Misconceptions of drowning
Posted Jul 18, 2011 10:35:31 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
In reality, a person drowns quickly and quietly without splashing or calling for help, a stark difference from the way Hollywood has portrayed water deaths in countless movies and television shows.
The Canadian Red Cross explains the telltale signs of a drowning may differ depending on the skill level of the person swimming.
“People think a person will be calling for help. Well, that is usually not the case in a weak or non-swimmer,” said Aileen Nauss, water safety technical associate. “Because what they are trying to do is get a breath, and it’s more important for them to breathe than it is for them to yell.”
She said if an individual cannot swim at all, they slip under the water without more than a splash because they don’t know how to get up to the top of the water, whereas a person with some swimming experience will become vertical in the water and look as though they are trying to climb a ladder.
Similar comments are being made by the Lifesaving Society’s Nova Scotia branch.
“They will usually have, we call them ‘big, round, saucer eyes’ with a look of fear in them. And they will usually be facing toward shore,” said Paul D’eon, special projects director.
Both agencies recommend letting a trained lifeguard rescue a person who is in distress.
If that’s not an option, D’eon suggest first reaching for a person, either with your hand or with a pole, or similar instrument to pull the person to shore, throwing them a life preserver or other floatation device, or trying to tow them to shore using something to distance yourself from the drowning person.
“Even a shirt,” he suggests, as a drowning person may inadvertently pull rescuer underwater. “They grab on to the shirt and then you can start swimming them into shore.”
But if television is to be faulted for portraying inaccurate drownings, it may redeem itself in it’s depiction of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
The Red Cross said it’s their mission to have everyone know how to perform CPR, especially those who have backyard swimming pools, or frequent lakes and beaches.
But Nauss said she understands that’s not always the case.
“Doing something is better than doing nothing at all,” said Nauss. “We’ve all seen CPR on TV and we all have an idea of what it may look like. So, after you’ve called 911, if you want to try to attempt CPR as best you can, it’s better than doing nothing.”
The comments come as the province announce the start of National Drowning Prevention week, which comes on the heels of a 17-month-old boy’s drowning death in Moncton.
