Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Sean-Nos

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning
by MARIO on MAY 18, 2010
BOATING SAFETY,COAST GUARD,GCAPTAIN

drowning.jpg


Art?culo en Espa?ol

The new captain jumped from the cockpit, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the owners who were 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 ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, "Daddy!"

How did this captain know, from fifty feet away, what the father couldn't recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that's all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew knows what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, "Daddy," she hadn't made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn't surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life.

The Instinctive Drowning Response ? so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. 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 number two cause of accidental death in children, age 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. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening (source: CDC). Drowning does not look like drowning ? Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard's On Scene Magazine, described the instinctive drowning response like this:

Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech occurs.
Drowning people's mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people's mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water's surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water, permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people's bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.
(Source: On Scene Magazine: Fall 2006)

This doesn't mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn't in real trouble ? they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the instinctive drowning response, aquatic distress doesn't last long ? but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.

Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are n the water:

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
Ladder climb, rarely out of the water.
So if a crew member falls overboard and every looks O.K. ? don't be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don't look like they're drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them: "Are you alright?" If they can answer at all ? they probably are. If they return a blank stare ? you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents: children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.

___________

disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of the Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Coast Guard.

Read the article at gCaptain.com.
 

HANGEYE

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

This has got to be one of the most important posts I have ever read. The information is priceless.

Thank You
 

LadyFish

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Fantastic article and important message to all of us.

Thank you so much for posting.
 

Bill Kilgore

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Thank you for the important information.
 

angus63

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Outstanding! The rewards of being well versed and trained in water rescue are priceless!
 

roscoe

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

This happened to an 18 year old at our local swimming hole last year. 3 people were within 25 feet, watching him drown. Another dozen on a boat and the beach say they watched him drown and had no idea.

Great post, worth printing out and posting in the lunch room or on the work safety board.
 

FBPirate95

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

I think another thing to add to this is the dangers you might face when rescuing a potential drowning victim. I've pulled a couple of people out before, some where still in a panic mode, and one in particular (a child) had reached the point this article talks about.

If the person is in a panic mode, they just might put you in danger of drowning simply because they are fighting for their lives. Just keep that in mind when you are approaching someone who is in danger.
 

skargo

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Thanks for posting this!
 

rbh

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Keeping them eye's open wider from now on,
thanks for the great post.
 

df909

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

What a great post. If you were to help someone that you think is drowning, ask them if they're ok. If they can answer that's a really good sign since it means that they have enough air to answer and that they're alert enough to hear you, understand that you asked a question, and formulate an answer. Even if the answer is "no I'm not ok help me," it good that they can answer. The scary ones are people that just stare at you without saying anything.

If they can't swim then you should throw a cushion or some sore of flotation device with a rope attached so you can pull them in from the comfort and safety of your boat. If you do have to go after someone, you should first tell them to swim to you...and keep telling them. If you're in the water you need to swim away from them as they swim towards you- this is called self rescue and is one of the safest types of rescue. People think it's crazy that we would be 6 feet from someone and keep telling the "swim towards me" and we actually swim away from them; but, before you and the victim know it you're both on shore or at the boat.

If you actually need to swim up to someone, approach from their backside and grab them so the can't turn around. If they do turn around to face you, splash them in the face so you can have time to get behind them. Last, if someone grabs you and is pushing you under water like you're the flotation device, you can either splash them, pop them in the nose gently, or take a breath and dunk both of you under water. If you dunk someone that's not expecting it, chances are that they will let go of you to try to get back to the surface.

Sorry if this is a long post, but all of you know how important safety stuff is. I keep a square cusion with a 75' rope attached to it and I make sure to tell everyone on the boat where it is. I also keep a throw bag with 125' of rope that I can throw towards people. The bag has some weight and floats so it's great to use in the water. You might want to practice throwing them so you have an idea how to use them in an emergency.
 

new_boater

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

This NEEDS to be made a permanent sticky
 

ezbtr

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

EXCELLENT article!!!!
 
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HappierWet

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Second the vote to make this a sticky.
 

royal0014

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

HEY, Mods!! Count another vote for the sticky!

I've been in the local Rescue Squad over 17 years, and have attended more drownings than I care to remember. It amazes me just how oblivious people can be to their surroundings. The number of times I have heard "we thought he/she was okay"........
 

SS MAYFLOAT

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

This article is proof that when you think you know it all,,,,,,,,,,,you don't. Excellent post...........SS
 

aspeck

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Definitely an excellent post and worthy of front and center status for all to read. It does happen - sometimes from neglect and sometimes because the signs are very subtle. Be on the lookout.

Just had a near drowning of a 3 year old girl, within arms reach of her daddy's piece of crap girl friend (Daddy was at home). I arrived on scene after someone else rescued the girl, but all daddy's girl friend was worried about was everyone looking at her like it was her fault, and did we have to call the father for medical treatment and transport, because once he found out he would probably be upset. :eek: You think???:mad:
 

kenmyfam

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Great Post !!!!
Everyone needs to read this.
 

ilmostro99

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Not only make it a sticky, but I am (and suggest everyone else on here does as well) going to send this to just about everybody I know.
Thanks for posting this.
Erik
 

kend301

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

Great post, Nothing other that I can say that is not covered there I agree that this should be a sticky somewhere in here , It could save a life !
 

jay_merrill

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Re: Drowning doesn't look like Drowning

I nominate this one for the "sticky hall of fame" too.

Here's something else that folks should learn - its called "drownproofing." Its a very simple technique and it works! It is taught to every recruit in the USCG, while still in boot camp. I truly wish that every parent knew about it and could either teach it to their children, or get someone else to teach it to them.

http://www.drownproofing.com/



???
 
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