Presentation
There may be blood pooled around the heart and numerous blood clots or thrombi are present. Scorched skin or burns are not usually present unless the fish comes into direct contact with the electrical device (such as a shocking probe). [aps.uoguelph.ca]
Clinical Features and Presentation Overview of Care. After a lightning strike, patients typically do not present with traditional high-voltage electrical injuries. [ahcmedia.com]
Case presentation A 70-year-old South-Asian woman with no prior history of cardiovascular disease presented following an accidental low voltage electrocution with loss of consciousness. [bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com]
Thunderstorms present three separate but related hazards to campers. The first is obvious: The danger of being struck by lightning. Electrocution by lightning strike, though uncommon, does happen, and deaths do occur. [scoutingmagazine.org]
The presence of typical burn patterns, when present, may be helpful. [lightninginjury.lab.uic.edu]
Entire Body System
- Falling
In the video, the bolt hits the plane and then immediately electrocutes Dunn, causing him to fall to the ground. NBC2 reports Dunn has third-degree burns all over his body and spent two weeks in the hospital recovering. [nbcnews.com]
Photo Credit: By Ian Boggs from Astoria, US (Lightning on the Columbia River) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons Spring rains will soon be falling, and warm temperatures will bring the return of thunderstorms. [sciencenetlinks.com]
Exposure to electricity can cause significant musculoskeletal injuries due to either direct contact or a subsequent fall. [ahcmedia.com]
Over the course of a lifetime, you’re much likelier to be killed (for instance) in a fall. That said, you can see why most people tend to err on the cautious side in this area. [straightdope.com]
Additional trauma may occur if the victim falls or is thrown as a result of the electrocution. [emsworld.com]
- Unconsciousness
Unconsciousness and amnesia are common, and there may be transient paralysis of limbs or paresthesia. Cerebral infarction may occur from arrhythmia and embolization. [braininjury.com]
Perform cervical spine, chest and pelvic radiographs on any casualty who was previously unconscious, as well as imaging of any injured limb. Assess for injuries, system by system. Involve senior clinicians. [patient.info]
Many unconscious victims, who appear lifeless, actually die of suffocation [ citation needed ]. [en.wikipedia.org]
During transport, the patient remains unconscious with a heart rate in the 50s and blood pressure of 90/52. He continues to require manually supported ventilation. [emsworld.com]
[…] hands If someone is emotional distraught they can buddy up with someone else, but they should NOT touch each other How to Administer First Aid after a Hiker has been Electrocuted In the event a hiker in your group is hit by lightning or is rendered unconscious [catskillmountaineer.com]
- Disability
Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker [totalenergies.fr]
Longer term neurological maladies include personality changes, learning disabilities, sleep disorders, seizures, Parkansonism (not actual Parkinson's Disease but a similar constant twitch). [gizmodo.com]
Most people who are struck by lightning live to tell the story, but many suffer from long term injury or disability. [7] The treatment of lightning injuries is keraunomedicine. [8] [9] Immediate [ edit ] Typical view of defibrillation in progress, with [en.wikipedia.org]
It is important to be aware of the dangers of lightning strikes and to avoid situations that could lead to injury and permanent disability. [ahcmedia.com]
However, no good long-term, controlled studies are available to indicate if lightning-related injuries improve or progress to more serious disabilities or to give stratified prognoses for different subgroups of survivors. [emedicine.medscape.com]
- Surgical Procedure
procedures in the first 48 hours of care without cardiac complications. [lightninginjury.lab.uic.edu]
- Fatigue
Sleep disturbance Fatigue, sleep disturbance, flashbacks and nightmares possible. [emsworld.com]
Gastrointestinal
- Nausea
Aside from cardiac arrest, a lightning strike can lead to short-term symptoms such as muscle soreness, headache, nausea, upset stomach, confusion, mental slowness or fogginess, dizziness, and balance problems. [articles.mercola.com]
Headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and tinnitus have been described. Central nervous system injury can be so acute that a rapid onset of cerebral edema occurs, with subsequent brain stem herniation. [emsworld.com]
[…] neurologic injury, affecting all 3 parts of the nervous system, as follows [38, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93] : Brain - Neurocognitive changes, sleep disturbance, personality change, seizures, learning disability, postconcussive-type headaches, nausea [emedicine.medscape.com]
Cardiovascular
- Tachycardia
In addition, use the automated external defibrillator (AED) to identify and treat ventricular tachycardia or VF. [circ.ahajournals.org]
Many patients present with hypertension, tachycardia, nonspecific electrocardiographic changes, and myocardial necrosis. 50 Myocardial infarction is not common. 51 Pre-hospital Care/Triage. [ahcmedia.com]
Clin Evid. 2011, 15: Google Scholar Nallasivan M, Appel RA, Welch WJ, Bauernfeind RA: Ventricular tachycardia due to bundle branch reentry: induction by spontaneous atrial premature beats. [bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com]
VF is the usual cause of immediate death from electrocution; this occurs immediately. [ 9 ] Other arrhythmias have been reported: right bundle branch block and nonspecific ST and T-wave changes occur most commonly. [ 6 ] There may be supraventricular tachycardia [patient.info]
Ears
- Tinnitus
Case example1 : A 30 year old woman presented complaining of tinnitus and dizziness attributed to a lightning bolt. [dizziness-and-balance.com]
Headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and tinnitus have been described. Central nervous system injury can be so acute that a rapid onset of cerebral edema occurs, with subsequent brain stem herniation. [emsworld.com]
[…] injuries affect 800 to 1000 persons per year.(9) In lightning injury, cardiac arrest is the main cause of death, burns tend to be superficial, and injuries often are what one would expect of short-circuiting or overloading the body's electrical systems (tinnitus [lightninginjury.lab.uic.edu]
Musculoskeletal
- Fracture
Fractured spinal columns or severe compression of the vertebrae occurs due to violent contraction of the flank musculature. [aps.uoguelph.ca]
There may be bone necrosis, and zigzag micro fractures. [forensicpathologyonline.com]
The frequent blasts break down high peaks more quickly than frost-shattering — when freezing water wedges apart fractured rock. [livescience.com]
The frequent blasts break down high peaks more quickly than frost-shattering - when freezing water wedges apart fractured rock. [seeker.com]
''-" Numerous types of fractures and dislocations have been reported with lightning injury.' [lightninginjury.lab.uic.edu]
Psychiatrical
- Fear
But the fears of doing it are overblown. [trekbbs.com]
You're now free to speak on your cell phone without fear of electrocution from lightning strikes Only $49.95 I suppose if you were charging your cell phone and talking at the same time, there would be some risk. [forums.anandtech.com]
The decision to close indoor swimming pools during these storms is based on irrational fears rather than objective facts. [nrpa.org]
#18 Probably greater fear of metal poisoning over being electrocuted. And I doubt you lost any brain cells by doing this. [forums.macrumors.com]
Predisposing factors are unexpectedness of shock, anxiety, fear and emotions, exhaustion, cardiovascular and other diseases. Local Effects: The current passes through the skin producing heat, which causes boiling and electrolysis of tissue fluids. [forensicpathologyonline.com]
- Anger
This may have angered some god. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a thin strip of white flash in the window that looks onto an alley behind my apartment—it was so thin it might have been traveling down a wire. [gawker.com]
Neurologic
- Amnesia
Unconsciousness and amnesia are common, and there may be transient paralysis of limbs or paresthesia. Cerebral infarction may occur from arrhythmia and embolization. [braininjury.com]
Nervous : When the central nervous system is affected, a number of side effects can occur such as dementia, amnesia, temporary paralysis, impaired reflexes, memory gaps and anxiety or depression. [science.howstuffworks.com]
Nearly 70% of cases will involve the upper extremities, while the remaining 30% will involve the legs. 2,10 Lightning victims may experience anterograde amnesia and confusion that can last for several days. Retrograde amnesia is less common. [emsworld.com]
You could suffer brain damage (because in the cellular structure of your brain literally cooks from the current) resulting in short-term memory loss or amnesia. [gizmodo.com]
Loss of consciousness is very common immediately after a strike. [10] Amnesia and confusion of varying duration often result as well. [10] Experiments on sheep show that a lightning strike to the head of a victim enters through the eyes, ears, nose and [en.wikipedia.org]
- Seizure
Longer term neurological maladies include personality changes, learning disabilities, sleep disorders, seizures, Parkansonism (not actual Parkinson's Disease but a similar constant twitch). [gizmodo.com]
Can produce tetanic muscle contractions, ventricular fibrillation, respiratory failure, seizures. [emsworld.com]
A seizure may occur after electrical injury as either an isolated event or part of a new-onset seizure disorder. (4) Hypoxia and injury should be ruled out as causes of the seizure. [lightninginjury.lab.uic.edu]
Consider differential diagnoses, including cerebrovascular event, spinal cord injury, seizure, closed head injury, Stokes-Adams attack, myocardial infarction, overdose. Outcome This is generally excellent for those who survive the initial strike. [patient.info]
Electrical damage to the brain may result in a permanent seizure disorder, depression, anxiety, or other personality changes. What Does Electric Shock Look Like (Pictures)? Electric shock, contact injury to the hand. Photograph by Timothy G. [emedicinehealth.com]
- Altered Mental Status
Patients with altered mental status should have a head CT scan. Victims of lightning strikes can have altered mentation or confusion, which makes obtaining a correct history or physical difficult. [ahcmedia.com]
Workup
The initial laboratory workup should include a complete blood count, basic metabolic panel, hepatic function panel, CK-MB, creatine kinase, and urinalysis (even though lightning strikes usually do not produce severe abnormalities in any of these tests [ahcmedia.com]
Treatment
For victims in cardiac arrest, treatment should be early, aggressive, and persistent. [circ.ahajournals.org]
[…] on-line email support group url: http://www.egroups.com/group/lightningstrike email: [email protected] Lightning Strike Survivor's Resource Page -- url: http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/lightningsurvivor/ Mensana Clinic -- Specialize in the treatment [headinjury.com]
What Is the Medical Treatment for Electric Shock? Treatment of electric shock depends on the severity of the burns or the nature of other injuries found. Burns are treated according to severity. [emedicinehealth.com]
TREATMENT The onset of these syndromes can only be treated symptomatically because no specific treatment exists. However, the acute attention is directed to the cardiac disorder. Brain injury rehabilitation can help in the long term. [braininjury.com]
BURN TREATMENT Note baseline skin findings. Burns may not be present in the field and development may be delayed. [emsworld.com]
Prognosis
What Is the Prognosis for Electric Shock? Recovery from electric shock depends on the nature and severity of the injuries. The percentage of the body surface area burned is the most important factor affecting prognosis. [emedicinehealth.com]
Prognosis [ 1 ] Mortality : if the initial shock is survived, the chances of survival are excellent. [patient.info]
This may make it difficult to assess the injury and offer a prognosis based on history and physical examination alone. [lightninginjury.lab.uic.edu]
This is probably related to the decreased chances of exposure of this age group during outdoor recreation or employment. [10, 47] Prognosis Many individuals struck by lightning have permanent disabilities that affect their families and their ability to [emedicine.medscape.com]
Etiology
Far more injuries and deaths occur in tropical and subtropical developing countries (see Epidemiology and Etiology ), and newspaper reports frequently list multiple injuries and deaths in each event. [emedicine.medscape.com]
Epidemiology
Brain Injury Lawyer - Free Consultation Birth Trauma Nurse - Free Consultation EPIDEMIOLOGY In the past, electrocution was the result of accidents in the home or at work. [braininjury.com]
While most would conclude that a direct strike would be more likely to end in death than other mechanisms, there is no research or epidemiologic data to support this to date. [emedicine.medscape.com]
An epidemiological description of lightning-related deaths in the United States. Int J Epidemiol. 1990 ; 19 : 673 –679. ↵ Epperly TD, Stewart JR. The physical effects of lightning injury. [circ.ahajournals.org]
Epidemiology From 2000 to 2015, the United States documented an average of 36 lightning-induced fatalities per year. 24 Ten percent of people who are struck are killed and 90% are left with some degree of disability. [ahcmedia.com]
Epidemiology [ 1 ] Electrical burn injuries account for about 5% of burns unit admissions. [patient.info]
Pathophysiology
Pathophysiology of electrical injury [ 1 ] Electrical current causes damage through: [ 4 ] Direct process of physiological changes (altering cell resting membrane potential). [patient.info]
Injury by electrical forces: Pathophysiology and emergency management. Current Problems in Surgery 34, p. 684. St. Louis: Mosby, 2007. 2. Cooper M, Andrews C, Holle R, López R. Lightning Injuries. Wilderness Medicine, 4th Ed. St. [emsworld.com]
This article discusses the physics of lightning and the pathophysiology and treatment of lightning injuries. [14] Because persons struck by lightning have a better chance of survival than persons who experience cardiopulmonary arrest from other causes [emedicine.medscape.com]
Patients with larger burns have a higher mortality rate, have a longer length of stay in the hospital, and are more likely to require intensive care, need intubation, and have renal failure requiring dialysis. 3 Pathophysiology Electricity is the flow [ahcmedia.com]
Although the exact pathophysiology of electrical in- flow of current and is specific for a given tissue, depending on the injury is not well understood, there is at least an appreciation on its moisture content, temperature, and other physical Table 1 [lightninginjury.lab.uic.edu]
Prevention
Prevention [ 16 ] Provision of information (via leaflets, health visitors, talks, etc) is the key to prevention. Never mix water and electricity. Always use licensed electricians. [patient.info]
Most people believe the rubber tires on a car prevent lightning strikes. [weatherimagery.com]
Use wireless or battery-operated appliances during lightning storms to prevent yourself from becoming electrocuted. [wikihow.com]
Posted on July 20, 2016 by Jeffrey Feldman These storm safety tips can help prevent serious electrical injury or death from lighting We’ve all seen the movies. Lightning strikes a tree in a sudden, terrible flash of light. [electrocuted.com]
Prevention of electrocution is the only sensible course of action for any prudent fish farmer. [aps.uoguelph.ca]