What Happens When You're Struck by Lightning
- Thread starter SeaBreeze
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What getting struck by lightning does to your skin and body
More here.
More here.
The odds of getting struck by lightning in any given year are about 1 in 300,000. And although roughly 90% of those struck survive, the electrical discharge scars some of them with a tattoo-like mark, known as the Lichtenberg figure. But that’s not all.
A lightning bolt can heat the surrounding air to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (27,760 degrees Celsius) – which is five times hotter than the sun – and can contain up to 1 billion volts of electricity. It’s terrifying to imagine what this amount of energy could do to a human.
When it enters your body, it short-circuits the small electrical signals that run the heart, lungs, and nervous system. This can lead to cardiac arrest, seizures, brain injury, spinal cord damage, and amnesia. The blistering heat, light, and electricity can also damage your eyes. For example, it can bore holes in your retina and cause cataracts, a clouding of the lenses. Unfortunately for men, lightning can also induce impotence and decrease libido in general.
As the lightning moves toward the surface of the body, it can force red blood cells out of your capillaries, into your epidermis. Like a bruise. These scars are the earlier mentioned Lichtenberg figures. The insane temperatures can also heat up any metal you’re wearing, causing third-degree burns. Or rapidly vaporize the sweat or rain on your skin. Sometimes, this steam explosion even blows off people’s clothes or shoes, leaving them nearly naked.
jujube
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My dentist was killed by lightening many years ago. He was sitting at the beach in a lawn chair, holding hands with his wife and with his 2-year-old daughter sitting on his knee. The sky was clear. Lightening came down, struck him in the head, raced through his body and exited into the sand.
His wife had some burns to her arm and hand. His daughter had burns to her legs and buttocks. He lived, unbelievably, for almost a week before dying. They said his swimtrunks were in shreds all around him in the sand and that he was almost totally charred black.
It was such a tragedy. He was an incredibly nice guy and only 37.
That was the only person I've ever known who was struck by lightening.
His wife had some burns to her arm and hand. His daughter had burns to her legs and buttocks. He lived, unbelievably, for almost a week before dying. They said his swimtrunks were in shreds all around him in the sand and that he was almost totally charred black.
It was such a tragedy. He was an incredibly nice guy and only 37.
That was the only person I've ever known who was struck by lightening.