Lets say someone is struck by lightning, and they don't die.
What exactly will happen to them, like the after effects? Will they have brain damage for sure?
Basically, someone is struck by lightning, seven years later, will they still have scars for sure? Is there anyway you could be struck by lightning and then seven years later have no scars from it?
2007-08-13 09:40:42 · 9 answers · asked by Crappy Haircut Girl 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
Oh-- for the seven years thing here's the story:
Writing a story, main character hit by lightning at 7 years old, 7 years later is when the story takes place, I just want to know the effects and yada yada.
2007-08-13 10:06:16 · update #1
It depends.
They can suffer serious electrical burns.
They can suffer permanent or temporary brain damage due to the high electrical charge passing across their body.
They can suffer permanent or temporary peripheral nerve damage, rendering some or all limbs useless.
The sudden change in air pressure when the superheated air cools and collapses back on them can cause compression injuries, such as ruptured eardrums or persistent ringing in the ears.
They could be just fine. This is the least likely of the five.
2007-08-13 09:51:18 · answer #1 · answered by Brian L 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was hit by lightning while riding a bicycle when I was 6. There was this big boom that knocked me silly, and the next thing I knew I was home, and everybody was looking me over. I had a burn on my leg that left a scar that is still there, at 51.
A lightning strike can range in damage to a shock to death and anywhere in between. You won't have brain damage for sure. If you do, it will probably be fatal. Sometimes lightning will disrupt the heart causing unconsciousness or death. Doctors suspect that is what happened in my case.
2007-08-13 09:53:59 · answer #2 · answered by steve.c_50 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well, first off, the answer is going to be about a general person. A person is struck by lightning and lives. At first for a few days, the person is dazed and confused. There are no scars because the lightning takes less than a second to go through the entire body and through to the earth. The person is hospitalized to make sure that he or she is OK. Observtion and testing mostly. If a person did have scars, the person would have to have touched metal.
2007-08-13 09:47:04 · answer #3 · answered by lovelyhorsefriend06 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not necessarily. And seven years really doesn't have anything to do with it. You may be confusing the number seven with something you heard, and it's a true story. A man was struck by lightning seven times and survived them all.
Roy Sullivan, a park ranger from Virginia, had no explanation as to why he seemed to attract lightning. Despite all his hits, he suffered no permanent serious damage. They are as follows.
1942: He was struck in the leg and lost a nail on his big toe.
1969: A bolt struck him while he was driving his truck, knocking him unconscious. It burned his eyebrows.
1970: Hit while in front yard. Burned his left shoulder.
1972: His hair got set on fire with this hit. He then started believing some higher power was trying to kill him.
1973: Sullivan got hit in the head, knocking him out of his car and setting his hair on fire again.
1974: A cloud was following him, and he tried to outrun it. It caught up with him, and a bolt hit him in the ankle.
1977: His last hit came while he was fishing. He was hospitalized with burns on his chest and stomach.
He died in 1983. Not from lightning, but from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
2007-08-13 09:57:43 · answer #4 · answered by Pat S 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The tendency is you end up splattered into pieces. Your matter would be destroyed. Lightning carries about 300 kilovolts. Enougn to supply current to a subdivision.
Survivors of those who were strucked by lightning leaves a much deeper scar to the families, for eg. that person is the breadwinner, then a painful blow is delivered to the family as well.
2007-08-13 10:16:10 · answer #5 · answered by kill_nino 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think there have been cases where people have been struck by lightning and survived with little or no scarring. If it was a direct hit - then they'll suffer an electrical burn - which is nasty, but clearly, not always fatal nor permanent in all cases.
2007-08-13 09:46:59 · answer #6 · answered by Eric C 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lightning usually strikes the tallest object in the area, so if you are standing in an open field, or a golf course, your chances of being struck are higher than usual.
2007-08-13 10:13:39 · answer #7 · answered by Jovito O 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually the charge stays on the outside of the body so the usual injury is skin burns.
2007-08-13 09:45:08 · answer #8 · answered by Rocket Scientist X 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://www.harkphoto.com/light.html
has more about lightning injuries.
2007-08-13 09:49:56 · answer #9 · answered by A Guy 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋