Advertisement

Why lightning can be a killer

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0

Q: I am an avid golfer and play every other weekend. I play even when it is raining. I have heard of numerous golfers who have been struck by lightning on the golf course. Can you please tell me what causes this to happen and how best to avoid it? Dr Rose writes: Every year, there are many direct lightning strikes on people worldwide, with fatality rates about 30 per cent. Golfers are at high risk because they tend to seek shelter under trees. The most dangerous part of a storm is just before it starts when most lightning occurs. In fact, people have been known to be struck with blue skies overhead.

As lightning strikes the ground, it looks for a receptor which can be any object rising above the surrounding terrain that can conduct electricity. A tree on a golf course serves as an excellent receptor.

When one is struck by lightning, the immediate effects include an electric jolt to the muscles. This can be followed by aches and pain, dislocated joints, broken and bruised bones in addition to paralysis of speech and limbs, numbness, photophobia, disorientation, lapses in and out of consciousness, loss of equilibrium and memory, and in more severe cases, cardiac arrthymias due to the disturbance of the intrinsic electricity activity of the heart.

Ventricular fibrillation leading to cardiac arrest is the most common cause of death.

Long term, victims of a lightning strike sometimes suffer from insomnia, frequent urination, chronic body pains, inability to taste food or feel temperature changes and neurological problems ranging from headaches and dizziness to slowing of heart rates and fainting spells.

To be safe, before and during an electrical storm, avoid standing near trees. Head for the clubhouse to seek shelter until the storm subsides. Q: I am a healthy man in my 50s but have noticed the formation of hard nodules in my palms at the base of my fingers. On my right hand, which is the more severe one, I have even noticed my ring finger is curling up a little bit. I have seen this in older men. What is this disease and what causes it? Would physiotherapy help? Dr Rose writes: What you are describing sounds like Dupuytren's contracture. It is a disorder of the hand in which the ring and little finger are affected. The exact causes are unclear, but it tends to run in families. Men over 40 are most commonly affected. People whose work involves gripping vibrating tools seem to be especially at risk. In about half the cases, both hands are involved.

The soft tissues under the skin in the palm of the hand gradually thicken creating the sensation of a hard nodule. This then forms a band-like tendon across the palm, leading to puckering of the skin and eventually contraction of the fingers.

Advertisement