Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning

[WeRtheOcean]

my Mom saw the whole thing and busted me again for riding the rip currents.

you well knew how to handle the rip, and that saved two lives.

And parents wonder why kids grow up to be ungrateful...

 

[Scott G. Bonser]

Drowning is not what you expect. One of my 3 friends were swimming at a new neighbors pool with a bottom grate which was flush with the bottom. It was taking ‘in’ water. We all do maneuvers in the pool and free-dive snorkel/for practice. In a ‘quick second’ we noticed Tim was still and on his back and stuck to the bottom drain. As we were swimming down he mustered the strength to roll enough to break the suction. THAT was scary and made us all think. The next day Tim and I got the owner a domed grate and replaced the flush grate in the pools bottom. The pool owner had 2 sons at the time. One was 5, the other 7. Whatta tragedy that would have been if either of them got sucked to the bottom drain. Two years later all 3 of us tried SCUBA for the first time in another pool. I was ‘hooked’….I stay in touch with all of these guys. Brian lives in Basye, Virginia. Tim Lives in Nampa, Idaho…..

 

[pauldw]

Drowning is not what you expect. One of my 3 friends were swimming at a new neighbors pool with a bottom grate which was flush with the bottom. It was taking ‘in’ water. We all do maneuvers in the pool and free-dive snorkel/for practice. In a ‘quick second’ we noticed Tim was still and on his back and stuck to the bottom drain. As we were swimming down he mustered the strength to roll enough to break the suction. THAT was scary and made us all think. The next day Tim and I got the owner a domed grate and replaced the flush grate in the pools bottom. The pool owner had 2 sons at the time. One was 5, the other 7. Whatta tragedy that would have been if either of them got sucked to the bottom drain. Two years later all 3 of us tried SCUBA for the first time in another pool. I was ‘hooked’….I stay in touch with all of these guys. Brian lives in Basye, Virginia. Tim Lives in Nampa, Idaho…..

At least he wasn't disembowled. Which happens with some suction entrapments.

 

[Scott G. Bonser]

At least he wasn't disembowled. Which happens with some suction entrapments.

I have heard of that happening. Not a great first aid situation and a nightmare for 1st responders and ER surgeons.. Luckily Tim’s adhesion spot was in the center of his back below his shoulder blades….prompting the suction action. He had quite a contusion afterwards and sore arms from wrenching himself loose as we were diving down to free him. …bad part is, we almost ‘lost’ a friend in the matter of less than half of a minute.

 

[billgraham]

The "Drowning doesn't look like drowning" article is excellent and I post it on social media every spring. Someone made a comment about noticing panic in the eyes of a drowning person and that is true. Every swimmer who I rescued while surfing, I first noticed they were in trouble because their eyes were bugging out.

 

[pauldw]

I have heard of that happening. Not a great first aid situation and a nightmare for 1st responders and ER surgeons.. Luckily Tim’s adhesion spot was in the center of his back below his shoulder blades….prompting the suction action. He had quite a contusion afterwards and sore arms from wrenching himself loose as we were diving down to free him. …bad part is, we almost ‘lost’ a friend in the matter of less than half of a minute.

Good thing it wasn't on his neck. It would be hard to explain away a hickey like that!

 

[Wants2divemore]

Kudos to @D_B for continuing to raise awareness about drowning. Along those lines, I'd like to add a little more information. According to the American Heart Association, World Health Association, and ILCOR (the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation - they make worldwide guidelines about CPR and advanced resuscitation), the medical definition of drowning is "the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion / immersion in a liquid. If someone has difficulty breathing as a result of being underwater, then they have drowned."

This means that there are three outcomes possible:

1. Death
2. Recovery with neurological deficit
3. Recovery without neurological deficit

In other words, not all drowning is fatal. Terms like near drowning are inaccurate.

You may have also heard about "dry drowning" or "secondary drowning." I regularly post the following article (written by 3 emergency physicians) to dispel some myths about drowning.

TLDR = dry drowning isn't a thing.

Drowning in a Sea of Misinformation: Dry Drowning and Secondary Drowning : Emergency Medicine News

An abstract is unavailable.

journals.lww.com

 

[Scott G. Bonser]

Good thing it wasn't on his neck. It would be hard to explain away a hickey like that!

Good thing it wasn't on his neck. It would be hard to explain away a hickey like that!