Drowning DoesnÂ’t Look Like Drowning

[Pinetreebbs]

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

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.



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
Ladder climb, rarely out of the water.


Read it all here: http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

[Evil D]

Well....i'm not much of a swimmer...in fact i don't even know if i could say i know how to swim per say, i just haven't spent enough time in water.

But, one time when i was about 6 or 7 years old, i got swept down stream in a big flooded creek. At the time i definitely did not know how to swim, even the slightest bit. I was drowning for sure. The only thing that saved me was i managed to get up out of the water enough to get in a big deep breath and hold it...and to my amazement, i floated to the top. I'm a bit barrel chested so i guess i hold in a big enough breath that i was able to hold my breath, float to the top, and stay on top of the rushing water for a few miles down stream until i hit a shallow enough area to wade my way out of the water.

To this day, the best i can do swimming is basically holding my breath and kicking and flailing lol.

[Pinetreebbs]

Well....i'm not much of a swimmer...in fact i don't even know if i could say i know how to swim per say, i just haven't spent enough time in water.

But, one time when i was about 6 or 7 years old, i got swept down stream in a big flooded creek. At the time i definitely did not know how to swim, even the slightest bit. I was drowning for sure. The only thing that saved me was i managed to get up out of the water enough to get in a big deep breath and hold it...and to my amazement, i floated to the top. I'm a bit barrel chested so i guess i hold in a big enough breath that i was able to hold my breath, float to the top, and stay on top of the rushing water for a few miles down stream until i hit a shallow enough area to wade my way out of the water.

To this day, the best i can do swimming is basically holding my breath and kicking and flailing lol.

Glad you made it! You are never too old to get some swimming lessons, even just Drownproofing.

[Evil D]

Well, since then i've had quite a few incidents where i was in water that i couldn't touch bottom in and had to float my way out. I'm so good at it that i'm confident enough to go out into deep water, knowing i can't really swim very well. I can hold my breath and basically back stroke my way out of pools and lakes and such. I just don't spend enough time around water to bother with it, aside from when i'm fishing...but the goal there is to bring the fish IN and not go out after them lol.

[GohawnFG]

I've learned swimming about four times. Lol. I don't think I knew that the point was to know how to maneuver in water. All I knew was that each time, the instructors made me kick and splash, and I drank a lot of water. Anyway, my first lessons were at a YMCA. We were a group of about 10 kids with two instructors, and had to swim across the pool from 3ft to 12ft with only the kick board. They send us off one by one, and I thought I'd NEVER reach the end. I was so **** tired by the time I got to 12ft, that I think I leaned too much on the kick board and the pressure made it rocket out from under me. One of the instructors was at the 3ft end, sending the kids off, and the other was at the middle of the stretch. So she apparently swam toward me, and after I inhaled my first "breath" of water, she pulled me up. It was a pretty interesting experience, breathing water haha. My parents were there too, but apparently they weren't looking :mad:

[vampyrewolf]

Took swimming classes YEARS ago. And yet oddly enough, my only problem in water didn't involve swimming as much as waiting. Other than having to use a nose plug, I swim like a fish.

The bigger lesson they need to teach people is how to dry roll a boat.

Back in May 2000, on a cadet weekend, one of the things I had to do as an Air Cadet was sailing. They paired us up based on previous experience and ability. This was my *2nd* time sailing in a 2 man racing boat. Well, my partner and I were catching on quick and started having fun. We caught some nice wind, and when we had to turn we turned as tight as we could, and apparently the sail got a bit low :rolleyes:
Went from a good clip to stopped and capsized. I got wet, and got up to roll the boat, but my partner couldn't get up out of the water.
Choices were "wet and in the wind" or "back in the water, out of the wind"...

By the time the rescue boat got out to us and hauled up both to shore, I wasn't shivering... woo... hypothermia :rolleyes: The rest of the weekend sucked :mad:

[yablanowitz]

Glad you made it! You are never too old to get some swimming lessons, even just Drownproofing.

My older sister has had more swimming lessons than any five other people I know. She still can't swim. I've never had a lesson because I was swimming in the deep end of the pool on my own when I was four (Mom didn't think I was old enough for lessons at the time. Scared her half to death when she looked around and saw me. )

[Pinetreebbs]

My older sister has had more swimming lessons than any five other people I know. She still can't swim. I've never had a lesson because I was swimming in the deep end of the pool on my own when I was four (Mom didn't think I was old enough for lessons at the time. Scared her half to death when she looked around and saw me. )

I hear you, I was in High School before I found out there were people that could not swim. For me it is like breathing and walking. Others, not so much.

There is nothing as powerful as the grip of a small child afraid of the water. :eek:

[Dr. Snubnose]

Do you know how much equipment I carry...I'm a strong swimmer...that being said I'm not drowning.....I'm sinking....or drawing and discarding very fast.....LOL....Doc :D

[Pinetreebbs]

Do you know how much equipment I carry...I'm a strong swimmer...that being said I'm not drowning.....I'm sinking....or drawing and discarding very fast.....LOL....Doc :D

Good point Doc, if working on or near water you might want to consider a personal flotation device. Besides you, it would be bad to send that hardware to the bottom. LOL

Before I could take SCUBA lessons I had to swing the length of a pool with some lead weight. It wasn't much and I figured I was a strong swimmer, ha! I was struggling when I got to the other side. :D

[Dr. Snubnose]

Good point Doc, if working on or near water you might want to consider a personal flotation device. Besides you, it would be bad to send that hardware to the bottom. LOL

Before I could take SCUBA lessons I had to swing the length of a pool with some lead weight. It wasn't much and I figured I was a strong swimmer, ha! I was struggling when I got to the other side. :D

Oh yeah...I have one of those inflatable round tube Ducks that I have taken to wear around my waist near a body of water....plus I find it's easy to conceal knives on the underside of the tubing for easy access when floating about.....and if I push on the back of my ducky's neck really fast, my ducky will peck you with his beak and take your eyes out....Good SD tool....Doc :D
Here is my old model I lent to a friend but he only carrys small folders
[/IMG]

Because I carry much larger knives like multiple Rock Salts I had to upgrade to this model

Doc :)

[SolidState]

Doc :)

H-1 knives in yellow it is!

[SkullBouncer]

Oh yeah...I have one of those inflatable round tube Ducks that I have taken to wear around my waist near a body of water....plus I find it's easy to conceal knives on the underside of the tubing for easy access when floating about.....and if I push on the back of my ducky's neck really fast, my ducky will peck you with his beak and take your eyes out....Good SD tool....Doc :D
Here is my old model I lent to a friend but he only carrys small folders
[/IMG]

Because I carry much larger knives like multiple Rock Salts I had to upgrade to this model

Doc :)

:confused: Great, Doc -- the more I read the more I started to laugh, while absentmindedly sipping tepid coffee -- bad combo fer me. :o :p
-- Anybody ever notice how easy it is to unwittingly INHALE that slurp of cooled-down, body-temp coffee while choking back increasing giggling -- just put the cup down and laugh ...so you won't wind up with coffee on your monitor and coming down your nose 'cause your throat can't tell that's not air in your windpipe... and still it's funny...?? ...probably just me... / SB!! :p :D

[Dr. Snubnose]

Drinking coffee through your nose is not a good thing cept for all that caffeine...does wake the nose up ....Doc :D

[Pinetreebbs]

Drinking coffee through your nose is not a good thing cept for all that caffeine...does wake the nose up ....Doc :D

Better if you grind it fine and snort it like snuff. :eek:

[StuntZombie]

I always found it rather crazy how many fishermen I knew that couldn't swim. I would think that would be a prerequisite for working on the water, but their philosophy was that they wouldn't be getting out of the boat, so why should they need to be able to swim.