I came across this Slate article on drowning yesterday and decided it was fairly important to pass along. It starts:
The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine; what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not 10 feet away, their 9-year-old daughter was drowning.
These weren’t bad parents; they just didn’t know what a drowning child looks like in the water. It’s very different from the TV version, with a person yelling and waving their arms. Most drownings are silent, and they can happen right in front of other people. In fact, the Instinctive Drowning Response prevents any vocalizations, or waving of arms to signal for help.
A child can go from swimming to drowning in less than a minute.
To give you an idea of what a drowning child actually looks like, please watch the video below. It’s painful but it’s necessary:
From the linked Slate article:
There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the No. 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents)—of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult.
What do you look for?
- Head low in the water, mouth at water level
- Head tilted back with mouth open
- Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
- Eyes closed
- Hair over forehead or eyes
- Not using legs—vertical
- Hyperventilating or gasping
- Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
- Trying to roll over on the back
- Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder
To that I would add: Arms flailing at the sides, and head under the surface of the water for more than a few seconds.
For adults where kids are swimming, I’d also add: Be aware of your surroundings. Don’t depend on a lifeguard. If you’re close to kids in the water, look at them and check to see how they’re doing. The most horrifying aspect of the video I included above was how many adults were around the drowning child, oblivious to the trouble he was in. You are the lifeguard for kids close to you in the water.
If a child in the water is quiet, focus on them and find out why. They may be in serious trouble.
The purpose of this diary wasn’t to encourage swim lessons, or provide information about how to prevent drowning, or how to rescue someone who is drowning. It was simply to make you aware of what drowning really looks like so that you can act when it starts rather than when it’s too late.
Oh, and the 5 year old in the video? As the video text indicates, he thankfully lived.
Stay safe out there.