Paraplegia can be secondary to brain or spinal cord injury from lightning strikes. There may also be neuropsychiatric complications such as depression, anxiety, memory deficits, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Dermatologic Effects Burns are another possible effect of lightning. Most lightning burn victims have first or second degree burns. Third degree or full-thickness burns are much less common but can occur associated with metal objects such as jewelry.
Lighting can also produce a reddish-brown feathery skin lesion which disappears in a few days.
This is an inflammatory response rather than a burn. About one half of all lightning victims will have some type of eye damage, usually corneal injury. The most common serious eye injuries are cataracts which can occur from a few days to several years after the lightning strike. Other eye injuries include retinal bleeding, retinal detachment and optic nerve degeneration. There may also be transient autonomic nerve disturbances which can result in dilated or contracted pupils even without concurrent head injury.