Is flashlight an effective tool for self defense?

Not near as effective as my Sig P365.

and better know how to keep control of whatever you deploy.
nothing worse than getting your weapon taken and used against you.
awareness and preparedness is worth more than weapons.
looking like bigfoot keeps most of the flies away too.
i get called that all the time.
the few that even acted like they wanted trouble from me were intox or mental.
btw trying to blind me with a flashlight will simply add said flashlight to my collection.

you have to be way too close to your subject to deploy that.
a drunk might not be a problem.
drunk or drugged are already at a huge disadvantage.
but someone with experience will ruin your day if you get that close.

not relevant
the parasite, Schistosomiasis, that infects people, are in the water,
that the snails live in
the snails dont bite humans
its the waterborne parasites that burrow into your skin

the only thing the snails have to do with any of it, is that the parasites spend part of their lifecycle in the snail

Schistosomiasis is the second most prevalent tropical disease in the world, after Malaria.

Malaria is caused by another parasite, hosted by another waterborne organism (mosquito larvae). The parasites in the mosquito then enters our skin.

Flashlights dont help prevent Schistosomiasis, nor Malaria either. Neither will a Sig.