What happens to someone when they are struck by lightning and survive?

BY KAHA G. – 15 YEARS OLD

Set the scene. You’re walking home from work. The sky is a vibrant blue, and the clouds are so fluffy you could bite them. Then some ominous clouds start appearing, followed by thunderstorms and rain. You’re panicking because the weather department lied to your face about sunny skies all day. So now you’re stranded in the middle of the path with no umbrella, coat, or proper shoes.

Soaked like a wet puppy, you start to pick up the pace as fear begins chewing you up from the inside out. You start to call your best friend in a panic and send your location just in case. All of a sudden, your hair stands up, and you think to yourself. “This could only mean one thing…” BAAM! Your hearing is obstructed, you feel excruciating pain, and your eyes are getting heavier by the second. Thud, your body falls to the ground.

You jolt up and realize you’re in the hospital. Confused, surprised and relieved nothing horrible happened to you. The nurse informs you that you got struck by lightning. Do you have cool new superpowers? Not quite, but your survival is shocking because being struck by lightning is petrifying, to say the least.

To destress you from that introduction, according to https://www.cdc.gov/, 90% of lightning strike victims survive, but what happens to someone when they are struck by lightning and survive? Most people who die from lightning strikes are killed instantly by cardiac arrest, as the bolt’s massive electrical voltage short-circuits the heart’s natural rhythm. People hit by lightning may have their eardrums blown up by the pressure wave, their respiratory system paralyzed, or suffer secondary burns as their hair or clothing catches fire.

What does being struck by lightning do to someone mentally? It is common for people that have experienced this unfortunate and terrifying event to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and neurologic symptoms. This is similar to the post-concussive injuries that football players get, said Dr. Mary Ann Cooper, a lightning safety specialist at the National Lightning Safety Council. Additionally, it is unclear exactly how these brain injuries occur, Mary Cooper said, given the low number of lightning strikes and relative lack of funding for research. However, experts think that they are probably caused by some combination of tissue from the current and blunt force trauma from the abrupt barometric (measurement of air pressure in the atmosphere) pressure change.

Luckily, lightning injuries are among the most preventable in the developed world. If you find yourself outside during a thunderstorm, simply “Run like hell to a safe space,” Mary Cooper said. “And don’t come out until there’s been no lightning and no thunder for 30 minutes.” As long as we monitor the weather warnings and are dressed appropriately. Hopefully, we will be safe from these monstrous lightning bolts.