Dry drowning, when the symptoms manifest when leaving the pool

Going to the pool is not just fun, go to these places also happens to follow some safety rules with which to make the day a quiet day without frights. Meeting these tips helps keep accidents away like Drowning and other mishaps such as slips and bumps with the edges of the enclosure. Incidents related to this environment.

But the dangers of the pool do not end when the child leaves the water. Apart from this it is also possible to face certain lesser known problems such as the 'dry drowningor secondary, a term that responds to the side effects that a mishap can have in the pool and that are manifested even when it was thought that everything was going smoothly.


Alteration in breathing

Dry drownings always begin after having experienced another previous mishap from which this situation is derived. The most common is that the child swallows water that goes to his lungs and then present respiratory problems and cough that does not stop for a long time. It is not that suddenly the child manifests the symptoms spontaneously and without any apparent cause.

As the doctor explains Mark R. Zonfrillo, from the pediatric emergency department of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, this process begins with a small ponding of the child's lungs. The presence of water in these organs causes them to ignite and begins to present difficulty in the process of converting oxygen into carbon dioxide.


Symptoms may appear shortly after the accident that caused the child to swallow water or even 24 hours after this event. The manifestation of dry drowning are several, but mainly the difficulty in breathing or listening to 'whistles' while the child takes a breath are the two warning signs that adults should know. Especially if, as we say, there has been an accident before that has been able to make the lungs of the child fill with liquids.

What to do and how to prevent it?

The first thing that parents should do is to be attentive to the evolution of the children after suffering a mishap in the water. See if the breathing is normal or if they manifest problems to take air. In the event that this happens, it will be important to go to the nearest medical center and explain this situation to specialists to determine if the child is indeed suffering from a drowning in the dry.


The treatment for dry drowning injury depends on the severity of the patient's symptoms. The doctors They will check the child's vital signs, oxygen level and breathing work. Patients with milder symptoms only need careful observation, in the most severe cases, the doctor can also do a chest x-ray to know the extent of the damage or give oxygen.

In cases of respiratory insufficiency, or when a child can no longer breathe on their own, additional support, such as intubation, will be needed, although it should be noted that this only happens in very rare cases. The goal will be to increase blood flow in the lungs and make the child breathe well again, ensuring the correct exchange of oxygen by carbon dioxide.

Damián Montero

Video: What are the symptoms of dry drowning and the chances of it happening?


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