Its effects on the body can range in type and severity. Another old wives tale worth adhering to: When thunder roars, go indoors!. Most lightning strike victims are people who regularly participate in outdoor recreation activities or work outside. It doesnt necessarily need to strike your house directly for it to be problematic, explained Dr. Mary Ann Cooper, director of the Lightning Injury Research Program. What Are the Risks of Showering During a Thunderstorm? Regional and seasonal differences and time of day and year affect the risk of lightning injury (see Lightning Strike Victim Data). In fact, showering . Once you pass what she calls the survival test (as in, you survived) be sure to monitor your symptoms. A thunderstorm is the perfect excuse to stay inside all day, but it doesn't mean you have to cancel your plans. Its one of those old wives tales that most people have heard a zillion times throughout their lives. These are the fruits that are safe (and not safe) for your dog to eat, These Clever Food Hacks Get Kids To Eat Healthy, The 5 Ways You Know Youre Too Old For Roommates, Colorado man was struck inside his garage. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available. So while it's uncommon to be injured while showering during a thunderstorm, it is possible. [The lightning] could've hit the water pipe and then come through and hit him," he said. There was a hole through my shoe, and a burn mark on the bottom of my foot, Mobley recalled. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that about 10 percent of people struck by lightning die. We normally close the outdoor poor for safety reasons regarding lightning striking someone directly, or striking the water. No, the argument is that there's almost no danger of your house being struck by lightning when there's no thunderstorm. If lightning were to strike your house, or even close by, the electrical current could travel through your home using the wiring or pipes. The short answer is yesyou should never, underanycircumstances, shower during a thunderstorm. Is it safe to be under a tree during a lightning storm? Cell phones and cordless phones are safe to use during a thunderstorm if they are not connected to an outlet through a charger. Lots of people have heard that it is dangerous to shower during a thunderstorm and will avoid it. When one of those sparks connects with the downward developing channel, a huge electric current surges rapidly down the channel and you get a ground surge. RVs should be avoided as shelter as . Why Shouldnt You Shower During a Thunderstorm? However, one of the many things you don't know about thunderstorms is that the small chance of being struck by lightning does not make it safe to shower during a thunderstorm. Can I use water in my home during a thunderstorm? How to Use Leftover Tea Bags in Your Home and More, Whats the Difference Between Glass and Metal BakewareBesides the Obvious, Time-Saving Laundry Hacks According to Laundry Experts, 2023 LifeSavvy Media. But are we completely safe once were inside? Remember, if you can hear thunder, you might be in danger of a lightning strike. Lindsay is a lifestyle and beauty writer currently living in Arizona. Doing the dishes or even using faucets proves dangerous, too. Thunder and lightning come together during a thunderstorm. It can be dangerous to take a shower or a bath during a thunderstorm. How many people are injured from lightning strikes each year in the United States? The organization also says that lightning can travel through plumbing. The risk of lightning travelling through plumbing might be less with plastic pipes than with metal pipes. In 2017, a New York man was struck by lightning while sitting inside his auto repair shop. No. Dr. Kman said, "I've been an ER physician for 13 years, and I have not seen someone struck by lightning in their house." These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties. The thunderstorm wants to balance its charges, and it does this by discharging between positive and negative regions. Physics Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University. Do NOT lie on the ground or shelter under a tree. Stay out of the shower and away from other plumbing. Metal in our homes, including plumbing, can act as a conduit for electrical current. Thats because getting struck by lightning is rare and dying from it is even rarer. Thunder and lightning come together during a thunderstorm. Thunder, on the other hand, is the product of that. Water is a conductor of electricity, and it is possible for you to be electrocuted while in the shower if lightning should strike nearby. During a thunderstorm, you should avoid using water in general. Luckily, there were no long-term effects of the strike, but she does claim that for a few months after the fact, her vision had somehow improved. The shower provides both of those things (water and metal), making it an ideal path for the electricity to take. We asked Australia's favourite scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory. Any plumbing in your house is vulnerable to a lightning strike. And not just theoretically dangerous; we're talking 10 to 20 people in the U.S. a year suffer injuries while messing around with household water during a storm [source: O'Connor ]. The rule: If you hear thunder in the distance, don't try to rush to get a quick shower in. Do NOT bathe, shower, wash dishes, or have any other contact with water during a thunderstorm because lightning can travel through a building's plumbing. Stay away from electrical equipment or cords, including corded phones. Avoid plumbing; do NOT wash your hands, take a shower, or wash dishes. 24 June 2019. While it may feel like you're safe as long as you're indoors during summer storm, that's not always the case. The risk of lightning travelling through plumbing might be less with plastic pipes than with metal pipes. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. While your chance of getting struck by lightning is low, its important to know how to stay safe during a thunderstorm. Other lightning injuries include blunt trauma, neurological syndromes that are usually temporary, muscle injuries, eye injuries (lightning-induced cataract), skin lesions, and burns. Queensland Ambulance said the boy was conscious and breathing after the incident, but he was taken to the Prince Charles Hospital with leg pain. Construction and farming are the two most common occupations for victims of lightning strikes. For more information, visit the Lightning First Aid Recommendationswebpage. But it's not just the metal that's an issue: Water can carry electrical currents from lightning, too, said lightning expert Mary Ann Cooper, MD, professor emerita of the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. If you absolutely have to clean yourself, it's best to wipe down with a bathing or makeup wipe, or use a splash of water from a water bottle. Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (such as barbed wire fences, power lines, or windmills). A couple years before that, a Colorado man was struck inside his garage while taking video of a passing thunderstorm. (Aug. 1, 2018) http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/can-lightning-strike-you-in-the-shower/, MythBusters. Here's What Experts Say, What To Do if You Hit Your Head, and When To Seek Treatment. Read our. Snow fleas arent actually fleas. As adults, we feel more invincible to thunderstorms, ignoring commonplace safety rules that we used to live by. Getting injured from showering during a thunderstorm is not something that happens a lot, but it can. If you hear thunder outside, those dirty dishes can wait. This is better-safe-than-sorry advice: While this could happen, the chances of it happening are very slim. However, one of the many things you don't know about thunderstorms is that the small chance of being struck by lightning does not make it safe to shower during a thunderstorm. Here are some outdoor safety tips that can help you avoid being struck. No matter what you need to do, it can wait until the thunderstorm has passed. If you are caught outside with no safe shelter nearby, the following actions might reduce your risk of being struck by lightning: Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges, or peaks. If there if you feel that you are processing thoughts differently or more slowly than usual, cognitive therapy may help. So when there is thunder, there is lightning, and when you hear it, it's time to go inside. We know the saying, when a thunderstorm roars, go indoors! but when you get inside, there are still some thunderstorm rules to follow, and that includes not showering. Read on to learn why its unsafe, along with other activities you should avoid. Regardless of whether your home has a lightning rod, Wally conveys that the National Weather Services advises staying away from plumbing, including sinks, baths, showers, and faucets in fear that if a lightning bolt struck the homes water pipes, this would electrify the water and any metal objects associated with the plumbing.. Speaking to ABC Radio Brisbane, Dr Karl said if your water pipes are earthed properly, you've got nothing to worry about. Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data. We select and review products independently. You should stay out of the shower (or bath) and leave the dishes for later. Its also recommended to stay away from (and dont touch) anything connected to an electrical outlet. While Cooper acknowledges that most indoor lightning strikes aren't fatal, its important to be aware of bodily changes afterward. It could turn that nice relaxing shower into something much less relaxing. But how likely is it for lightning to find you inside a building? The best defense is to avoid lightning. The rising water drops collide with the falling ice drops, passing them a negative charge and leaving themselves with a positive charge. The CDC mentions that it's unsafe to shower during a thunderstorm. Thunder, on the other hand, is the product of that. Most of the time, that means a TV or some other plugged-in appliances get fried as the current makes its way to the ground. Aspen Green is an award-winning CBD and hemp producer based in Colorado. No, but it is possible," said Cooper. Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: Martin Barraud/Getty Images/sytilin/ThinkStock. This includes devices like: According to the CDC, its safe to use cell phones during a thunderstorm. If youre reading this and thinking, OK, it may be possible, but it probably never happens, think again. The reasons are grounded in the pipes. We don't know the exact circumstances of the incident yet, but Dr Karl said there could be a couple of explanations. Her muscles spasmed, her whole body went tight and she felt like she couldnt breathe. Her writing has appeared in Thought Catalog, The List, Drink Me Magazine, the Auburn Examiner, and Litro Magazine in the United Kingdom. Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. Is it safe to take a shower during a thunderstorm? Electricity from lightning can move through water pipes in the entire building, not just the bathroom. (Cooper notes that she does not know of any mechanism that would have caused this.). Males are four times more likely than females to be struck by lightning. Turns out, there's a real risk to your health there. A thunderstorm is a temporary weather event that causes thunder and lightning. Your chances of getting electrocuted by lightning are low. Things such as metal wires or water in your pipes provide a convenient conductive path for the electricity to follow to the ground. What Causes Numbness in the Left Side of the Face? However, if you DO have a thunderstorm, you should avoid the shower, because if your house IS struck by lightning during the storm, you could fry. March 22, 2018. For instance, most lightning strikes occur in the summer months, especially July, during the afternoon and evening. While you now know not to shower during a thunderstorm, its important to understand when that storm is actually a threat. As for showering during a thunderstorm, its advised that you dont. Every single one of those lightning deaths happened outside, which is where youre much more likely to get struck. Basically, she said, all you can really do is wait it out and take non-steroidals (like Aspirin) to help with any pain. Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Do not use corded phones. South-east Queensland was absolutely smashed by severe thunderstorms on Sunday night. Get Better Brewed Coffee With This Simple Hack, Why You Should Ditch Your Wire Grill Brush, Grelife 24in Oscillating Space Heater Review: Comfort and Functionality Combined, 10 Viral Products with Impressive Amazon Dupes, Yes, Brussels Sprouts Taste Better NowHeres Why. Lightning can travel through plumbing. Health.com uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. Here are some tips to keep safe and reduce your risk of being struck by lightning while indoors. As a rule of thumb, if you can hear thunder in the distance, then youre close enough to the storm to have lightning reach you, even if there is no rain. This includes showering during a thunderstorm. According to John Jensenius, a lightning safety specialist for the National Weather Service (NWS), in order to stay safe in your home during a storm, you need to stay away from anything that conducts electricity, which includes both wires and the plumbing, Accuweather reports. As of Aug. 1, 2018, 15 people had been killed and 58 people had been injured by lightning according to The National Weather Service and StruckbyLightning.org. However, certain activities can increase your risk. According to Jeffery Peters, the Lightning Expert for NOAAs National Weather Service, If there are thunderstorms in the area and lightning were to hit your home, lightning tends to either follow the wiring in your home or it can follow the plumbing, as it goes toward the ground. The Met Office has issued several yellow thunderstorm warnings for the UK, highlighting the potential for frequent lightning. You shouldn't use your sink, wash your hands, or do the dishes either. Lightning is the natural spark discharge that occurs within the atmosphere and is the thing that can kill or cause harm. Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. The best way to stay safe during a tornado is to be prepared with the following items: Fresh batteries and a battery-operated TV, radio, or internet-enabled device to listen to the latest emergency weather information. Our editor completed a hands-on review of their products and reputation. If you happen to be standing up and your head is close, it'll go for you. This is due to the risk of. Saving Lives, Protecting People. Do not shower, bathe, wash dishes, or wash your hands. (Aug. 1, 2018) https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning, O'Connor, Anahad. Lindsay is a lifestyle and beauty writer currently living in Arizona. The ground use during a thunderstorm to be injured while showering during thunderstorm. 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