Near Drowning

[Rick Murchison]

A recent thread concerning a near drowning mentioned that the diver was "all right" after successful resuscitation. If you are ever close to anyone who has had a near drowning incident, please realize that there is a high likelihood of serious problems developing after an initial apparent recovery. As the body reacts to the presence of foreign matter in the lungs, secondary drowning (Pulmonary oedema and resulting asphyxia, resulting from hypoxia and increased permeability of pulmonary capillaries occurring in a patient who has been immersed in and aspirated some water) can develop. Still later, (assuming the victim survives the secondary drowning) infection and pneumonia can set in.
Bottom line, no matter how good a victim feels after their initial recovery from a near drowning incident, continue to treat them as a medical emergency; get them to a competent facility for adequate surveillance and treatment.
Rick

 

[NEWreckDiver]

All very true. This is why I was glad to hear that the victim went to the hospital.

Nice to see that someone pointed this out.

 

[H2Andy]

yes, it's called secondary drowning, and is why anyone involved in a drowning
incident, even if they look fine, should be examined by qualified medical personnel.

but Rick said that

 

[Lead_carrier]

I heard that she was treated in the chamber for possible DCS, but was doing fine. This is only second hand information.

 

[Genesis]

Rick is absolutely right.

Aspiration of even very small amounts of water can kill several days later.

One of the problems is that the water will cause electrolyte shifts in the tissue (fresh draws in electrolytes from the tissue, salt the opposite) which is extremely damaging, and doesn't show up immediately as it goes on until the fluid is absorbed by the body - and that takes a while. The other "biggie" is that the water will destroy the surfactant in your lungs, which is what keeps the air sacs open - they can then "stick together", and be unable to fill with air. The result is that you can't get any gas exchange to happen and die!

There is also, as noted, the risk of secondary infection from whatever was in what you aspirated.

Near-drowning incidents are serious stuff and require close monitoring for a couple of days, and sometimes even longer, post-incident. They're not an "I'm ok now and want to go home" kind of thing.