LONDON (Reuters) - People should not use mobile phones outdoors during thunderstorms （暴风雨）because of the risk of being struck by lightning（闪电）, doctors said Friday.

They reported the case of a 15-year-old girl who was using her phone in a park when she was hit during a storm. Although she was revived（苏醒）, she suffered persistent（永久的）health problems and was using a wheelchair a year after the accident.

"This rare phenomenon is a public health issue, and education is necessary to highlight the risk of using mobile phones outdoors during stormy weather to prevent future fatal consequences from lighting strike injuries," said Swinda Esprit, a doctor at Northwick Park Hospital in England.

Esprit and other doctors at the hospital added in a letter to the British Medical Journal that usually when someone is struck by lightning, the high resistance（电阻）of the skin conducts（引导）the flash over the body in what is known as a flashover（闪燃）.

But if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with the skin it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds（可能性） of internal injuries and death.

The doctors added that three fatal cases of lightning striking people while using mobile phones have been reported in newspapers in China, South Korea and Malaysia.

"The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that metallic（金属的）objects, including cordless（无线的） or mobile phones, should not be used (or carried) outdoors during a thunderstorm," Esprit added.

(News Source: Reuters)

Note:

据研究报告，随身携带金属物品可能会增加雷雨天气受雷击致伤的危险。医生建议，雷雨天气时请尽量不要在室外使用或者携带移动电话。

Flashover: 闪燃俗称燃爆，是因温度升高而引起的一种现象，即当可燃性物质得到足够的热量所产生的燃烧。