Photo from a case report in the New England Journal of Medicine. Brief clinical details at Ars Technica indicate that the 56-year-old man was inebriated and walked barefoot for one minute on alphalt during the 2021 "heat dome" in Seattle, where air temps reached triple digits.
"Asphalt can absorb 95 percent of solar radiation and easily reach 40° F to 60° F above air temperatures on hot days... The burns were classified as second-degree, meaning they affected both the outer and middle layers of skin."
At several websites where this photo has been reposted, knee-jerk comments assert that the man must have been diabetic, but the clinical report indicates that he was in severe pain upon arrival in the ER, so this is not simply a case of insensitive peripheral neuropathy.
The New York Times reported last summer on the increasing prevalence of contact burns during heat waves, including through clothing and shoes. I hope I don't need to remind people that dogs can incur burn injury on the pads of their feet.
No idea what 40 or 60 f is, as we in our country, and most other countries of the world, use the big C.
ReplyDeleteI am guessing it was hot !
Interesting to note that while we humans are bipedal, it does seem from the above picture that we are somewhat quadrupedal, in that each foot has two contact points, the arch providing bridging service between them.
Perhaps over time, Darwin time, we will stretch the arch to a point where we can do what Michael Jackson does in the video 'Smooth Criminal'.
And cattle grids will no longer terrify me.
Just a guess: Lots of homelessness in Seattle and losing shoes is common in this population. Next we have a searing, global weirding weather event. So poverty (resource distribution failure) meets climate change. Our two biggest problems worldwide, intersecting in one example. (I can hear the objections: But didn't this man choose this lifestyle, along with choosing to drink? Isn't this a matter of personal responsibility?)
ReplyDelete