A new case study threw light on how a pair of twin boys, who were camping near an alternating current transformer housing, literally got the shock of their lives. A lightning bolt hit the transformer near their tent, leaving them with injuries that looked like they had escaped a bomb blast.
The eight-year-old boys weren't directly hit by the lightning, but were struck by a sharpnel that went flying when the bolt hit the transformer.
"One of the boys had a missile trajectory through the lung - very much like injuries caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) - which we could have missed because on the outside he had only a tiny puncture wound to the chest. His brother was also injured," said Lt. Col. O.J.F. van Waes, of the department of trauma surgery at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherland and lead author of the study.
One of the boys suffered a ruptured lung due to a copper wire buried in his chest. The other boy had less severe injuries. Physical exams showed that he had second degree burns and had copper wires jutting from his shoulder blades. Both the boys were successfully treated and were sent home.
Dr. Van Waes said his experience in treating IED-related injuries helped him tackle the case of twin boys hit by a lightning.
Common types of injuries affecting people who escape lightning strikes are burns.
"Remember: If there is lightning anywhere near you, go indoors," Dr. Waes said in a news release.
The case study is published in the journals Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Lightning is a major cause of storm related deaths in the U.S. Often, people struck by lightning suffer cardiac arrest.