Drowning is not a one-size-fits-all type of incident. Add these tips and informative bits to your water safety toolkit this summer.
Picture this: it's a hot summer day and your child is frolicking in a swimming pool while you lay on a lounge chair with a refreshing beverage and a good book. You have been keeping a pretty steady eye on them, looking up from your book every minute or so to make sure they're still safe and above water. You eventually see them climb the ladder to get out of the pool so you shift your full attention back to reading, that is until they begin to cough, hard.
Parents, did you know that your child can still drown even when they're no longer in water?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for 1-14 year olds in the United States. As such, it is extremely important that you keep an eye on your child while they engage in water-related activities. Equally important is that you keep an eye on them afterward if they begin to show signs and symptoms of what is commonly referred to as 'dry drowning'.
If you search up 'dry drowning' on the web, you'll likely get results telling you it's what happens when liquid is inhaled through the nose or mouth and causes spasms in the airway, which can prevent air from being able to reach the lungs.
This effect from water on your vocal cords is absolutely a real concern, but here's the kicker: dry drowning is not a real medical term.
Nkeiruka Orajiaka, emergency medicine fellow physician at Children's Health and UT Southwestern medical centre, says that there is no ICD code for dry drowning, it is actually just an effect from drowning itself. "When you have that episode where you go underwater, there are two different things that may happen," she says, "water goes down to the lungs, or you can have these spasms where it goes to the vocal cords - what we call a 'laryngospasm'."
Your child may be experiencing a laryngospasm if they begin to exhibit any of the following signs and symptoms up to 24 hours after being in the water.
If your child is symptomatic with anything listed above, it is strongly advised to seek medical attention as quickly as possible. Depending on the severity of their symptoms, they will likely need to run a series of tests at a hospital, including: X-rays, blood tests, and imaging tests such as an MRI or CT scan.
iStockAccording to Dr. Orajiaka, non-medial terms such as dry drowning and secondary drowning - water that has gotten into and irritated the lungs which causes fluid to build up (pulmonary edema) - are both classified as non-fatal drowning so long as the individual survives.
Treatment for non-fatal drowning depends on the severity of the patient's condition, but it often requires administering oxygen via non-rebreather masks, a nasal cannula or endotracheal tube. In more serious cases, victims may require a form of resuscitation.
It is important to be aware of the factors that can make someone more prone to drowning. These factors include:
Children are more susceptible to drowning as a result of being inexperienced/less experienced swimmers with limited to no water safety knowledge.
Respiratory conditions such as asthma may put your child at a higher risk of drowning.
According to the Lifesaving Society, the most recent Canadian statistics reveal that 92% of fatal drowning victims under the age of five had either distracted or absent supervision.
Immediately seeking medical help can make a drowning incident non-fatal, but that doesn't mean the victim gets away unscathed. Drowning (or nearly drowning) is a very traumatic event for your body, and there are a variety of long term effects that can occur as a result. These effects include:
When someone is drowning, oxygen flow to the brain may be compromised. This unfortunately makes brain damage a relatively common consequence of near-drowning incidents, in some cases even leading to dangerous conditions such as brain hypoxia.
As drowning has a direct and often detrimental impact on the lungs, surviving victims may face respiratory complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Non-fatal drowning victims can be neurologically impacted by the incident. This can include impaired motor skills and memory and executive deficits.
Non-fatal drowning incidents can be as traumatic to the mind as they are to the body. The psychological trauma that surviving victims may undergo include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.
Dr. Orajiaka says the most important thing about drowning is that it can be prevented. She highlights the precautions that parents can take for their children when it comes to engaging in water activities, such as constant, undivided supervision and being within an arm's length of your child at all times.
iStockJeremy Sunderland, senior manager of franchise operations at Big Blue Swim School, says that keeping an eye on your children in the water is the most effective line of defense as drowning is a silent event. "It's not like the Hollywood movies," he says, "if you're gasping for air or if you're underwater, there is no sound."
Sunderland also lists out other strategies for general water safety and to prevent drowning of all sorts:
"These are the normal water safety tips," says Sunderland, "because they get you 90% of the way there."
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Grace is a master of journalism student at Toronto Metropolitan University. She specializes in writing on information and communication technologies but is passionate about exploring topics related to nutrition, holistic health and global social issues. Born and raised in the GTA, Grace loves spending time outdoors, in the gym, reading or with friends.