Drowning - a short article

[happybonzo]

I picked this up from UK Campsites this morning. I'll freely admit that I glanced at the other posts first and then realised the article was probably worth reading.
It certainly is and I recommend that you take just a few minutes to do so as you might save some one's life

http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

[JEEP]

Very sobering to read...

[Terry]

Thanks for posting, a very useful article and it may save a life.

[Martin]

That was fascinating. Watch the video as well, it demonstrates the point perfectly.

Martin

[shakya]

I picked this up from UK Campsites this morning. I'll freely admit that I glanced at the other posts first and then realised the article was probably worth reading.
It certainly is and I recommend that you take just a few minutes to do so as you might save some one's life

http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

Yes, good article... food for thought, thanks happybonzo

[paulthefish2009]

Blimey! Thanks for that,thats the sort of thing that will hopfully stick in my mind. Paul

[Ben Casey]

It is a funny subject drowning as there are a few different types for example to drown in fresh water is quicker than salt water this is because the fresh water thins the blood and salt water thickens the blood. There is also dry drowning where people for example Scuba Divers have been found with no water in there lungs they basically just gave up living at about 30 to 40 meters.

[jus_young]

Excellent T^

Considering how much time is spent on the beach with the children this is one article that will definately stick in the mind.

[Silverback]

It is a funny subject drowning as there are a few different types for example to drown in fresh water is quicker than salt water this is because the fresh water thins the blood and salt water thickens the blood. There is also dry drowning where people for example Scuba Divers have been found with no water in there lungs they basically just gave up living at about 30 to 40 meters.


Salt water and Fresh water drowning good call Ben. Flush, Wet and Dry drowning too. Another one to watch with water related incidents is Rescue Related Collapse or Post Rescue Collapse - due to sudden BP drop when the water pressure is removed (even at shallow depths). More info here http://www.ambulancetechnicianstudy.co.uk/drowning.html

dont forget hypothermia.........

Another interesting fact i was told on my SFRT course was that 75% of the UK population are effective none swimmers..ie they cant swim more than 50 m !!

[jbrown14]

Excellent, excellent article and video.

Good reminders.
Thanks for sharing it.

[rossbird]

Another reality check, well worth reading. Thanks for posting.

[Realearner]

Bloody brilliant bit of info. Did lifeguard training many years ago, and we were taught to look for the typical arms waving and shouting for help. So this has helped me to better look and understand a different set of sign.
As for all the other types, yes but without any assistance the outcome is the same DEATH.

[Silverback]

As for all the other types, yes but without any assistance the outcome is the same DEATH.


Not always. New protocols for medical responders advocate that CPR should still be commenced on a body that has been pulled from water at or below 8 deg c after 20 minutes of being submerged.

Water is powerful & relentless... but predictable. Learning to swim effectively, learning to read the water and make it to a place of safety may just stop you from becoming a statistic. knowledge + experience = judgement

[Aaron Rushton]

thanks for this, as someone who spends a good part of there summer in or around water this is really useful.

[Realearner]

Not always. New protocols for medical responders advocate that CPR should still be commenced on a body that has been pulled from water at or below 8 deg c after 20 minutes of being submerged.

Water is powerful & relentless... but predictable. Learning to swim effectively, learning to read the water and make it to a place of safety may just stop you from becoming a statistic. knowledge + experience = judgement

Please note i did say without assistance

[Silverback]

assistance

Ok no need to shout.

"Water is powerful & relentless... but predictable. Learning to swim effectively, learning to read the water and make it to a place of safety may just stop you from becoming a statistic. knowledge + experience = judgement"

Also notice I was pointing out staying away from the flipping stuff in the first place, and how important it is to learn how to swim

[Jefferson]

Very good article!! I currently have a second job as a lifeguard and a swimming teacher, and have spent the last 12 years learning, practicing and teaching lifesaving techniques and skills. You get taught lots of different ways of identifying different swimmers, however these signs are not always as obvious as you may think and it takes a well trained eye to spot, as this article shows.

Its not always about teaching someone how to swim to think they are safe, as i know plenty of strong swimmers (in a pool), if you stick them in a cold lake or the sea it would be a totally different story. It is more important to teach people how to behave around water and how to understand it. Well that is just my thoughts anyway :D

[Silverback]

Its not always about teaching someone how to swim to think they are safe, as i know plenty of strong swimmers (in a pool), if you stick them in a cold lake or the sea it would be a totally different story. It is more important to teach people how to behave around water and how to understand it. :D

Its what i was trying to say here ...."Water is powerful & relentless... but predictable. Learning to swim effectively, learning to read the water and make it to a place of safety may just stop you from becoming a statistic. Knowledge + experience = judgement"....a place of safety may not even be the bank, it may be an eddy behind a rock, but at least you wont be being bashed along in grade 3 + whitewater and if you are learning what to do if you fall in plus the defensive & offensive swimming techniques may just save your life.

Learning where to cross a river, how to cross and what to wear may save your life too....sadly in my 'other job' all too often its not about rescue but recovery......

[Roadkillphil]

I am a coasteer guide and keen surfer, I've spent the best part of the last 10 years playing in the ocean and I can add two things to this thread.

Firstly I see very fit, able swimmers get put in the ocean and struggle. Moving water, especially around rock and especially with all the variables of the ocean, such as swell height/direction, currents caused by many sources, water temperature and also the aeriation of the water causing changing buoyancy conditions can throw even the fittest person into panic or difficulties.


This leads on to my second point, which is that with all these variables, even in fresh water, water is far from predictable. With experience you can have a good idea of what is going on, but ultimately, even a seasoned coasteer/canyoneer guide can get into trouble.

The company I work for, as well as offering recreational water based activities as safe as we can make it, also provide swift water rescue courses for emergency services and the environment agency.

The best advice for working or playing in water is get clued up on local conditions, ie currents and how to deal with them, always have an escape plan/route and never be out there alone. As I mentioned earlier, even the most experienced watermen can get into trouble and if you're alone, and unconscious in the water, you don't stand much of a chance.

Funny how 2/3 of the planet is covered in water but only a quarter of us can swim.

Cheers

Phil

[happybonzo]

I am a coasteer guide and keen surfer, I've spent the best part of the last 10 years playing in the ocean and I can add two things to this thread.
Phil

I've always been surprised that no-one has ever made a life jackbuoyancyncy aid for Surfers. I know the things are bulky but you would have thought by now that some company would have come up with something.

I had a leash break at Croyde and the rip was running. It was only thanks to another surfer who was using the rip to get out the back and he rescued me. Fortunatly for me, he knew how to do surf rescue. A lot of surfers don't.
I would also add that I have been surfing for nearly 50 years and that's been the nearest to me handing in my dinner pail that Ive ever been

[luresalive]

Ok no need to shout.

"Water is powerful & relentless... but predictable. Learning to swim effectively, learning to read the water and make it to a place of safety may just stop you from becoming a statistic. knowledge + experience = judgement"

Also notice I was pointing out staying away from the flipping stuff in the first place, and how important it is to learn how to swim

Learning to swim is all well and good, but knowing personally 2 men from my youth who were very powerful swimmers yet both died in the Irish sea due to hypothermia, sets things in perspective...if it's inland waterways, swimming is good, if it's costal and you don't get help fast,being able to swim is not necessarily an advantage, when afloat you should always wear a life jacket note not a bouancy aid but a LIFE JACKET! ( hypothermia may still get you though)

I have done quite a few boating courses and I remember well one instructor telling me to always wear a life jacket in the sea, "cause there's no way you're swimming to shore from 10 miles out and if hypothermia does get you then with a life jacket at least we can retrieve your body!" That shocked me, but I got the point.

[Silverback]

I wasnt talking about the sea. The sea is a whole new ball game. Sadly I have personally recovered enough bodies from inland waterways, floodwaters and rivers, both with and without bouyancy aids and lifejackets to last me a lifetime. Effective swimming is more about technique than sheer power, its about being able to defend yourself if you're swept away, its about knowing how to get yourself out of trouble letting the water do the work for you - but before all that NOT getting in that mess in the first place.

As for hypothermia its a bit of a 'pet subject' of my 'other' job. Human beings lose heat 4 times faster into land than we do air, into water we lose it 28 times faster, and into moving water 100 times faster.

The four stages where death can occur as a result of sudden cold-water are: Cold Shock—kills in 3–5 mins. Swim Failure—kills in 5–30 mins. Hypothermia—kills after 30 mins. Post-Rescue Collapse—kills during or hours after rescue.

The first two stages of immersion—cold shock and swim failure—kill more than half the people who drown. It’s especially important to protect yourself from those first two stages

In water below 15°C, the effects of immersion become significantly life-threatening to everyone. The lower the temperature, the more severe the symptoms. The effects of cold shock are completely out of your conscious control. If you don’t protect yourself from cold water, they will happen to you whether you like it or not.

Cold shock is caused by rapid skin cooling and can kill within three to five minutes after immersion. On initial immersion, you make a huge inspiratory gasp. Being immersed in near-freezing cold water is also extremely painful, and the sudden sensation of acute pain can accentuate the inspiratory gasp. The gasp is followed by severe hyperventilation: a fourfold increase in your breathing rate. It is not uncommon for you to be panting at a breathing rate of up to 65 times a minute in this critical stage, so there is no chance to hold your breath. Indeed, in water below 15°C, your breath-holding ability is reduced by 25–50 percent. If the water is near freezing, even after the effects of cold shock have settled, you’ll only be able to hold your breath for about 12–17 seconds.

The rapid breathing rate on its own can cause muscle spasms of the limbs and chest. All of these breathing irregularities increase the risk of drowning if you dip underwater or have a wave splash over your face. It only takes an inhalation of about five ounces (150 ml) of water to cause drowning. Drowning is a combination of cardiac arrest and suffocation. Your heart stops beating within one to two minutes after you have inhaled a significant amount of either fresh- or seawater. Water in the lungs compromises your ability to exchange oxygen, and because respiratory movements may occur for up to five minutes when underwater, water can continue to be drawn into your lungs.

Cold shock also causes a massive increase in heart rate and blood pressure. These cardiac responses may cause death, particularly in older, less healthy people.

The above isnt opinion its scientific fact taken from various training resources

[comanighttrain]

I picked this up from UK Campsites this morning. I'll freely admit that I glanced at the other posts first and then realised the article was probably worth reading.
It certainly is and I recommend that you take just a few minutes to do so as you might save some one's life

http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

Scary stuff...i remember that happening to me in a swimming pool once when i was a kid (it was one of those pools with artificial waves and waterfalls... its so scary because you can't actually do anything...

[Silverback]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnPQIr8dl5A&feature=related

scary stuff

[jbrown14]

My God! Why in the world would someone throw an empty tire to that man!? "Hey fella, I see you're having a hard time there. HERE! Catch this anchor!" That made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Since river rescue has come up, I'll relate my experience. When I was about 15 or so, I was swimming with my brother and two cousins in the slack water on the inside bend of a river. We were facing down-stream and allowing the current to carry us down, then catching ourselves with our feet, walking back upstream and doing it all over again. The water was between knee and thigh high. One of my cousins let himself get a little too far downstream before trying to put his feet down and was getting swept away in water over his head before we even knew it. He didn't swim well and was flailing much like the kid in the first video, so two of us ran down the bank, while I swam after him. I did end up catching up to him, grabbed his t-shirt first, then around under his arms, and basically we had to ride out the rapids (probably only class II, but that's a lot for a 15 year old) until we hit an eddy where the other two could pull us out. It takes a lot to control the rising panic and disorientation brought on by adrenaline, swirling water, and rocks bashing up against you but thankfully he and I both made it out with just bruises.

To paraphrase a quote I heard once, "Swimming is, in itself, not inherently dangerous; but it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity, or neglect."

So, be careful, be prepared, and stay sharp.

All the best to all of you,

Josh

[Silverback]

My God! Why in the world would someone throw an empty tire to that man!? "Hey fella, I see you're having a hard time there. HERE! Catch this anchor!" That made absolutely no sense whatsoever.


Getting in the water in the first place made no sense - given this was a body recovery not really necessary either. Keeping hold of the rope he was tied to was a bad move too.