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Featured Journal
Do you *really* know what drowning looks like?
12 years ago
Summer's coming, people'll be hitting the beaches soon.
So, would you recognize a drowning person if you saw one?
Most people learn what they think a drowning person looks like from TV and movies.
Turns out it doesn't look like that at all!
Someone splashing, yelling, and struggling is in trouble and needs assistance,
but someone actually drowning can go under without a sound!
From http://gcaptain.com/drowning/ The Instinctive Drowning Response:
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.
Drowning people’s 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 people’s mouths are above the surface,
they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms
laterally and press down on the water’s 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.
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.
From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s 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.
Of the approximately 750 children who will drown this 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)
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. – don’t be too sure. Sometimes the
most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re
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.
More at this site: http://gcaptain.com/drowning/ where the bulk of this journal comes from.
So, would you recognize a drowning person if you saw one?
Most people learn what they think a drowning person looks like from TV and movies.
Turns out it doesn't look like that at all!
Someone splashing, yelling, and struggling is in trouble and needs assistance,
but someone actually drowning can go under without a sound!
From http://gcaptain.com/drowning/ The Instinctive Drowning Response:
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.
Drowning people’s 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 people’s mouths are above the surface,
they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms
laterally and press down on the water’s 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.
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.
From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s 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.
Of the approximately 750 children who will drown this 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)
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. – don’t be too sure. Sometimes the
most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re
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.
More at this site: http://gcaptain.com/drowning/ where the bulk of this journal comes from.
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