Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning

Great article!! :applaud: I was trained as a lifeguard in 1992, and I don't recall ever hearing about what a true drowning victim looks like. I'm with Queen and I'd love to hear about current training on this subject if anyone has had recent lifeguard training.

Fortunately I don't lifeguard anymore - but I remember when I did, there were several parents who had their children in serious trouble within arms length of them - and weren't even aware. Had to push them aside to rescue their child. Printed your article out - thanks so much. My son is the head guard & a site manager over the city swim lessons this summer - hopefully he'll share this with the others there as well. Hope it helps! I ran a pool in an area of FL that hadn't had a pool in over 20 years, the residents had no understanding of pool etiquette, and few swimming skills. It was a "wet" pool, meaning the guards were constantly wet from making saves, we had 26 saves the first month we were open, it was nuts! But it also gave us huge insights into what a drowning person looks like; that article was spot on, it requires a ton of vigilence to keep people safe, much more than most of us were taught in our guard classes.

Secondary Drowning: articles.nydailynews.com/.../31732256_1_history-of-medical-problems-lungs-wabc Secondary drowning happens when a person has already been saved from drowning, but sometimes several hours later the lungs start filling up with fluid again. this is usually because the lining of the lungs have been severely irritated during the first drowning if a significant amount of water has gotten into the lungs, and the reaction to that creates fluid excretion that ends up inside the lung. especially when a person has drowned in salt water, the salt can draw more water out of the lung tissues. So, a drowned person can be revived, then feel OK for while afterwards, but then become extremely ill again afterwards and sometimes even die from the secondary drowning. Therefore, even if the victim feels OK after the initial drowning experience, always take them to a hospital for observation. Compare it to when you have a bad cold and the membranes inside your nose produce a lot of watery stuff (runny nose). A similar thing happens inside the lungs when they are irritated by the effects of the first drowning. Mainly salt water, and heavily chlorinated pool water will make this worse. Pure fresh water is not as bad (but fresh has other side effects as it gets absorbed in the blood stream and affects the chemical balance of the blood. I never heard of this until I read the article in the New York Daily News. I believe this would get past the most seasoned rescue personnel. Bottom line. Take any drowning victim to a hospital for observation if you believe he/she fits the criteria above.

Trained in Red Cross lifeguarding not too long ago. When I worked at the YMCA they had all the lifeguards from the area Y's come to a training session. It only involved watching videos of actual drownings. It showed the child that just peacefully slipped under the water's surface and was not discovered for 8 minutes. He never kicked or splashed. It is one of those images that will forever be burned into my brain. I can never be around a water body now and not be on the lookout for this type of situation. Understood. I started lifeguarding in 1976, worked in the field off and on until 1996; my SO doesn't understand why I don't find it relaxing to sit and watch the water at the beach... even after all these years I still scan continuously.

Trained in Red Cross lifeguarding not too long ago. When I worked at the YMCA they had all the lifeguards from the area Y's come to a training session. It only involved watching videos of actual drownings. It showed the child that just peacefully slipped under the water's surface and was not discovered for 8 minutes. He never kicked or splashed. It is one of those images that will forever be burned into my brain. I can never be around a water body now and not be on the lookout for this type of situation.

Good to know what drowning doesn't look like, but I still don't know what drowning does look like. From the description, it seems to look a lot like somebody treading water, but with their head lower than usual. How could I spot that from far away?