Secondary drowning: This is how you recognize it in your child
You should not only keep an eye on your child during the bath, but also afterwards. If water gets into his lungs, even hours later, it can become quite dangerous – and lead to what is known as secondary drowning. Here you can find out how this happens and how you can recognize it early on.
Swimming, splashing and romping around in the water – there is nothing better for children. But with all the fun, there are also dangers lurking in the water. And even if parents always keep an eye on their protégés, it still happens that children swallow water and it ends up in the “wrong pipe”. For this reason, it is important to keep a close eye on children after bath days. Although the likelihood is extremely small — just 1 to 2 percent, according to Upworthy — swallowing water can cause drowning. Even if the children are no longer in the water.
Dry drowning
Dry drowning happens when the child’s face suddenly comes into contact with cold water, according to the German Life Saving Society (DLRG) . This leads to the so-called immersion reflex, in which the glottis cramps. Actually, it is a kind of protective mechanism that is supposed to prevent the inhalation of liquids during unconsciousness. However, if the spasm does not resolve in time, suffocation is the result. Particularly insidious: With this type of drowning, not even water gets into the child’s lungs.
What is secondary drowning?
In contrast to dry drowning, secondary drowning by ingestion does get water into the child’s lungs. If, for example, it was startled in the water and inadvertently inhaled water – be it a near-drowning accident or a supposedly harmless jump from the edge of the pool – it is deposited in the lungs. Even small amounts can be dangerous for the child.
“Breathing in liquids leads, among other things, to inflammatory reactions and edema in the lungs, to disturbances in gas exchange which, if left untreated, can lead to death in a few hours due to an ever-increasing lack of oxygen,” warns Ulrich Nentwich, former head of the Zwickau Children’s Hospital . The smaller the children are, the smaller the amount of water is sufficient. Experts already consider two milliliters per kilogram of body weight to be of concern. For a five-year-old child weighing 18.5 kilograms, that would be 37 milliliters of water – that’s the equivalent of about three to four tablespoons.
Signs of secondary drowning
Here are some signs of secondary drowning to look out for:
- Difficulty breathing and rapid and shallow breathing
- Repeated coughing
- chest pain
- Hand over
- Tarnished lips and pale skin
- Behavioral problems (children in the early stages appear restless and argumentative)
- Extreme fatigue (a sign that the brain is not getting enough oxygen)
Secondary Drowning: The Right Treatment
If you discover one or more of the above symptoms in your child, observe them very closely. If his condition worsens or persists, call an ambulance or go to a hospital . If you are unsure, consult a doctor. It’s better to call him once too often than once too little.
In such a situation, it is important to keep a cool head. Panic won’t help your child – and neither will you. Just stay close to him, gently stroke his head and let your love flow while you wait for the doctor together.