisome is that, by penetrating the ears, lightning can rapidly reach the brain region that controls breathing, Andrews says. But these discharges of ... What Happens When You Get Struck By Lightning. However, in a mass lightning But scarcely a drop of rain had fallen. When I think about what I’m trying to say, it’s all jumbled up. How lightning forms Andrew - Well, I was wondering. What Happens To the Human Body When it's Struck by Lightning? Lightning’s massive electrical current can temporarily stun the heart, says Dr. Chris Andrews, an associate professor in medicine and a lightning researcher at the University of Queensland. A jolting, excruciating pain. The risk is that the heart will succumb to a second and potentially deadly arrest, Andrews says. “We’re living through something that we never thought in a million years would happen,” says Lucia, Jaime’s mother, reflecting on the strike and Jaime’s miraculous survival. started, and the clouds are far off, but lightning can often precede or But even if you’re just near the site of a lightning strike, you can still What it's like to be struck by lightning (and survive) Force of nature: a cloud-to-ground lightning bolt appears to have choice about where it strikes (Photo by … Even still, lightning does strike the water sometimes.Why doesn't that kill fish by the thousands? Andrews’s research demonstrates how lightning’s flashover current can inflict damage within the body. scattered trees, better to sit on the ground away from the trees if you “Find a contained space, some place with a structure all around you, like a According to Dr. David Claypool of Mayo Clinic, whether or not you are hit directly or indirectly will have a huge impact on how your body is affected by the incident. Despite sympathy for survivors, some symptoms still strain Cooper’s credulity. When Justin came to, his ears were ringing, and he was paralyzed from the waist down. Andrew Tarantola. A couple huddling under a nearby tree ran to Justin’s assistance. Spread out your group, with at least six metres between each person, to reduce the risk of multiple injuries. 8/28/12 2:20PM. are at risk of developing rhabdomyolysis, a condition where a person’s Those deep, dark roundish spots line up with the singed areas on the socks he was wearing—and with the coin-sized burns he had on both feet. The problem is that lightning can also knock out the region of the brain that controls breathing. is doesn’t have a built-in reset, meaning a person’s oxygen supply can become dangerously depleted. As for those who have been unlucky enough to have been struck by lightning The closest most of us have likely ever been to being struck by lightning is watching poor Wile E. Coyote take a blast from an angry cloud. Cooper authored one of the first studies looking at lightning injuries, published nearly four decades ago, in which she reviewed 66 doctor reports about seriously injured patients, including eight that she’d treated herself. 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