Drowning it's not what you think

[GregE]

I grabbed this off of Bloody Decks-  It should be mandatory reading.  Don't miss the video in the next post- be in a calm place


Its that time of year when we are on the water. Here is some good info on spotting someone who is drowning. Stay safe and bring em all home

The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. "I think he thinks you're drowning," the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. "We're fine, what is he doing?" she asked, a little annoyed. "We're fine!" the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. "Move!" he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, "Daddy!"

How did this captain know – from fifty feet away – what the father couldn't recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that's all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew knows what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, "Daddy," she hadn't made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn't surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life.

The Instinctive Drowning Response – so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next 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. Drowning does not look like drowning – Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard's On Scene Magazine, described the instinctive drowning response like this:

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.
(Source: On Scene Magazine: Fall 2006 (page 14))

This doesn't mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn't in real trouble – they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the instinctive drowning response, aquatic distress doesn't last long – but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.

Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in 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
Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder.
So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks OK – 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.

[GregE]

Caution- this is disturbing but needs to be seen.  Don't get angry at the people doing nothing- they didn't read the above article.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM6MzwCsI1g&feature=youtu.be



https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/620793/boy-5-drowns-swimming-pool-Helsinki-Finland-mother-jailed-disturbing-video

I watched a off duty soldier dive off a fishing pier on a Ft Hood Texas lake. He swam a bit then stopped,  turned his face toward his buddies - and sank. I threw a life ring and the buddies dove after him. Too late

Keep this going- I'm sharing on some other web sites.

[mustang65fbk]

I don't have any children of my own, that being said I do have a 3.5 year old niece and a 15lb Shih Tzu.  Most of these people must either not be parents, have younger siblings, nieces/nephews or they're just that idiotic to where they can't notice a child floating face down in the water for several minutes because I would never let my niece, any other child I might be watching or my dog out of my sight, ever.  Whether it's going for a walk, eating at a restaurant, walking through a store, anywhere, especially in public.  I'm always watching to make sure she is playing well with other kids, isn't doing anything unsafe and so on.  Where are the parents while all of this is going on?  Sure if the kid is 12 or so then yeah give him some space because he can probably swim alright or is tall enough to touch the bottom of the pool but good lord, 5 years old and you're not watching your child?  This is also one of the reasons why I'll never own a motorcycle and that is because no one is ever paying attention anymore.  Everyone is too busy on their phone or not paying attention to things like this where you have a lifeless child floating face down or bumping into you multiple times and for several minutes before you think something might be wrong?  The same goes for driving, everyone is on their phones texting, daydreaming, not paying attention, drifting into other lanes, cutting people off while not even seeing the other vehicle, etc.  Goodness, I don't know how some of these people are still among the living let alone how they're allowed to be parents when they can hardly manage to lookout for themselves. 

[Rokefin]

Great read Greg.


That is disturbing to watch.....so many people by him but he went unnoticed, as he does summersaults in the water  though I could see where one would think he is playing. They do claim that most of these drowning events do take place with parents/people around, I have raised kids and thankfully no serious issues but I have seen where the distraction comes from when in large groups, but leaving a 5 year old who can barely swim alone (no guardian) in the pool has no logic.

[StreamFixer]

My bride refuses to learn to swim...  But then she will not get in any water larger than the hot tub...

Interestingly enough, she was REALLY insistent about getting our kids to swimming lessons as soon as they were out of diapers...


Swimming is like riding a bike...  You never forget once you know how... 

The lesson --  learn to swim..  Then be observant of what is going on around you... 

If someone is in the water and cannot talk to you, they are in serious trouble...  Act accordingly..

TreamFixer

[neild]

Very difficult to watch. I notice that with the waterfall and all the activity the water surface is very disturbed most of the time. The camera is looking down on the pool. It would be very hard to make out more than shapes at a low angle, one reason lifeguard towers are elevated.

Another reminder of the necessity of a PFD. I think about how close to the boat and high to the surface a salmon has to be to see the highly reflective flash. The only way to be visible is to be above the surface.

[GregE]

time for a reminder.......

[headduck]

Thanks man.

[GregE]

'Tis the season.   Pass it on please!!

I hope by sharing we may prevent a drowning death.  I still see the soldier in TX going under

[Hunter]

Caution- this is disturbing but needs to be seen.  Don't get angry at the people doing nothing- they didn't read the above article.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM6MzwCsI1g&feature=youtu.be



https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/620793/boy-5-drowns-swimming-pool-Helsinki-Finland-mother-jailed-disturbing-video

I watched a off duty soldier dive off a fishing pier on a Ft Hood Texas lake. He swam a bit then stopped,  turned his face toward his buddies - and sank. I threw a life ring and the buddies dove after him. Too late

Keep this going- I'm sharing on some other web sites.

The YouTube video has been deleted as being graphic and violent.   Sad that people cannot deal with the truth.

[GregE]

That's poor.  The emphasis on needing to watch carefully is made from how easy it was for this to happen.

The 2nd video from Helsinki plays

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/boy-5-drowns-swimming-pool-16956702

[disposable]

Gnarly stuff. Mandatory reading for sure.

[GregE]

Reminder time...... 

[GregE]

July 4th coming up.  Let's not let anyone drown- pass it on

[GregE]

This needs to be passed on-  let's Not lose anybody.

G

[GregE]

Up so newer folks see this

[Hunter]

Here's a snip from the homepage on the West Marine website.   I slightly modified the promo language for clarity.   The little girl is the only non-idiot on that boat. 

[GregE]

Time to bring this up for reminder and good safety info for those who haven't read this yet....... 

G

[GregE]

And once again-  spread the word!!

How awful would it be to watch someone drown because you didn't recognize the signs.

[GregE]

Mid June-  water is warmer- so help get this to your friends and loved ones-  even the grumpy ones.