Injury from lightning strike while using mobile phone

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7556.1513-b

BMJ 2006;332:1513 (24 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7556.1513-b

Letter

Injury from lightning strike while using mobile phone

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—We report the case of a 15 year old girl who waswitnessed being struck by lightning while using her mobile phonein a large park in London during stormy weather. The girl hasno recollection of events because she had an asystolic cardiacarrest.

She was successfully resuscitated, but one year later she wasa wheelchair user with complex physical, cognitive, and emotionalproblems, as well as a persistent perforation of the left tympanicmembrane with associated conductive hearing loss on the sideshe was holding the mobile phone.

If someone is struck by lightning the high resistance of humanskin results in lightning being conducted over the skin withoutentering the body; this is known as flashover.¹ This phenomenonhas a low mortality. Conductive materials in direct contactwith skin such as liquids or metallic objects disrupt the flashoverand result in internal injury with greater . . . [Full text of this article]

Swinda Esprit, senior house officer in otorhinolaryngology

swinda@runbox.com, Northwick Park Hospital, Middlesex HA1 3UJ

Prasad Kothari, specialist registrar in otorhinolaryngology, Ram Dhillon, consultant in otorhinolaryngology

Northwick Park Hospital, Middlesex HA1 3UJ

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Rapid Responses:

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Why only Mobile Phones?: Martin Nicholson
bmj.com, 25 Jun 2006 [Full text]
My son was "struck" by lightning while using cell phone!: Denise D. Mortensen, et al.
bmj.com, 25 Jun 2006 [Full text]
Prof. K.K.Bhakoo: Kuldeep Bhakoo
bmj.com, 25 Jun 2006 [Full text]
Before fictions fester into facts: Bob Swanson
bmj.com, 26 Jun 2006 [Full text]
mythbusters on mobile phones: Scott M Hill
bmj.com, 26 Jun 2006 [Full text]
Spectacle wearers?: Chris Allen
bmj.com, 26 Jun 2006 [Full text]
Far fetched Scaremongering: Ramsey M Faragher
bmj.com, 26 Jun 2006 [Full text]
Mobile phone letter may increase lightning casualties worldwide: Zainal Abidin Hartono
bmj.com, 27 Jun 2006 [Full text]
Re: Mobile phone letter may increase lightning casualties worldwide: Jean-Francois Leblanc
bmj.com, 28 Jun 2006 [Full text]
Re: Re: Mobile phone letter may increase lightning casualties worldwide: Zainal Abidin Hartono
bmj.com, 28 Jun 2006 [Full text]
Mobile phones not a lightning strike risk: Chris W Althaus
bmj.com, 29 Jun 2006 [Full text]
There is a very slight theoretical risk: Daniel R Hicks
bmj.com, 30 Jun 2006 [Full text]