By Lester Haines
Published Friday 23rd June 2006 08:55 GMT
UK doctors are advising mobile-addicted Brit youth to lay off the
chat during thunderstorms - or risk the consequences.
According to the BBC, the British Medical Journal cites the case of
a 15-year-old girl who was struck by lightning in a London park
while talking on her phone. She suffered a burst eardrum and
cardiac arrest and, a year later, "has severe physical difficulties
as well as brain damage which has led to emotional and cognitive
problems".
What the kids of today don't understand, apparently, is that when
you're struck by lightning, your skin's high resistance will cause
most of the charge to pass over the body in a process called
"external flashover". If, however, you have metal objects or
liquids in contact with the skin, these can provoke the charge to
enter and pass through your body where it can wreak havoc with your
internals.
The Northwick Park Hospital doctors who treated the unfortunate
London victim discovered three fatal cases of mobile phone chat
lightning strike - in China, Korea and Malaysia. Swinda Esprit, of
the ear, nose and throat department said: "It is obvious really,
but we all carry mobile phones and we don't think about it.
Children particularly won't realise the risk."
It's not, however, simply a matter of not making calls during
tempests. The mere presence of your phone about your person
increases the risk of lightning-induced internal injury, as Met
Office boffin Paul Taylor noted: "It is well known within the
thunderstorm detection community that wearing or carrying metallic
objects can increase the likelihood of injury.
"It certainly adds to the intensity of the skin damage and the
article certainly amplifies that here. I would treat a mobile phone
as yet another piece of metal that people tend to carry on their
persons like coins and rings." ®