As we say goodbye to summer, folks are likely hoping to enjoy a few more days by the pool or at the beach. With this in mind, we sat down with Dr. Robert Ford, an emergency physician at Rockledge Regional Medical Center, to learn some safety and preparedness tips you should keep in mind before jumping into the water.
Q: What are the signs that someone in the water is drowning and needs help?
One of the first signs is panic. Somebody who is having trouble in the water is likely going to make loud noises before it progresses to somebody not moving in the water. And that can happen pretty quickly, especially with a kid. So if you ever see a kid in the pool that’s not moving, then you better assume that that child is drowning.
Q: If you do spot that somebody is drowning, how should you respond?
First, especially if you’re at a beach, you need to protect yourself. Make sure there’s nothing that’s going to cause you to drown as well because events such as rip currents and large waves can put yourself at risk.
Second, you need to get the person out of the water as soon as possible. If a lifeguard is present, alert them immediately.
Q: Who is most at risk of drowning?
The biggest high-risk age is five years old or less. In these cases, the cause is typically insufficient supervision of the child.
Q: Is it true that you should avoid eating before going swimming?
I think that may be a little bit of an old wives’ tale. I don’t know that I’ve seen that actually cause a problem. Of course, it may make your stomach get a little upset in the water, but it doesn’t actually increase your risk of drowning.
Q: What other injuries can happen to cause, or as a result of, drowning?
Neck and spine injuries. Sometimes someone may dive in a shallow area and not realize it is shallow, thus sustaining a neck injury. In those cases, the actual reason they would not be moving in the water, and drowning, is because they are now paralyzed from a neck injury. So that is something to consider, the long-term effects from drowning itself. These can range from lung injuries, which can cause things like ARDS (an adult respiratory distress syndrome) and pneumonias, which can cause permanent neurological damage, just from lack of oxygen to the brain. It really has to do with how long and how much water was absorbed and how long the person was underwater to cause permanent damage.
Another thing to keep in mind is that many peoples’ common exposure to drowning is through TV and movies, where they’ll pull a drowning person out of the water, do three chest bombs, and the person spits up water and then is immediately fine.
Now, I would hope that happens every time, but I don’t think it actually does. In reality, one of the first steps if a person is not moving and unconscious is to try and give rescue breaths because they have had a lack of ventilation to the lungs due to water that has filled up in their lungs. So, you should immediately start rescue breaths. If they don’t have any pulse, do CPR. But, as far as timing on how quickly someone can be resuscitated, it’s hard to say for sure. As I mentioned, it depends on the individual scenario, how long the person was exposed under the water, and how much water got into the respiratory system.
What are some important measures that either yourself or a parent can take to reduce the risk of drowning?
- Fence off pools to protect a child from wandering in.
- Always monitor children, even in shallow areas.
- Avoid high risk behaviors in the water such as drinking too much alcohol.
- Always check the water depth before diving.
What do you wish more people were aware of when it came to water safety and drowning?
I think the biggest thing is how dangerous it actually is. At Rockledge, we do see quite a few kids every summer that do drown and do not survive. Being in the water is extremely dangerous, so be sure to pay attention to children and others around the water.
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