First aid for a lightning strike victim

01

Is it safe to touch someone who was struck?[1][2]

Yes, completely. The human body does not store electricity. The National Weather Service is explicit that it is perfectly safe to touch a lightning victim to give first aid, and hesitating over this myth costs lives during the minutes that matter most.

The charge passes through and is gone in microseconds. There is nothing left in the body afterward, no residual current and no risk to a rescuer from contact.

This myth is uniquely harmful because of when it operates. It creates hesitation in the first two minutes after a strike, which is exactly the window in which CPR determines whether someone survives.

02

What is the immediate priority?[2][3]

Check responsiveness and breathing, call emergency services, and begin CPR at once if the person is not breathing normally. Lightning kills primarily by stopping the heart and the respiratory drive, and both can restart with prompt resuscitation.

Lightning cases invert the usual triage rule. In most mass casualty situations you treat the living first and leave the apparently dead. With lightning you do the opposite, because the ones who look dead are the ones in cardiac arrest and they are the only ones who might be saved by immediate action.

Respiratory arrest often outlasts the cardiac arrest. The heart can restart on its own while breathing does not, so a victim can have a pulse and still need rescue breaths to avoid a second arrest from oxygen starvation.

03

What injuries should you expect?[2]

Cardiac and respiratory arrest are the immediate threats. Beyond that, expect neurological effects, ruptured eardrums from the pressure wave, burns at entry and exit points, and injuries from being thrown by the muscular contraction.

Everyone struck needs hospital assessment even if they seem fine. Cardiac arrhythmias can develop hours later, and neurological symptoms often emerge over the following days rather than immediately.

Cardiac arrest

The main cause of death. Start CPR immediately

Respiratory arrest

Can persist after the heart restarts. Rescue breaths matter

Neurological injury

Confusion, memory loss, temporary paralysis of the legs is common

Ruptured eardrums

From the shock wave. Very common and easily missed

Burns

Usually superficial, at entry and exit points and under metal jewellery

Blunt trauma

From falls or being thrown. Treat as a trauma patient too

04

How survivable is a lightning strike?[4][2]

The large majority of people struck by lightning survive. Around 20 people a year die in the United States while hundreds more are injured, so death is the minority outcome, though long-term effects are common among survivors.

Survival should not be read as recovery. Persistent problems including chronic pain, memory difficulty, sleep disruption and personality changes are widely reported by survivors and can last for years.

Are you safe from the storm while giving first aid? Not automatically. Move the victim to a safer location if lightning is still active, because the conditions that produced one strike are still present and rescuers have been struck.