Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning

[FuzzyNutz]

Great post and great thread! I was convinced by Hollywood, for sure. Thanks for sharing!!

Also, thanks for that bump Findbenjamin! I would have missed this without it!

And seriously, 5 pages of almost entirely "great post" posts... this NEEDS a sticky!! (or what D_B said: it may be worth having it in a new forum area called ... What You Dont Know ...&#8203

 

[ReefGuy]

With summer here, thought I'd resurrect this post. Hopefully someone who's never read it will...

Be safe this summer.

 

[Pinecube]

Hopefully someone who's never read it will...

Great article, thank you for resurrecting this!

 

[htatton]

I sent this article to everyone I know who might go in the water. I received some additional comments from a grand nephew who spent time as a professional lifeguard. It adds some additional tips and ideas. I have included it with his permission.

"I was a lifeguard at a water park and I estimate I pulled 40-45 people out of the water during my 3 summer stint. The points made in this article are valid and I would make just a couple additions:

A scared expression. Generally the eyes are only glassy when someone has been drowning for a while. The easiest way to tell if someone is in trouble are the eyes. It starts out with a very scared look, no matter how well they appear to be swimming. I've seen adults or children who appear to be swimming well, but have a terrified look. They know they are in trouble, or at least feel like they are, and are soon going to be. I've also seen children who swim so terribly that they look like they are "movie drowning", but they have the biggest smiles on their faces. These kids are fine, but they need to be watched, or else they could run into trouble and that brings us to the next point:

They stop in their forward momentum. A swimmer who is happily swimming no matter how terribly, as long as they are moving forward they are fine for the time being. But if they ever stop moving forward, when they are trying to swim, they are probably too tired to continue. No matter how long you wait for them to resume, they simply lack the strength, and will shortly start to exhibit the signs listed in the article. If we ever saw a kid stop in his momentum, we didn't wait to see the scared expression that shortly follows, we just jumped in and pulled them out. I had more than one kid/parent tell me they were fine, and didn't need help after I had pulled them out in this scenario. I just smiled and left them to fill out the paperwork with the supervisor

The circumstances are different in an unsupervised lake, or pool. It's up to the parents to keep an eye on the kids, and each other, and if they get involved with what they are doing, or stop paying attention, then they could easily miss the easy signs. I used to drive Nicole nuts when we went to a pool, because I spent more time watching people than swimming, but I've lent my arm to more than one kid who got too tired in too deep of water, when I was swimming with the family. You only have about 4 minutes from the time that someone stops breathing before brain damage begins, so the window to help is really small. If the person in distress slips under the water (not everyone floats, I've pulled people from the bottom too) you may not see them until it's too late. " Bryan Brady

 

[dmaziuk]

The easiest way to tell if someone is in trouble are the eyes. It starts out with a very scared look, no matter how well they appear to be swimming.

First time I saw it, it was my brother: we were playing on a shallow but narrow bank with a fair current and he stepped back and the bottom disappeared from under him. I'd say it's a "I'm in over my head and it's all I can think about" look. He wasn't in trouble and probably wouldn't have been but I reached out and pulled him back in before the current pushed him out of reach. It all took maybe two seconds, I don't think our dad even noticed anything happened. Of course once my brother was standing again he realized it was all very silly: he could swim and he knew the bank was narrow and we were standing near the edge so stepping off wasn't unexpected and all that. But at the time he looked disoriented and about to panic.

The second time it was friends' kid on a busy public beach: I was swimming back to shore and saw her threading water just fine with that familiar look in her eyes. Again, she'd be fine if she didn't panic but I didn't wait. I just offered her a tow and she grabbed my neck in a choke hold (good thing she was little or it'd be time for the lifesaving move known as knock 'er out cold first, then tow 'er).

So yeah: it's the look. If you've seen it once, there's no mistaking it.

 

[Nemrod]

Anyone trained as a life guard knows that the mass public's idea of what a drowning looks like is completely wrong. They do not hold up and count fingers or splash and wave and yell for help. They quietly, desperately, attempt to walk out of the water. Which by the way, is what most SCUBA divers I see doing, water walking, bicycling through the water. Which tells me, they are a drowning victim save for the tank strapped to their back. So when I hear that swimming and water comfort is not important to a SCUBA diver all I can do is laugh if it were not so sad. Fortunately, what with modern BCs and reliable equipment, most are never afforded the opportunity to drown, which they would without the equipment. I will just say it, anyone who cannot swim and swim well, has no business SCUBA diving or even being around the water and especially upon it or in it.

N

 

[Rooster59]

1966, I was 6 and Mom signed me up for swim lessons at either NAS Brunswick or Bowdoin. I couldn't swim, couldn't float. I came a bit early, and sat down on the pool deck on the deep end side while a class of much older kids was finishing up. They were sitting on the deck of the shallow end, the teacher had his back to me. After a bit of sitting, I quietly climbed into the deep end and sank. I remember seeing the ladder built into the side wall a couple feet away, made it to the ladder, and climbed out. Went to the wall and sat down and waited for my class There had to be 12 people there, no one saw or heard any of this. Never told Mom or Dad.

 

[Nemrod]

1966, I was 6 and Mom signed me up for swim lessons at either NAS Brunswick or Bowdoin. I couldn't swim, couldn't float. I came a bit early, and sat down on the pool deck on the deep end side while a class of much older kids was finishing up. They were sitting on the deck of the shallow end, the teacher had his back to me. After a bit of sitting, I quietly climbed into the deep end and sank. I remember seeing the ladder built into the side wall a couple feet away, made it to the ladder, and climbed out. Went to the wall and sat down and waited for my class There had to be 12 people there, no one saw or heard any of this. Never told Mom or Dad.

Well, that is scary. I am so glad for you and your mom that you did not drown because that is exactly how it happens. Quietly and nobody sees or takes notice because it just does not look like they expect so it garners no attention. And, it is so sad and unnecessary.

N

 

[Z Gear]

This is a good wake up call to all who have never experienced seeing some one drowning before.

I experienced this first hand on a beach where I surf at a few years back. I was drying off and getting ready to head home after surfing when I noticed two people past the beach break and they seemed to be doing nothing except treading water, it was two teens a boy and girl. The guy then started to wave his hands and yell out something bit but it was nothing that would convince some one that they were in trouble. They had been yelling to there friends earlier on the beach so everyone thought they were playing around. Something told me to take a closer look at them before heading back up to my car and I noticed the girls head start to get real low in the water and the guy was trying to find a way to prop her up. He faintly yelled something but everyone on that beach was completely clueless. I grabbed my board dropped my stuff and paddled to them as fast as I could. As I got closer to them I could see how exhausted they were. They were coughing from inhaling water, and they just looked like they where in total shock. They were shaking and the girl was crying, told them to them to rest on the board for a second to catch their breath and that I needed to get them to the beach to get them warmed up. I had each one grab a leg as I paddled them back to shore. I am really glad I decided to take a closer look and then take action even if no one around thought they where in danger. I didn't know that the signs of drowning could be so subtle or not so obvious. This incident changed the way I view swimmers or those out in the water who are in my view, I tend to be a bit more aware of those in distress.

Thanks for putting up this post it is something we should all be aware of.