Dry Drowning

1. Dry Drowning http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/110157.php

2. Boy Dies Of Dry Drowning After Leaving Pool And Walking Home 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, June 5, 2008 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.

3. Drowning Statistics • About 3,600 Americans died from drowning a year • 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, said there are three important signs that parents and carers should look out for: • Difficulty breathing • Extreme tiredness • Changes in behavior • All three symptoms result from the brain not getting enough oxygen because of water in the lungs.

4. Drowning Statistics • 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. • Not easy to get statistics on drowning because of confusion about what constitutes drowning • Large number of terms and definitions exceeding 20, • Wet drowning, dry drowning, active or passive drowning, near-drowning, secondary drowning, silent drowning… • Effort underway better define drowning in order to reduce the confusion • 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.