Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

reply to post by Domo1


As a near drowning victim when I was 8 years old I can relate.

As strange as it sounds I have read that drowning is supposed to be a very peaceful way to die.

I can remember sinking down to the bottom of the creek and pushing off of the bottom to get back to the surface so I could breathe. I continued to do that until I passed out from a lack of oxygen. I don't know at what point I took water into my lungs because I was unconscious by then.

One thing that I can remember is that when I pushed off of the bottom to get back to the surface I was reaching and trying to pull myself to the surface.

reply to post by Myomistress


I heard that drowning is like drinking cold lemonade on hot day. It doesn't hurt

And lungs get hot and pressurized due to holding of breath and then water rushes in finally

reply to post by boymonkey74


Hey - Just wanted to say I'm sorry for you and your families loss that day. I couldn't imagine losing a loved one like that. I'd have nightmares as well.

I am a certified rescue diver, usually that means looking for the body of a drowning or accident victim. I did have the chance to rescue someone who was in the process of drowning.

I had gone to a local lake to do some SCUBA diving. After we were finished diving I noticed a man in the swim area that was drowning. I was trained to look at the eyes of someone who is quiet and not moving while in the water. His eyes were wide open. Extremely wide open. I knew right then he was drowning.

I grabbed my fins and jumped in the water. Put my fins on while swimming on my back. Got the fins on and took off for the guy. Got close, but not too close. I didn't want him to grab me. I was told to try to get their attention and ask them to turn around. If that doesn't work, swim behind them and get them in a headlock. Not tight enough to hurt them, but don't give them the opportunity to climb up on you. Then swim them back to shore.

I got the guy back to his family and all was well. I told them to take him to the hospital to get him checked out and they left. I felt energized after that, but if you try to rescue someone please don't let them drown you as well. be sure you can control them before you try.

It is ok to get physical or even violent if you find yourself being drowned by someone who is drowning. Generally a good way to control someone is by going under the armpits and around the neck of the victim, if possible grab them from behind. If someone is unconscious or barely conscious then try to keep their head above water if it does not endanger you. The most important thing is your safety after that it is getting both of you back to shore.

I highly recommend against an unassisted(no floatation device and alone) rescue unless you are very strong swimmer with training with those kind of rescues. Remember the most important thing when trying to rescue someone is your safety.

Originally posted by Domo1
Wow I'm glad I posted this. I had no idea there would be so many people that had a near drowning experience! I'm glad you are all OK and glad other people are learning something new with me.

Me too! I just remembered what it FELT like drowning, not what it LOOKS like. Now when I am around water my OCD will kick in looking for those drowning traits.

Good post.

I think the most important thing a person can learn in regards to swimming safety is how to tread water. It takes very little energy with the correct technique and can keep you afloat for ages. Like people have said it's the panic that causes less experienced swimmers to attempt frantically to stay afloat using as much energy as they can hence getting tired very quickly and not thinking logically - so so dangerous. I really do advise everyone to teach their children to effectively tread water (with the different methods as well so they can alternate when hit by specific movement tiredness) even if they don't want to learn how to swim. It is a fundamental skill in my opinion, and it also helps eliminate the panic someone might face in that situation.

A tip to parents as well - I almost drowned when I was 4, within a few meters of family members. I was at a weekend house with a swimming pool and was minding my own business with my rubber ducky safety float when I lifted my arms up for some reason and fell through the float. I remember vividly seeing blue all around me and clawing my arms upwards in the ladder fashion. Luckily a family member noticed and got me shortly after, but had they been too busy assuming I was safe because of my float I would have died. Never assume your child is safe in the water alone, even with a safety float!!

Also, massive props to the few members here with stories about saving strangers who are drowning.- that is what humanity is all about

As a kid i drowned 3 times in a swimming pool and yes it is correct. From my own drowning experience it is very hard to call for help as water comes in your mouth it also depends on the deepness of water.

For example if the water is 5inch above your head and you can't swim you will go down touch the floor and go up again then again down and you will eventually drown. From my own experience i can tell you that while i was drowning no one noticed me and i couldn't yell for help then a girl was walking by and because i couldn't talk or scream i pulled my hand to her in order to save me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me from water. Btw, my age was 10-11, now i have 4 swimming diploma's and i suggest for people who can't swim to learn how to or take swimming lessons as it a very usefull skill and you should learn it in start of your life.

Again just want to add somthing, yes it is truth about that drowning instinct in my first drowning experience and second i had this instinct and didnt scream/splash/yall (yelling is very hard when u drown u can only talk) . When you drown your body is full of adrenaline and it tries to save it self but because you don't have a code in your brain that allows you to swim in this computer like world you will drown/die and after learning/getting this code in your brain you won't drown as you know how to swim. I've drowned like 3-4 times when i was 10-11 and now when i am at sea i swim the most furthest away from the beach then all people, so yeah as you can see from my past experiences my body wanted to master swimming so i couldn't drown anymore due to my past experiences.

Originally posted by Domo1
reply to post by PutAQuarterIn

 

You brought up a good point. Know your limits. If you are not a strong enough swimmer for the conditions it's better to seek help rather than have two people end up needing a rescue.

This has nothing to do with being a strong swimmer, any person even a kid who is drowning or playing can drown you easily in deep water where you can't stand. My uncles friend went to rescue a drowning person without thinking in the sea stream and they both died and my uncle couldn't do anything cause he knew he will drown also.

And if you would read more about drowning and stories you would understand that these drowning people will jump on your head because of panic. You must be trained like these life-guards, marines etc. they're teaching them to knock-out the person in water then rescue them that's actually the only way the other way is hard and you won't be able to save a grown men without knocking him out or waiting for him to drown in order to recue

reply to post by Domo1


S&F, and a reply to keep this in sight! We hear so often how kids drown in pools with others nearby. Knowing what to look for is VITAL. Excellent post, and hopefully, all will read this and pass it along. I might evn do something I rarely do, and post this to FB.

Also want to add, due to many drowning experiences i was send to a swimming school.

And got my first 3 swimming diplomas the third 1 was (expert swimmer/diver) so it means you can do everything swim on your back/all swimming techniques/diving/seeing in water basically you're a fish and can see/swim in water. Because i've learned swimming in a very short period of time the teacher offered me to get the all 3 diplomas at once because i was so good so i did. After that i got the fourth diploma and was thought to rescue swim.

Now i am basically an expert in swimming and always i go the furthest/deepest in water at the black sea then everyone else.

Also to all people who said they were drowning because they were tired, i suggest you to go to swimming school they will teach you different swimming techniques that won't tire you out and will require minimum energy to swim large distances.

Things you need know to be a good swimmer/learner.
-Learn how to see in water - not important if you're already a very good swimmer. (my swimming teacher told everyone at school it is most important thing to do) So when i finally learned how to see in water without mask i instantly became a very good swimmer.
-Learn what to do when you get water in your nose/lungs and you're suffocating etc.
-Different swimming techniques far distance swimming/fast swimming/energy saving swimming etc. a good swimming school will teach this
And most important - be confident/don't panic/and when you're tired and you're not a good swimmer swim the shortest way to the beach or find a rest due to panic your muscles will start using ATP in your muscles and will tire you out even quicker so if you know how to swim but you're scared or going away from the water very fast when you feel tired you're not a confident swimmer or not a good swimmer/expert.

Also when i didn't have a resque swimming diploma i've seen several people drowning and i didn't know they were drowning back then it looked to me like they were playing/diving because they didn't scream. They were making the same hand movements

Originally posted by jrod

I highly recommend against an unassisted(no floatation device and alone) rescue unless you are very strong swimmer with training with those kind of rescues. Remember the most important thing when trying to rescue someone is your safety.

edit on 9-7-2013 by jrod because: (no reason given)

I agree, grab something that floats if you are untrained and need to rescue someone. There is always something that floats laying around. Put it between you and the victim and all should hopefully be well. Be prepared just in case they are so panicked they do not grab the flotation device.

Usually someone will calm down if they have something to hang on to. Then you can start talking to them to get them to calm down further.

Be safe!

This is great to know! I've always just seen what happens on movies, and imagine a huge amount of thrashing, screaming, flailing of limbs and all of that. Thank you for your post.

Here's a good example of what to look for