Frantic struggle and screams will not alert you to a drowning child. Movies and TV lead us to believe people who are drowning can shout for help. They cannot. In many swimming pool drowning cases, plenty of adults are around.
With Summer Comes Unintentional Deaths from Drowning
According to the Centers for Disease Control, drowning rates have slowly declined, but fatal drowning is still second only to motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years.
Children ages 1 to 4 drown more often than any other age group. Among this age group, drowning represents almost one-third of all unintentional injury deaths.
As summer approaches, more children and adults are around the water. Drowning rates closely follow the seasons and water recreational activities.
Most Pre-Schoolers Drown in Pools
An authoritative article by Brenner, RA et al. (2001), identified pools as the most common place where preschool age children drown. Because a pool should not be a high risk environment, such as a lake or ocean, it is believed that most of these drownings can be prevented. The CDC reports three frightening facts:
- The majority of children who drowned in pools were last seen in the home.
- They had been out of sight less than five minutes.
- They were in the care of one or both parents.
Too often, the danger is not lack of supervision, but inability of parents or caretakers to recognise the signs that should warn them that a child is drowning.
What Happens when the Body Drowns
Francisco A. Pia, PhD is a water safety expert who can explain what happens when a person drowns. He calls it the Instinctive Drowning Response.” When a child or grown-up waves and calls for help, Pia calls it “aquatic distress.” It means the victim knows he or she is in danger of drowning, and is able to call for rescue.
Drowning itself is death by suffocation. When death is imminent, the brain dictates automatic survival responses. The drowning victim ceases to have any control over movement or speech and follows an instinctive response. When drowning occurs, the body shuts down all systems that waste precious oxygen. There are only approximately 60 seconds to save the victim.
Drowning is a Silent Death
The appearance of drowning can be very deceiving. In water rescue situations, people hovering at the surface appear quiet and subdued – even rescuers may presume that they are safe. But that is what drowning actually looks like.
The body lingers at the surface as long as it can and then sinks and drowns. Once drowning begins, it is only sixty seconds before final submersion in the water.
The Instinctive Drowning Response
When we watch children in the water we look for frantic splashing, screaming or waving the arms. A drowning child or adult is incapable of any of these actions. The Instinctive Drowning Response is the following:
- The legs become completely immobile.
- Instinct forces the arms to push downward to propel the body upward.
- If the body reaches the surface, the it only has time and energy to exhale and inhale.
It Takes Skill to Recognise a Drowning Person
Only an expert can recognise a drowning victim from a distance. A frequently published example of this is a story told by Mario Vittone, a maritime safety author:
- A former lifeguard and captain in the Coast Guard spots a child drowning 50 feet away. He dashes to the scene, past two astonished parents and rescues their little daughter, who was drowning only 10 feet behind her father.
Often, the only hope for drowning victims is having a person close enough to notice them. If you search under "drowning," numerous blogs tell stories of children drowning at poolside parties while adults socialize, or a child being saved by another kid, who notices them while adults do not.
Know the Risk of Your Child Drowning
Children at highest risk for drowning are:
- children four and under, particularly in swimming pools
- weak and inexperienced swimmers
- “over confident” swimmers, especially boys
- children over 15 who are in natural waterways, such as lakes, rivers and the ocean
Learn the Signs of Drowning to Protect Your Children
Parents, caretakers and lifeguards should study the subtle symptoms of drowning:
- Body hovering at the surface of the water, just below and/or just above
- Eyes closed or glassy, staring
- Head tilted back with mouth open, may appear as if child is trying to lie back
- Gasping, as in hyperventilating
- Vertical position and not kicking
Watch and Listen
- Watch for children who are still and not moving.
- Listen for silence – not for noise.
- If you are in doubt, approach the child and ask if he or she is okay. If the child does not respond, act quickly.
Recognizing When a Child is Drowning
Drowning is tragic no matter what the circumstances. How much more so it would be if you were present and did not know the signs. Never let your eyes off of your children in water and be aware of the signs of drowning.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice
Sources
- Brenner RA, Trumble AC, Smith GS, Kessler EP, Overpeck MD. Where children drown, United States, 1995. Pediatrics 2001;108(1):85–9.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Home and Recreational Safety, “Unintentional Drowning Fact Sheet,” Updated June 7, 2010.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Home and Recreational Safety, “Unintentional Drowning: CDC Activities,” May 17, 2010.
- Vittone, M, “How to recognize Drowning - it's NOT like shown on TV,SAILWORLD.COM, Mon 25 Oct 2010.
- Vittone, M and Pia FA, “It Doesn’t Look Like They’re Drowning” - On Scene, The Journal of U. S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue, Fall 2006 COMDTPUB P16100.4
Resources:
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- Children's Safety Network
- National Safety Council Coast Guard
- The United States Lifesaving Association
