Sinking kids don't cry: water safety tips that can save lives
'19.03.2021'
Source: Zpod.by
Did you know that among children under 15, drowning is the second cause of death after an accident, and every second child drowns at a distance of no more than 20 meters from parents or other adults? In some cases, an adult will even watch a drowning child, unaware of what is happening - in life, people do not drown in the way they show in the films. Here are the warning signs and helpful rules that could one day save lives. This is important for everyone to know!
This text “walks” on the Web, and its exact authorship is not named, but people who find themselves in a similar situation, as well as professional rescuers claim that the information is reliable. It is brought in its original form zpod.by.
When Olya and my son were drowning, I stood by the pool and looked at him, with a cocktail in hand! It was the first hour of rest at the hotel. My wife was standing next to me, I remember, only for a second, when I thought: “What is she doing ?!” - and she puts on a cocktail and dives in her clothes into the pool, in which water is knee-deep.
After a few seconds, I realized. It turned out that in this pool the frog goes into a deep one with a slight slope.
(Also, as a child, I drowned in the Dynamo pool, in front of dozens of people and my dad. I was lucky that the coach was nearby).
The new captain jumped off the bridge, fully clothed, and swam quickly. As a former lifeguard, he did not take his eyes off the victim, heading straight for a couple of holidaymakers sailing between the boat anchored and the beach.
“I think he thinks you're drowning,” the man said to his wife.
They were playing in the water, splashing into each other, and she screamed from time to time, but now they just stood on a sandbank in the water.
“We're fine, what is he doing?” She asked with some annoyance.
“We are all right!”, The husband shouted, waving his hand to the rescuer, but the captain did not even think about stopping.
“Off the road!” He shouted as he swam between the bewildered boat owners.
Right behind them, just three meters from her father, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. When the captain pulled her out of the water, she burst into tears: “Daddy!”.
As a captain, being in 15 meters from the campers, I understood what my father could not understand, being only three meters from the sinking girl?
On the subject: In Texas, a 6-month-old babe drowned while mom was reading Facebook
The thing is that when a person drowns, he does not emit a sharp and shrill cry for help, as most people think. This captain was taught to recognize drowning professionals and years of experience. And the girl's father, gathered information about what a drowning man looks like from television programs. If you spend time on the water or on the shore (and everybody does this from time to time), you should make sure that you and the people around you know by what signs you can determine that a person is drowning, even before entering water
Before the girl with tears screamed "Daddy!", She made no sound. As a former coastguard rescuer, I was not surprised by this story. When a person drowns, it is rarely accompanied by any sounds. Hands waving, splashing and screaming, which television prepares for us, are extremely rare in real life.
“Instinctive Drowning Response”, so named by Dr. Francesco A. Pia, is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation when diving into water. And it does not look like most people think. No waving, splashing or screaming for help.
To better understand how quietly and imperfectly this process looks from the shore, think about this: drowning is the second most common cause of death among children under 15 years (right after road accidents), and approximately from 750 children will drown year, every second drowns no more than 20 meters from their parents or other adults. In some cases, an adult will even directly observe how the child is drowning, unaware of what is actually happening. Drowning people rarely look like drowning people, and in his article in the coast guard, On Scene, Dr. Pia describes the drowning instinctive reactions in detail as follows:
“Except in rare cases, drowning people are physiologically unable to call for help. The human respiratory system is designed for breathing. Speech is its secondary function. Before speech becomes possible, it is necessary to restore the function of breathing.
The mouth of a drowning person alternately goes under the water and appears above its surface. The mouth of a drowning person is above water not long enough for him to exhale, inhale and call for help. When a drowning person emerges from the water, he has enough time, only to quickly exhale and inhale, after which he immediately goes under water again.
Sinking people cannot swing their arms to get attention. They instinctively pull their arms to the side in an attempt to push off from the water. Such movements allow them to surface to be able to breathe.
Due to instinctive reactions, drowning people cannot control their movements with their hands. People trying to stay on the surface of the water are not physiologically capable of stopping to sink and make meaningful movements - waving their arms, trying to get close to the rescuers or getting to the rescue equipment.
From the beginning to the end, while the instinctive reaction acts, the body of the drowning person remains upright, without any signs of supporting movements with his feet. If a trained rescuer does not pull him out of the water, a sinking person can hold on to the surface from 20 to 60 seconds before completely submerging.
This does not mean that a person calling for help and waving his hands desperately is deceiving you - most likely, this is a panic attack in the water. Such an attack does not always precede the instinctive reaction of a drowning person and often lasts only a short time, but unlike the actual drowning, victims of such a panic on the water can help their rescuers — for example, to grab hold of a life buoy.
When you are on shore or in the water, you need to pay close attention to the following signs that indicate that a person is drowning:
- The victim's head is immersed in water, and the mouth is at its very surface;
- Head thrown back, mouth open;
- Glass, empty eyes do not focus;
- The victim's eyes are closed;
- Hair covers the forehead or eyes;
- The victim is held in the water in an upright position, without making movements with his feet;
- The victim breathes often and superficially, traps air in his mouth;
- Attempts to swim in a certain direction, but to no avail;
- Tries to roll back;
- It may seem that the victim is climbing the rope ladder.
Therefore, if a person falls overboard and everything looks fine, do not calm down ahead of time. Sometimes the most important sign that a person is drowning is that he does not look like a drowning man. It may seem that he is just trying to stay on the water and looking at the deck.
On the subject: Saving a drowning boy, a woman saved his pregnant mother
How to determine if everything is in order? Ask a simple question: “Is everything okay?”. If a person answered you at least something, then perhaps he is not in danger. If, in response to your question, you see an empty look, you have only half a minute to get the victim out of the water.
And, parents, remember: children playing in the water are noisy. If they stop making noise, pull them out of the water and find out why.
Child safety in water
And here is another list of recommendations from a swimming coach:
I am a swimming coach! We were taught at the institute that a child could drown in 30 centimeters of water! He loses the benchmark - where the bottom and where the surface of the water, and breathes under water.
The ancient Greeks said: “He who does not know how to breathe, he does not know how to swim” - this is the first thing with which swimming training begins.
Inflatable circles with a wide opening and narrow sides are especially dangerous. The child leans towards the water, the back of the circle rises and after a moment can roll over, covering the child with itself. He himself can not get out, losing a landmark under the circle and taking a fatal breath under water.
The most important thing: you need to look at the child in the water without stopping!
Buy a circle with wide sides and a small hole so that it does not slip down.
Strictly do not allow children to play with the heating and holding under water (old foolish fun!). Even a swimmer can choke and drown or get terrible stress for a lifetime.
And more:
- never teach a child to swim by throwing him into the depths (“it will come out anyway”);
- This is the strongest stress for a lifetime! (even though he floated ...).
I had to teach such children after teaching them “good adults” ... This is an animal horror to water. It is worth the enormous strength to teach such a child to swim!
And I will repeat it again! Keep your eyes on the child in the water - in the full sense of the word!
