How to Treat Someone Struck by Lightning

One moment you and a friend are out hiking, enjoying the majestic rolling of the storm clouds overhead. In the next moment, your friend is struck by a bolt of lightning. Electricity instantly shoots through her body, and she crumples to the ground. You know that if people are treated immediately, people can survive even a lightning strike. This means that you are her key to survival. Here's what to do.

Instructions

• 1

  Move your friend to a safe place. Don't worry--you won't be electrocuted by touching her. In a storm situation, the more open the space, the better. If you can get her indoors, this is ideal.

• 2

  If you have a cell phone or some other means of communication, call for help right away.

• 3

  If the person isn't breathing but there is a pulse (check for a pulse on the side of the neck--the carotid artery) , immediately begin mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. To do this, clear the airway of any blockages, tilt her head back, pinch her nose with your thumb and forefinger, and blow a deep breath from your mouth into her's--when her chest has expanded, stop blowing, then allow the chest to fall again. Repeat with more quick breaths (taking deep breaths yourself between each administered breath) at a rate of about 12 per minute. Keep going until the victim is breathing on her own.

• 4

  If the person isn't breathing and there's absolutely no pulse, administer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately. To do this, follow the instructions in Step 3 for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, giving your friend 2 good breaths. Then place the heel of one hand on the lower part of her breastbone with the other hand on top and compress 15 times, about 2 times per second. Repeat this--15 compressions on the lower breastbone, 2 mouth-to-mouth breaths--until your friend is breathing, then stop immediately.