Mobile Phones Blamed in Lighting Strike

A letter published in the British Medical Journal has highlighted the case of a 15 year old girl who was struck by lightning while using her mobile phone. The letter has concluded by issuing a warning to avoid using a cellphone during thunderstorms, even though there is no real direct evidence that there is a link between the two.

The letter said that the girl has no recollection of events because she had an asystolic cardiac arrest. She was successfully resuscitated, but one year later she was a wheelchair user with complex physical, cognitive, and emotional problems, as well as a persistent perforation of the left tympanic membrane with associated conductive hearing loss on the side she was holding the mobile phone.

In the ear where she was holding the phone, she has a burst eardrum and persistent hearing loss.

There have been a few reports over the years of people being struck by lightening when using a mobile phone, but in none of the reports has any direct provable link between the lightening strike and the use of a mobile phone been found. A quick Google search actually found more reports of people being struck by lightning while walking their dog - which presumably suggests that dogs have an affinity with lightening strikes!"

Posted to the site on 26th June 2006