Storm warning for mobile phone users
link [Posted: Sun 25/06/2006]

Doctors have warned against using mobile phones outdoors during stormy weather. Writing in the British Medical Journal, three doctors described the case of a 15-year-old girl who was seen being struck by lightning while using her mobile phone in a large park in London during stormy weather. She was successfully resuscitated, however one year later, she suffered complex physical, cognitive and emotional problems.

The doctors explained that if somebody is struck by lightning, the high resistance of human skin results in the lightning being conducted over the skin without entering the body. This is known as flashover and has a low death rate. Conductive materials, such as liquids or metallic objects, disrupt the flashover and result in internal injury and a higher death rate.

To the doctors' knowledge, no similar cases have been reported in medical literature. Although they did find three cases reported in newspapers in Asia, all resulting in death. "This rare phenomenon is a public health issue and education is necessary to highlight the risk of using mobile phones outdoors during stormy weather to prevent future fatal consequences from lightning strike injuries related to mobile phones," the doctors said.