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Drowning

Submersio · Tonutí

What it is

Breathing impaired by submersion in water; lack of oxygen injures the brain within minutes. It kills around a quarter of a million people a year, most of them children in low-income countries.

Symptoms & signs

  • Silent struggle — rarely shouting or waving
  • coughing, froth at the mouth
  • breathlessness hours later
  • blue lips, unconsciousness
  • cardiac arrest

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Not breathing or unresponsive — call for help and start CPR
  • call 112 / 911 now Any rescue from water with coughing, breathlessness or drowsiness
  • call 112 / 911 now Breathing getting harder in the hours after being pulled out
  • see a doctor soon Vomiting, fever or a new cough within a day of the event

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Rescue breaths first — the arrest is from lack of oxygen
  • CPR
  • oxygen; ventilation with PEEP in hospital
  • observe for hours even after recovery — the lungs can worsen later
  • rewarm the hypothermic; cold water can protect the brain

Natural & lifestyle

  • Swimming lessons for children
  • fence pools on all four sides
  • constant supervision; no alcohol around water
  • life jackets

Emerging & experimental

  • Extracorporeal life support for cold-water arrest
  • surfactant
  • temperature control after resuscitation

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Heimlich manoeuvre to drain water — delays CPR; advised against not confirmed in trials
  • Tilting to drain the lungs — not recommended anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes