Boy Dies Of Dry Drowning After Leaving Pool And Walking Home

[Conundrum 1]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/110157.php

Quote

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's mother, Cassandra Jackson, told NBC News in a story broadcast on the TODAY show on Thursday that:

"I've never known a child could walk around, talk, speak and their lungs be filled with 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.

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.

Dr Daniel Rauch, pediatrician at New York University Langone Medical Center, who spoke to Meredith Vieira on the TODAY show, said there are three important signs that parents and carers should look out for: difficulty breathing, extreme tiredness, and changes in behaviour. All three symptoms result from the brain not getting enough oxygen because of water in the lungs.

It would seem that Johnny was showing two of these: tiredness and change in behaviour (the soiling accident in the pool). Rauch expressed sympathy for parents, because it is very difficult to spot these symptoms in children, especially small children, who can change mood very quickly and get tired easily from rushing around and playing.

However, if your child has these symptoms and has been swimming, you should take him or her to an emergency department to get checked out. If there is water in a lung, the doctors put a tube into the lung and force oxygen through under pressure. The lung then heals itself in time.

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.

Source:TODAYshow.com, eMedicine.com, CDC.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today

[skymama 37]

Wow...I've been around pools all my life, and I've never, ever heard of this. Scary.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Loonix 0]

I learned about this through scubadiving, but understood it as a fairly well known problem... Although what I was taught was that in case of a near-drowning, one must be kept still, and get help, even if there are no other symptoms. "have been swimming" and "change in behaviour" ... well. Sounds like that'll trigger alot of false alarms. I believe I'll notice it pretty clearly if I inhale even a bit water, although I have no first-hand experience... *knock on wood*

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

Wow...I've been around pools all my life, and I've never, ever heard of this. Scary.

I've never heard of this either, Andrea, and I grew up going to the college pool with friends from age 8-12 in a close knit community. No adult supervision except while at the pool (college student life-guards). Seems that this would be one of the forefront issues we learned about back then.

Wonder if coughing and a rattle sound when breathing also goes along with this. :^(

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[SuFantasma 0]

Quote

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/110157.php

Quote

Dr Daniel Rauch, pediatrician at New York University Langone Medical Center, who spoke to Meredith Vieira on the TODAY show, said there are three important signs that parents and carers should look out for: difficulty breathing, extreme tiredness, and changes in behaviour. All three symptoms result from the brain not getting enough oxygen because of water in the lungs.

I am no Dr. House, but spare me this diagnostic and prognosis ... difficulty breathing, extreme tiredness and changes in behaviour is what I have after an orgasm....with emphasis on "changes in behaviour" induced by tequila....

What did Johnny (exactly) drowned on ?

[riddler 0]

Quote

I learned about this through scubadiving, but understood it as a fairly well known problem

I'm a scuba instructor, and I've never heard this called "dry-drowning" - in SSI, it falls under the 'pulmonary edema' umbrella of illnesses, which we would treat with 100% oxygen until they get to medical care ... IF we could identify it! The problem seems like it's really hard to identify. People get tired (for a variety of reasons), change behaviour (excited or tired or overwhelmed) and have difficulty breathing (wet suit or BC too tight or a number of other reason) all the time when diving. Usually we identify problem from a combination of symptoms, but it's really hard to tell with borderline cases. You don't want to over-react to every little symptom that someone has, but you don't want them to walk around sick or dying either.

Scary stuff.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[LongWayToFall 0]

Would it be possible to lean over and take deep breathes to exhale the water? or does your tissue soak it up? Scary if you can't hear it in your lungs, and can't get anything out and then could die

[MagicGuy 0]

Scary, but good to know. Thanks for sharing.

[Loonix 0]

Quote

Quote

I learned about this through scubadiving, but understood it as a fairly well known problem

I'm a scuba instructor, and I've never heard this called "dry-drowning" - in SSI, it falls under the 'pulmonary edema' umbrella of illnesses, which we would treat with 100% oxygen until they get to medical care ... IF we could identify it! The problem seems like it's really hard to identify. People get tired (for a variety of reasons), change behaviour (excited or tired or overwhelmed) and have difficulty breathing (wet suit or BC too tight or a number of other reason) all the time when diving. Usually we identify problem from a combination of symptoms, but it's really hard to tell with borderline cases. You don't want to over-react to every little symptom that someone has, but you don't want them to walk around sick or dying either.

Scary stuff.

I can't remember if we used the term "dry drowning", in fact, I doubt we did. Can't remember exactly what we called it, and can't be bothered to look up in the books either right now ... But I thought dry drowning meant drowning without inhaling water - suffocation. We have pretty strong reflexes preventing us from inhaling water.

Yes, treat with oxygen, but again, what we learned is don't look for symptoms. If one believe the victim has inhaled water, they NEED help, regardless of any symptoms.

Do you think it's possible to inhale water without noticing? Sounds pretty strange to me. Perhaps some lifeguard on the forum could chip in and enlighten us.

[Loonix 0]

Quote

Would it be possible to lean over and take deep breathes to exhale the water?

This is exactly what you must not do. Water in the lungs makes the alveolies (that's probably misspelled...) in the lungs collapse. Therefore you must move as little as possible until help arrives, to avoid the water spreading. Breathe oxygen if possible.

[riddler 0]

Quote

Do you think it's possible to inhale water without noticing?

It's definitely possible to inhale water and forget later. Cough, cough, choke, choke - oh, look, a shark! Hey, I'm feeling pretty good at the moment, that was a great dive!

Symptoms tend to more of a "why are they convulsing right now?" thing.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[grue 1]

Quote

Wow...I've been around pools all my life, and I've never, ever heard of this. Scary.

Think that's scary? I've been a certified lifeguard and water safety instructor for 11 years, and _I_ have never heard of it.

cavete terrae.

[Squeak 17]

Quote

Quote

Wow...I've been around pools all my life, and I've never, ever heard of this. Scary.

Think that's scary? I've been a certified lifeguard and water safety instructor for 11 years, and _I_ have never heard of it.

That is scary, it's one of the 1st things i was taught as a life guard. Near drowing patients should be sent to hospital.
Particularly in salt water, osmosis causes the lungs to secrete fluid to try and equalise the salt concentraion in the alvioli. causing you to drown.
Salt water aspiration, and secondary drowning are also what i have heard it called.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[grue 1]

Quote

Quote

Quote

Wow...I've been around pools all my life, and I've never, ever heard of this. Scary.

Think that's scary? I've been a certified lifeguard and water safety instructor for 11 years, and _I_ have never heard of it.

That is scary, it's one of the 1st things i was taught as a life guard. Near drowing patients should be sent to hospital.
Particularly in salt water, osmosis causes the lungs to secrete fluid to try and equalise the salt concentraion in the alvioli. causing you to drown.
Salt water aspiration, and secondary drowning are also what i have heard it called.

Interesting. I was never a coastal lifeguard, just lake/river/pool. I know the training IS different for coastal, that must be one of the things they cover

cavete terrae.