Wet vs Dry Skin: Which Gives You Better Protection, Higher Chances of Survival From Lightning Strikes

Wet and dry skin have different impacts during lightning storms. While many believe being wet is dangerous when there's lightning, a new report suggested otherwise.

Wet Skin Is Safer During Lightning Storm?

Lightning can be deadly, but most of those who are struck have survived. Many believe that being wet during lightning storms is dangerous, but on the contrary, dousing in water increases one's chances of survival by 90 percent.

A group of scientists constructed two prosthetic heads to imitate the electrical conductivity characteristics of actual human noggins. Based on CT scan data, each model included a skull, tissue volume inside the skull, and scalp. The construction materials sodium chloride, water, graphite, and agarose were carefully selected to have characteristics akin to those of human tissue.

The researchers shocked the prosthetic heads with electrical solid currents and recorded the results. The water-soaked dummy skulls were less damaged and exposed to less electrical current internally.

The findings imply that becoming thoroughly wet could significantly increase your chances of surviving a lightning storm, while the best course of action is avoiding being outside during one.

"Our experiments on human head phantoms," the researchers led by engineer René Machts of Ilmenau University of Technology in Germany wrote, adding that it "provides practical evidence for the theoretically postulated effect that rain-wet skin might have better lightning strike protective behavior than dry skin."

Lightning strikes are not something to take lightly. They are capable of delivering currents of more than 200 kiloamperes, which is far, far more power than is needed to kill a human.

However, several studies have indicated that water might mitigate the effect. One study showed that wet animals survived lightning strikes more often than dry ones, and theoretical analysis implies that wet skin could limit current exposure to the body.

Nevertheless, the variable of moist human skin has not been investigated in experimental experiments. This knowledge gap about the impacts of lightning, and specifically how surface moisture might alter the way lightning travels across a bare human head, was the focus of Machts and his colleagues' research.

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Why Lightning Strike Scars Appear Like Tree Patterns?

When someone is struck by lightning, their skin typically changes since the injury may leave marks on their body. An electrical discharge can sometimes leave behind a Lichtenberg figure, also referred to as a scar similar to a tattoo. Fractals are identified in the patterns produced.

People who are struck by lightning frequently sustain third-degree burns and severe wounds. The clothes or hair could catch fire. It might burst the eardrums, impairing hearing and, worse, resulting in convulsions or respiratory collapse. Lightning strikes can be deadly.

Several internet users revealed a glimpse of the scars they got on social media from lightning strikes. Looking closely, you may see that they all have the same pattern -- the scars resemble lines or tree branches. According to others, it looked like a fern leaf.

Dr. Mathew Avram, the head of Massachusetts General Hospital's Dermatology Laser and Cosmetic Center in Boston, claims that static electricity passing through the skin's superficial blood vessels causes the feathering patterns. He said an emergency room doctor would know immediately that a lightning strike caused the marks.

According to Avram, the only indication of one is a slight burn on the skin's surface. If the person perspires a lot or wears a belt buckle, the fern-leaf patterns will be more noticeable when lightning hits.