For your Summer time protection.
Frank Casey
frcasey@xxxxxxxxxxxx
This is well worth reading.
E R Physician Tells You How To Avoid A Lightning Strike And What To Do If
One Occurs
Article Date: 06 Aug 2009 - 0:00 PDT
An estimated 200 people die each year in the U.S. after being struck by
lightning.
An extremely brief but intense hit delivers more than 10 million volts
and
is fatal
in about 30 percent of cases. Recent lightning strikes in Newark resulted
in
one
death and three injuries.
Most survivors have significant complications. Half of people struck by
lightning
will suffer rupture of the tympanic membrane in the ear. Many go on to
develop cataracts.
"Lightning presents a grave risk of death," warns Shreni Zinzuwadia,
M.D.,
an emergency
department physician at UMDNJ-The University Hospital and instructor of
surgery at
the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. "Cardiac or respiratory arrest may
result from
being hit by lightning."
There are other dangers outside of a direct hit, she added, from three
additional
types of strikes.
A side strike happens when lightning jumps from its initial point of
contact
to the
victim. "For example, if you seek protection under a tree, which is one
of
the worst
places to be during a storm, the lightning can hit the tree then jump to
you, a better
conductor of electricity since humans are mostly salty water," she
explained. "This
kind of strike can kill the tree and the person."
A contact strike occurs when lightning hits an object the person is
holding
or wearing,
such as a watch or eyeglasses.
The other type of strike - step potential happens when a current
traveling
through
the ground goes up your leg, travels through you and then goes down the
other leg
and back into the ground. "That is why Boy Scouts practice standing on
one
leg during
a storm," she explained. "They are attempting to decrease the likelihood
that the
current will go through them by having only one foot on the ground."
Prevention begins by seeking cover at the start of a storm. "Lightning
seems
to be
concentrated at the forefront of a storm," according to Zinzuwadia, "so
there tends
to be a greater risk of being hit by lightning at the beginning of a
storm."
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the
U.S. Department
of Homeland Security (DHS), individuals who hear thunder roar should go
indoors because
no place outside is safe when lightning is in the area. Stay indoors
until
30 minutes
have passed after you hear the last clap of thunder.
Once inside, FEMA advises that people avoid contact with corded phones
and
electrical
equipment or cords; do not wash your hands, take a shower, wash dishes,
or
do laundry
because plumbing and bathroom fixtures can conduct electricity; stay away
from windows
and doors; stay off porches; and do not lie on concrete floors or lean
against concrete
walls.
If you are outside during a storm, crouch down and try to touch as little
of
the
ground as you can, Zinzuwadia suggests. "Even if you are hit by the
current,
the
less contact there is between you and the ground, the less likely it is
that
all
of your major organs will be hit," she says. "It increases your chances
of
survival."
What signs might indicate that a person has been struck by lightning?
"You
may see
superficial burns on the skin or clothing may burst into flames or be
torn
away from
the body," Zinzuwadia said. "A person may fall to the ground.
"People who are hit by lightning commonly die from ventricular
fibrillation,
asystole
(cardiac arrest), or respiratory arrest," Zinzuwadia added. "Bystanders
should immediately
check for a pulse and spontaneous breathing."
Immediately call 911 for help if someone is hit by lightning, Zinzuwadia
emphasizes.
If a person is in respiratory arrest has a pulse but is not breathing -
provide rescue
breaths until the victim resumes spontaneous breathing.
If the victim goes into cardiac arrest, where the heart just stops due to
the impact
of the massive electrical current, CPR should be administered, Zinzuwadia
said. "Give
cardiac compressions and provide respiratory support for them."
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the
nation's largest
free-standing public health sciences university with nearly 5,700
students
attending
the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate
school
of biomedical
sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and
a
school
of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two
million
patient
visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark,
New
Brunswick/Piscataway,
Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital,
a
Level
I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a
statewide
mental
health and addiction services network.
Source: UMDNJ
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