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Doctors: Cell Phones Increase Risk of Being Killed by Lightning
Friday, June 23, 2006
By Ker Than
If you're chatting on a cell phone during a lightning storm, dropped calls could be the least of your worries.
According to a letter published in this week's issue of the British Medical Journal, people who talk on, or even just carry, mobile phones outdoors during storms are more likely to sustain fatal internal injuries if struck by lightning.
One U.S. lightning expert is skeptical, however.
Flashover
Human skin is resistant to transmitting electricity into the body, so when lightning strikes a person, it tends to travel along the skin. Scientists call this phenomenon "flashover."
According to the doctors who wrote the letter, conductive materials such as liquids or metallic objects can interrupt flashover and direct lightning into the body, causing internal damage.
"This can result in injuries like cardiac arrest, which is often fatal," said Swinda Espirit, a doctor at Northwick Park Hospital in England who co-authored the letter.
The doctors describe the case of a 15-year-old girl who was struck by lightning while using a cell phone in London. The girl survived, but still was suffering physical, cognitive and emotional problems one year later.
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The doctors also cite three anecdotal newspaper reports of people being struck by lightning while talking on cell phones.
"This rare phenomenon is a public health issue, and education is necessary to highlight the risk of using mobile phones outdoors during stormy weather," the doctors write.
The letter in the journal, however, is not backed by the sort of scientific%2