Lightning strike – how it happens, symptoms

Proven content

Lightning strikes are a situation that affects mainly those who hide under lonely and tall trees during a storm. The same applies to staying near large bodies of water or in the mountains during a storm. Lightning strikes are most often relatively rare.

Lightning strike …

In Poland, lightning strikes most often during spring and summer, i.e. seasons characterized by sudden changes in weather. High temperatures promote the formation of thunderstorms and high intensity electrical discharges. Shock is when a high voltage current flows rapidly over the body to the ground. Due to the expansion of the atmospheric air, a shock wave is created. The thunder and lightning are a visible expression that a storm is spreading over our heads. The greatest risk of being struck by lightning is in the mountains, in water, which is a good conductor of electricity, and in open spaces with tall buildings and trees. While striking a city in a city is unlikely, it is so dangerous that it can be fatal in some (1 in ten people are paralyzed). Therefore, to protect yourself from electric shock, you should know what to do and what not to do during a storm and what first aid looks like. It does not hurt to know the symptoms and effects of lightning, one of the most serious is thermal burns of the skin of varying severity, brain damage and cardiac arrest.

How does lightning strike happen?

A lightning strike can occur:

1. by a lightning strike in the winter not far from a person (so-called “blood tension” occurs);
2. directly by hitting the human body;
3. by a shock wave that causes mechanical trauma;
4. by a spark discharge, which causes the current to pass through the surface of the body and, as a result, causes numerous burns.

People struck by lightning very often lose consciousness and temporarily lose their hearing and sight (due to flashes and thunder). They are scared and do not know what just happened.

Symptoms of lightning strikes

The electric current in lightning has a current of 10.000 to 200.000 A, peaking in 5-10 microseconds, and a voltage of 20.000.000 to 1.000.000.000 V. Consequently, the effects and symptoms of destruction are very dangerous. In the paralyzed, apart from loss of consciousness, numbness of the limbs and temporary dysfunction of the spinal cord appear. Mechanical injuries are also not uncommon, as a result of a fall after being rejected by a shock wave or due to a sharp contraction of the muscles. Other effects of lightning strike include:

1. Burns,
2. stimulation,
3. hearing and vision impairment,
4. apathy
5. damage to the nervous system (e.g. paralysis of the limbs),
6. seizures
7. impaired kidney function,
8. damage to the cardiovascular system (heart rhythm may be abnormal, it may even result in cardiac arrest),
9. digestive tract dysfunction, such as acute gastric distension.

According to some people, the belief that cell phones do lightning is still popular. Of course, such cases have taken place in the United States and Japan, among others. However, according to the latest research, it was proved that this thesis was wrong. Scientists have concluded that more and more people are using mobile phones, also in the open air, because the risk of being struck by lightning is correspondingly greater. Lightning cannot necessarily strike during a storm. There is a case from a dozen or so years ago, where a gazebo near Zakopane, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, was throwing hay in a field and was hit under a cloudless sky, because the storm was then passing over the Tatra Mountains.

What not to do during a thunderstorm?

During a thunderstorm, it is contraindicated:

1. holding metal objects in your hands,
2. looking for asylum under tall trees, masts or telegraph poles,
3. being on the water (swim to the shore as soon as possible and find a safe place),
4. being at the top of a mountain (you should start descending as soon as possible),
5. talking on a mobile phone,
6. being with the windows open,
7. being in the open.

All electrical appliances should be disconnected from the power supply during a storm. A car is a safe place to wait out the storm. Faraday cage (electricity flows down the car body with the radio turned off). During a storm you should move slowly and with small steps, because there may be differences in electrical potential between the legs, and when the storm reaches us in an open space, and there is no place to hide nearby, hide in a depression and crouch. Do not lie down on the ground!

Lightning strike – first aid

In the event of lightning, the rules of general procedure apply. Patiently and calmly perform mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration and, if necessary, apply external cardiac massage. Existing burns, usually minor ones, are treated. Regardless of the help we have provided, we immediately call an ambulance, preferably resuscitation (R). If there are burns on the affected body, cool them with cold water for a few minutes, if possible, and then apply sterile gauze. However, when a fracture occurs – the limb should be stiffened.

Thermal burns following lightning:

1. XNUMXst degree burns – only the epidermis; the skin is red, blistering, and there is pain and itching. Wounds heal up to about two weeks and leave no visible furrows;
2. 30nd degree burns – include not only the epidermis, but also a fragment of the dermis. The affected skin develops blisters with serous fluid inside. The lesions heal up to XNUMX days and leave no scars if the burn affects only a fragment of the dermis;
3. third degree burns – affect the entire skin. The skin is hard and painless, necrosis of the dermis occurs together with vessels and nerves. Third degree burns leave unsightly scars, very often a transplant is necessary.