- Dry and secondary drownings - how often do they happen?
- Dry and secondary drownings - symptoms
- Dry and secondary drowning - first aid
Symptoms of dry and secondary drowning appear after leaving the water, e.g. after swimming in the sea, swimming pool, and even in a bathtub, most often in the youngest. The scenario is usually similar - after returning home from the lake or swimming pool, a tired child goes to bed, where it slowly "drowns" during a nap. How to recognize the symptoms of dry and secondary drowning? How to provide first aid?
Dry and secondary drowningare not the same.dry drowningoccurs when a small amount offluid has entered the nasopharynx. This leads to the reflex stimulation of the laryngeal nerve, and then to the spasm of the glottis and, consequently, to hypoxia and loss of consciousness.
On the other handsecondary drowningis caused bymassive pulmonary edemathat occurs between15 minutes to72 hoursfrom trying to save a drowning man. Such a situation may occur, for example, at the seaside. After providing first aid, the casu alty coughs up s alt sea water from the lungs.
His mood is back to normal. However, if there is s alt left in the airways, it gradually irritates the lungs, causing them to swell.
Therefore, the name of dry and re-drowning is misleading because a person dies not from drowning, butof complications after drowningorchoking on water.
Dry and secondary drowning can occur both after bathing inseaorlakeand inbathtub orchildren's pool .
Dry and secondary drownings - how often do they happen?
Dry and secondary drownings account for a large proportion of reported drownings, estimated to be around10-15% .
One such drowning occurred in South Carolina (USA) in 2013.¹ Johnny Jackson, 10, was at the pool with his mother. At one point, the boy choked on a bit of water, but spit it out a moment later and went back to playing, so it did not alarm my mother.
The woman did not develop any suspicions also during her return home, when her son complained that he was very tired and sleepy. At the time, she thought it was the result of exhausting fun in the pool. But in fact the boy was slowly "sinking". Johnny Jackson died less than two hours after stepping out of the pool.
MotherShe said it would never cross her mind that a child could walk, talk, talk when his lungs were filled with water. As he argues, she took care of her son's safety at the pool sufficiently - she put on his swimming sleeves and watched him play, just like the lifeguards.
She thinks it is certain that there was nothing else she could do to prevent her son from dying, but she hopes that by sharing their story other parents will be more careful while on vacation with their children by the water. "If your child comes out of the pool and seems sleepy or looks lethargic, look at him very, very carefully," says the boy's mother. - Take him to the hospital or call the ambulance immediately - he adds.
Dry and secondary drownings - symptoms
Both dry and secondary drowning show the following symptoms:
- cough
- chest pain
- breathing problems
- foggy
- feeling of extreme exhaustion
- sleepiness
- changes in behavior - irritation, discouragement
In the case of dry drowning, these symptoms appearimmediately after waterhas entered the respiratory tract, and in the case of secondary drowning - in the periodfrom 15 minutes to 72 hoursfrom getting water into the lungs. Until then, the injured person feels well and does not feel any ailments.
Dry and secondary drowning - first aid
If, while relaxing by the sea, river or swimming pool, water has got into the respiratory tract, for24 hoursy from such an incident, you should monitor for the above-mentioned symptoms. If so, go to the emergency room as soon as possible.
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