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- Drowning can occur many hours after a person has inhaled water.
- Anytime a child or adult inhales even a small gush of water it can irritate the lungs and cause swelling.
- That small amount of liquid is enough to hinder the lungs' ability to provide oxygen to the bloodstream.
- A not insignificant number of the victims are children who died after having a bath.
- Read about what signs to watch out for, and what to do.
Boy Dies Of Dry Drowning
After Leaving Pool And Walking Home
Johnny Jackson, a 10-year-old American boy from South Carolina, died at home on Sunday from "dry drowning" more than an hour after going swimming and walking home with his mother. The sad event highlights a little known danger that parents and child carers should be aware of, that drowning can kill hours after being submersed in water.
Johnny must have got some water in his lungs while he was swimming in his local pool at Goose Greek, South Carolina. He didn't show any signs of respiratory distress, but he had an accident in the pool and "soiled himself", said the TODAY report. He then walked home with his mother and sister.
His mother said she bathed him and he told her he felt sleepy. When she went to check on him later she saw his face was covered in a "spongy white material". He was rushed to hospital but it was too late.
What is secondary drowning?
Though rare, secondary drowning can be fatal if warning symptoms are ignored. Anytime someone (children and adults alike) inhales even a small gush of water (pool, lake or ocean) it can irritate the lungs and cause swelling.
Usually very little water is present in the lungs when secondary drowning occurs, but the small amount of liquid is enough to hinder the lungs ability to provide oxygen to the bloodstream.
What symptoms to look out for
Here’s what to look for:
It's a widespread phenomenon
Sources
Boy's secondary drowning
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/110157.php
Advice
http://www.todaysparent.com/family/family-health/secondary-drowning/
If your child has had a near drowning, or perhaps swallowed too much water, keep a close eye out for the symptoms of secondary drowning and take them to the hospital immediately. Symptoms can even take between one and 72 hours to appear.
Here’s what to look for:
- lethargy or extreme fatigue
- difficulty breathing
- irritability or mood swings
- chest pain
- shortness of breath
- persistent cough
- fever
What can I do?
There is good news! Going to the hospital promptly is your best defence. Doctors will closely monitor your child and, when caught early, should be able to treat any issues by administering oxygen and removing fluids through diuretics.
Ignoring the symptoms or waiting too long to seek treatment is, tragically, when secondary drowning can turn fatal. If a near drowning has occurred and your child is showing any of these symptoms, don’t delay in getting them checked out.
Prevention
Like most things, prevention is key. Try enforcing water rules the same way you would about car safety—holding hands in the parking lot, looking both ways before crossing the street—with poolside and water safety.
Educating children as early as you can about the dangers of the water and putting kids in swimming lessons as early as possible will help them to develop into strong swimmers and be comfortable in and around water.
It's a widespread phenomenon
According to the latest figures, about 3,600 Americans died from drowning in 2005, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including a small percentage that die up to 24 hours later because of water entering the respiratory system.
A not insignificant number of the victims are children who died after having a bath.
Drowning is a significant cause of disability and death, wrote Dr Suzanne Moore Shepherd in an article published in eMedicine earlier this year.
Moore is Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Director of Education and Research, PENN Travel Medicine.
According to Moore, drowning is defined as:
"death secondary to asphyxia while immersed in a liquid, usually water, or within 24 hours of submersion".
The phrase "within 24 hours of submersion" includes what has been more commonly termed "dry drowning", where the victim gets water in the lungs but does not drown straight away, like Johnny, they could walk home and die later.
It is not easy to get hold of statistics on drowning, because there has been confusion about what constitutes drowning, and bringing research together under one term.
At the 2002 World Congress on Drowning, held in Amsterdam, a group of experts suggested a new consensus definition for drowning in order to reduce the confusion over the large number of terms and definitions, currently exceeding 20, that have appeared in the literature.
This would remove the terms "wet drowning, dry drowning, active or passive drowning, near-drowning, secondary drowning, and silent drowning" from the literature, said Moore.
Having a universal single definition would help to make the study and analysis of drowning in its various forms more effective, which would lead to better surveillance and prevention.
Unfortunately for Cassandra Jackson, this was not the case, and she probably wishes she had known earlier what she has learned since her son's tragic death. She said Johnny "was very loving, full of life", he was "my little man", she said.
Sources
Boy's secondary drowning
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/110157.php
Advice
http://www.todaysparent.com/family/family-health/secondary-drowning/
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