People should be warned against using mobile phones outdoors in stormy weather because they may"be struck by lightning",according to doctors. Three experts have described how a teenage girl was struck by lightning while using her phone in a large London park.The girl,aged 15,recovered,but a year later was still wheelchair-bound and found to be suffering complex physical and emotional problems. The girl also had a perforate eardrum on the side where she had been holding the mobile phone.She was having general recovery in Northwick Park Hospital,Middlesex. Swinda Esprit,a senior house officer, said that while the brain and muscle damage was similar to that of many lightning victims--who can experience heart attacks on being struck--the ear problems were not. She said that the damages were particularly relevant for people who might be involved in less serious lightning incidents,who might otherwise recover, but would never get their full hearing back if struck while on the phone. "We were shocked by the damage,which is why we wanted to draw attention to it,"Dr Esprit said."A year on and she still was suffering these difficult hearing." They added that three other cases had been reported in newspapers in China,South Korea,and Malaysia.In the Malaysian case,a sales executive was killed by lightning while talking on his phone during a thunderstorm near Kuala Lumpur. "All these events resulted in death,"the doctors wrote."This rare phenomenon is a public health issue,and education is necessary to stress the risk." The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that metallic objects,including cordless or mobile phones,should not be carried outdoors during thunderstorms.However, "the United States National Weather Service says on its website that both are safe to use "because there is no direct path between you and the lightening". Paul Taylor, of "the Met Office'',said the ear injuries were a consequence of mobile phones being metal,and not related to radio waves. Mr. Taylor said that mobile phones should be treated as another piece of metal,similar to carrying coins or wearing rings,and people need to be warned against the possible danger. Why did doctors stress the risk about using phones outside in lightening?
Because more people are faced with it. Because some deaths have been caused. Because lightning is harmful for the brain. Because a teenage girl got killed.