Drowning... doesn't look like what you think.

arta · Jul 8, 2010

http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

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 youre 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. Were fine, what is he doing? she asked, a little annoyed. Were 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 couldnt 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: thats 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 hadnt made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasnt 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 Guards On Scene Magazine, described the instinctive drowning response like this:

1. 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.

2. Drowning peoples 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 peoples mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.

3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the waters 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.

4. 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.

5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response peoples 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.

This doesnt mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isnt in real trouble they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the instinctive drowning response, aquatic distress doesnt 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. dont be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they dont look like theyre 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.
Click to expand...

Blah · Jul 8, 2010

Nice article

SJP99 · Jul 8, 2010

wow...i didnt now that..i would have thought people thrashed and screamed..good thing im not a lifegaurd

Blah · Jul 8, 2010

Never mind

arta · Jul 8, 2010

SJP99 said: ↑

wow...i didnt now that..i would have thought people thrashed and screamed..good thing im not a lifegaurd
Click to expand...

Mark that along with other TV/ movie lies.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagicalDefibrillator
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HollywoodHeartAttack
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CPRCleanPrettyReliable

yourofl10 · Jul 8, 2010

[removed]

Kamazar · Jul 8, 2010

I remember reading how TV makes CPR look like it can bring people back from the dead, even though it real life it only has a success rate of about 7%. Thanks for the article, arta.

Eney · Jul 8, 2010

Very informative, thanks!

MidianGTX · Jul 8, 2010

Seems kinda obvious to me, but then I had a few bad experiences back before I learned to swim. I didn't scream, although it did feel as though I was thrashing but that was probably more in a trying-to-swim way than waving for attention.

Coldar · Jul 8, 2010

I also never thought someone could be drowning that wasn't thrashing around.
Good info and post!

Mondae · Jul 8, 2010

TL;DR. Don't post entire articles. That is against the rules.

I'm going to pull the fact out of my butt that this isn't a reliable source.

MidianGTX · Jul 8, 2010

Yeah that came out of your ass alright.

d1 · Jul 8, 2010

Mondae said: ↑

TL;DR. Don't post entire articles. That is against the rules.

I'm going to pull the fact out of my butt that this isn't a reliable source.
Click to expand...

You sir, are a ruh-tard.

Eney · Jul 8, 2010

Coldar said: ↑

I also never thought someone could be drowning that wasn't thrashing around.
Good info and post!
Click to expand...

After reading the article, it seems to me that it's actually almost impossible to thrash around due to natural instinct controlling you.

Mondae · Jul 8, 2010

derek420 said: ↑

You sir, are a ruh-tard.
Click to expand...

Hey, do you know when Hailey's Comet is?

Mondae · Jul 8, 2010

MidianGTX said: ↑

Yeah that came out of your ass alright.
Click to expand...

Ya. I was stopped up with it for a liitle while. Needed a suppository.

Diplomat · Jul 8, 2010

Bloody hell, what way to go.

The Bat Outta Hell · Jul 8, 2010

Great article. Hope you don't get in trouble in case Mondae reported you

Booch138 · Jul 8, 2010

Nice read... when I first read the article I thought "Wtf?" but it is very useful information.

Mondae · Jul 8, 2010

The Bat Outta Hell said: ↑

Great article. Hope you don't get in trouble in case Mondae reported you
Click to expand...

No, I only report people who hate or those solicitation spam. I frankly just wanted to see what would people say if I doubted this source.

What is the source?

Drowning... doesn't look like what you think.

arta Well-Known Member

Blah Well-Known Member

SJP99 Well-Known Member

Blah Well-Known Member

arta Well-Known Member

yourofl10 Well-Known Member

Kamazar Well-Known Member

Eney Well-Known Member

MidianGTX Well-Known Member

Coldar Well-Known Member

Mondae Well-Known Member

MidianGTX Well-Known Member

d1 Well-Known Member

Eney Well-Known Member

Mondae Well-Known Member

Mondae Well-Known Member

Diplomat Member

The Bat Outta Hell Moderator
Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze

Booch138 Well-Known Member

Mondae Well-Known Member

Share This Page

TouchArcade

Support

Useful Searches

Drowning... doesn't look like what you think.

arta Well-Known Member

Blah Well-Known Member

SJP99 Well-Known Member

Blah Well-Known Member

arta Well-Known Member

yourofl10 Well-Known Member

Kamazar Well-Known Member

Eney Well-Known Member

MidianGTX Well-Known Member

Coldar Well-Known Member

Mondae Well-Known Member

MidianGTX Well-Known Member

d1 Well-Known Member

Eney Well-Known Member

Mondae Well-Known Member

Mondae Well-Known Member

Diplomat Member

The Bat Outta Hell Moderator Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze

Booch138 Well-Known Member

Mondae Well-Known Member

Share This Page

The Bat Outta Hell Moderator
Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze