TARIKSA — A few weeks into his new job as a forensic pathologist, Ryan Blumenthal got a call to examine a body found in a field. The victim’s clothes were torn and his eardrum was ruptured.
“It looks like a pretty horrific scene,” Blumenthal, who now works at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, was quoted as saying Live Science last July.
Yes, the culprit was not a serial killer, but lightning. This electrically charged phenomenon can send millions of volts of electricity throughout an unfortunate human’s body.
A lightning strike can penetrate anyone’s body in just a fraction of a second. In fact, because of its speed, it often leaves no trace.
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The destructive power brought by lightning is extremely terrifying. But because of that, Blumenthal is now one of the leading lightning pathologists in the world.
Most people who die from lightning strikes die instantly from heart attacks. This is because the enormous electrical voltage from a lightning strike disrupts the heart’s natural rhythm.
Humans struck by lightning may also experience ruptured eardrums due to the incoming pressure waves. The respiratory system is also paralyzed, or what is commonly seen is secondary burns due to burning of hair and clothing.
But lightning does not kill all its victims. About 90 percent of people struck by lightning survive.
“Those who survive typically experience nerve damage, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and neurological symptoms, similar to post-concussion injuries experienced by football players, such as impaired judgment and difficulty concentrating,” said Dr Mary Ann Cooper, a specialist lightning safety at the US National Lightning Safety Council and professor emerita of emergency medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Also Read: What Does Lightning Bring? Scientists Find Crystals from Another World
Cooper continued, how the brain injury occurred cannot yet be explained with certainty. This is because the number of lightning strikes is low, and there is little funding for research.
Experts believe that brain injury may be caused by a combination of tissue disruption due to electric current and blunt force trauma due to sudden changes in barometric pressure. The condition can become severe and even debilitating.
Some people who survived being struck by lightning report memory loss, chronic nerve pain, depression. In fact, some consider the loss of psychic abilities to be like precognition.
2023-09-29 12:07:00
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