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Water Safety-Very Important Information- Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

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  • Water Safety-Very Important Information- Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

    Give this a read. Very informative information if you are on or around the water. Must have info for keeping an eye out for family, friends and others. It can happen in seconds.

    I in no way want to spread any fear of the water and personally I'm much more terrified on the beltway then I have ever been in the water. But this information is vital and somewhat uncommon knowledge. Many people have a picture of a drowning created from what they have seen on TV or movies. It's not the case. I myself have had the response after doing something very stupid at OBX and I can attest you have no extra energy and are not going to be calling for help. I have also helped family and friends that if not in were right on the verge of the response taking over. You will see very little thrashing and hear nothing many times. It can start immediately when someone falls in the water and the drowning can happen in seconds. The person can be feet away and just quietly disappear.

    I started doing more reading on water safety after my personal incident and after starting kayaking and have to admit I had the false stereotype in my head as to what a drowning looks like. Strangely when I was in my bad situation the thought bounced through my head that this is all very peaceful and quiet shouldn't I be screaming and thrashing or something. Easy one to to totally protect yourself is to keep that PFD on at all times but just having this knowledge can give you the ability to spot someone in distress and possibly help be it kayaking or swimming at the beach or local pond. The noise and crowds at a typical summer vacation beach can make it invisible to most.

    http://www.slate.com/articles/health...le_in_the.html

    This Memorial Day weekend marks the start of another—hopefully safe—swimming season. In 2013, Mario Vittone dispelled a popular myth about how to tell when someone is struggling in the water. The original article is reprinted below.

    The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine; what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not 10 feet away, their 9-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”

    How did this captain know—from 50 feet away—what the father couldn’t recognize from just 10? Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that’s all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew know what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, “Daddy,” she hadn’t made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn’t surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for is rarely seen in real life.

    The Instinctive Drowning Response—so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the No. 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents)—of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. According to the CDC, in 10 percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch the child do it, having no idea it is happening. Drowning does not look like drowning—Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene magazine, described the Instinctive Drowning Response like this:

    “Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.
    Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
    Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
    Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
    From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.”
    This doesn’t mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn’t in real trouble—they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the Instinctive Drowning Response, aquatic distress doesn’t last long—but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.

    Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in the water:
    • Head low in the water, mouth at water level
    • Head tilted back with mouth open
    • Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
    • Eyes closed
    • Hair over forehead or eyes
    • Not using legs—vertical
    • Hyperventilating or gasping
    • Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
    • Trying to roll over on the back
    • Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder


    So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks OK—don’t be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them, “Are you all right?” If they can answer at all—they probably are. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents—children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.
    See this related video for a perfect example of it happening.
    http://mariovittone.com/2011/07/vide...ning-response/
    Last edited by DonV; 06-12-2017, 09:50 AM.

  • #2
    wow, I had no idea....thanks for sharing this!!

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    • #3
      In the past few days someone posted a story of near drowning on Tidalfish. The potential victim was a bit dazed and separated from his boat. Fortunately another boater was nearby to help out.

      http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/show...w-Tidal-Fisher
      John Veil
      Annapolis
      Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

      Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

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      • #4
        Thanks for posting. As a father of a small toddler, tips like this, although unpleasant, are essential now that summer pool season is here.
        -manny

        Hobie Outback
        Wilderness Systems 130T
        Hobie Outfitter

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        • #5
          Originally posted by baitball View Post
          Thanks for posting. As a father of a small toddler, tips like this, although unpleasant, are essential now that summer pool season is here.
          As I said I sure don't want to inflame any fear of the water or have parents and so terrified of letting their children near it and was even hesitant to post this here. Everything is a risk, when you pack the kids up for a drive to the park or movie theater the risks may well be much greater than those of drowning when swimming. It's also a risk to overprotect and not let them have an opportunity for them to develop their abilities, grow in confidence and enjoy their own life which can end up being the safest thing to do.

          Just thought this somewhat uncommon knowledge and having had my own and two other times seen it with my own eyes thought I'd share. The second time I saw it was also eye opening and I'm not sure if I f I had already read the information or not but just had a subtle feeling something wasn't right.

          We were to meet my sister at an OBX beach and as walking up the beach to find them we came upon them already out swimming. My brother and law, my sister and roughy eleven and seven year old niece and nephew were in the water and at first glance I was almost ready to just set up my gear and stuff on the beach and wait for them to come in. None were waving or thrashing but on closer look all but my brother in law had a strange look on there faces and I got bad feeling. It was definitely the vacant look described in the article to a T. My brother in law was going about his business not more than maybe eight to ten feet away and a little out from the others. My wife was setting up our spot and I walked again down closer to the water and mouthed to my sister are you alright and with no words she quietly shook her head no. The two kids being in closer I managed to get to quickly with a bit of fear for my abilities to even get them in or to help as I could feel a really strong riptide. Where they were at the water was maybe a few inches over my head but I managed to grab their hands and pull them back toward shore by leaning back ducking under the water and kind of using my feet to bounce of the bottom and hop my way back in. The kids were pale, winded and shaking much more than looking at them just quietly bobbing in the water would have told you. My sister managed to get herself in somewhat I had a little easier time getting out and helping her in. They had been swimming in shallow water on a sandbar and the cross current had took them off the edge into a rip which is a whole different subject. My sister had already winded and wasted herself trying to get to and help the children back in and that is the point in the scenario that we happened to walk up on that easily could have been mistaken for people just swimming and enjoying the water. Three out of three in the water in distress and not a one of them were yelling or thrashing. Keep in mind the whole time all this happened my brother in law while close by and glancing and seeing them in the in the water had no idea that anything was wrong and likely thought, well they are in closer in the shallower water all is good. Definitely eye opening and a perfect example of what the the article states.
          Last edited by DonV; 06-12-2017, 10:56 AM.

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