Sponsored post, however, all opinions are mine
Let’s talk about something serious for a minute – signs or drowning and second drowning. We all want the best for our kids as parents and work our hardest to give them life essential skills. Swimming is one of those skills since we want our children to have fun yet we know crucial it is to be safe while swimming or even splashing in the water with friends. It is also very important to be vigilant of others and make sure that people that surround us are safe as well.
A few years ago my friend and I went to the public pool. Each of us with two kids. While we paid close attention to the younger children, the older ones always stayed in our eyesight. At some point, I realized that my friend was walking out of the water with her 2-year old and I automatically turned around back to the pool to find her older one, who had to be around five as I assumed that I now have to watch after three kids. Quickly scanned the surface of the pool I didn’t see him. With only a few people in the pool, I looked again. The only child I saw in the pool seemed to have a lot of fun on the deep end splashing in the water.
The lifeguard seems calm as well. My first thought was that maybe the 5-year old walked out of the pool with him, yet I decided to get closer the kid splashing in the deep end. As I got closer to him, I saw the lifeguard staring at the boy as well, and suddenly I realized that this was indeed my friend’s fun, but he wasn’t having fun – he was fighting to stay above the water in complete silence with a lifeguard only a couple of yards away and more people in the pool. The boy was fighting for his life in a plain sight surrounded by people and what he could do is ask for help. He was only a few strokes away from me and was safe with his mom only a minute later, but this was the day I realized that everything we know about drowning is wrong!
That is why today I wanted to make sure we understand the real signs of drowning (brought to you by our friends at the Goldfish Swim School in Mundelein, IL):
Learn to Recognize the Signs of Drowning
There’s no yelling. You breathe and talk with your mouth, but you can only do one or the other at the same time. When you’re drowning, you are either screaming or breathing, and that’s why drowning is often silent.
There’s no desperate waving. While drowning, you use all your energy to stay afloat. Would you stop paddling to raise your hands and wave? You will sink!
Look for “ladder” kicks. Ladder kicks look like climbing in the water. When someone is trying their hardest to move in the water but just not getting anywhere, he might be drowning.
Look for the blank stare. When in distress, a person shuts out all surrounding distractions to focus on saving his life. If someone is drowning, you’ll notice a blank or glassy stare even if everything else seems alright.
Look if their mouth is at (or below) water level. If a person is drowning his mouth might be very close to the water level or even under water.
What to Do When Someone May Be Drowning
- Ask if a person is ok. If you don’t hear a verbal response, the person might be in trouble.
- Call 911.
- If you are close enough, try grabbing the child. If you are too far, let the guard know right away.
What is Second Drowning?
You’ve probably also heard about something called “second drowning.” It is uncommon, but second drowning is when water gets into the lungs. That is why it is imperative for anyone after near drowning experience to get proper medical attention. One of the first symptoms of the second drowning is persistent and increasingly labored coughing. You might also notice a child being sleepier than usual or a little “foggy.” In both of these case – seek medical attention
Learn more about staying safe in the water in our article:
Read this before letting your child swim on his own:
Learn to Swim at Goldfish Swim School
The best defense against drowning knows how to swim right! Start with a trial class at the Goldfish Swim School in Mundelein or find another Goldfish Swim School near you.
Have you heard of the second drowning before?
This is a really important message. Drowning doesn’t look like it does on TV. It is quiet often and supervision and swimming lessons are the most important defence against this. Accidents can be prevented so we just need to get better at watching and looking for the signs. Thanks for this.
Wow, this is so scary! Drownings happen so often in Arizona but I hadn’t heard a lot about second drownings. Knowing the symptoms is helpful. I think all kids should take swim classes and everyone should learn CPR for situations like this.
This is such an important and helpful post! My nephew is still learning how to swim and this is something that my sister NEEDS to read (I’ll be sharing this with her for sure!)
I may not have kids yet but the info here really helps. Thank you!
Great post! As a retired nurse I have seen this far too many times, children drowning. It is important to know the signs and to act fast. It’s like a 24hr watch when a child is in a pool, these signs you indicated above are always great to look out for. Even more, just try to beware that within a blink of an eye a child can drown. Great post!
This was a great post. As a Floridian, I’m well aware of the dangers of drowning, but I wasn’t that informed about the true signs.
My goodness, I always assumed if someone were drowning there would be obvious signs of distress. Not so. It never occurred to me that someone could look like they’re ok, when really, they aren’t. Such great information for anyone. Thank-you for spreading the word. It truly could save a life! x
These are such important facts to know! I think most people have that idea, like what they see in the movies, of people screaming and shouting to get attention if they’re drowning. It’s scary to think it can be so quiet and unnoticeable!
Wow this is so scary to think about. Great tips. Everyone should know because you never know when you can save a life.