How long does a person stay alive if he loses the ability to breathe? Brain cells remain viable under hypoxia for no more than 5-6 minutes. Although drowning in cold water, this time can increase. In any case, assistance should be provided to the victim before the arrival of the medical team. In this situation, minutes decide the matter. That is why knowing how to provide assistance is very important.
However, not all people are ready to answer the question, much less to show in practice how to act correctly in case of drowning. And this is very sad. For some reason, many believe that only employees of specialized services should possess such skills, but an ordinary person far from medicine does not need to know this. But life sometimes puts people in difficult situations. It’s very scary to see a loved one die and not know how to help him.
What is drowning?
This is a life-threatening condition characterized by the inability to breathe as a result of a person getting into water or another liquid. Often, the airways are filled with water, although this is not strictly necessary. Death from respiratory failure can occur even if the lungs remain “dry.” By this sign, by the way, different types of drowning are distinguished.
Classification by mechanism leading to death
Types of drowning and their characteristics:
- True drowning. It is called so, because in this case, water (or another fluid) enters the lungs. The pathological processes underlying true drowning differ depending on whether drowning occurred in fresh or salt water. In the first case, water quickly penetrates from the alveoli into the vascular bed, diluting blood and destroying red blood cells. Salt water, on the contrary, promotes the exit of plasma from blood vessels, which is accompanied by thickening of the blood, as well as the development of pulmonary edema.
- Asphyxic drowning. In this case, water does not enter the lungs, since the glottis closes, protecting the airways from the ingress of fluid. However, breathing still becomes impossible, because with laryngospasm, air is also not allowed. A person dies from suffocation.
- Syncopal drowning. The main cause of death is reflex cardiac arrest. The lungs remain “dry”. A similar situation is possible when drowning in very cold water.
Classification by color of the skin of the victim
Types of drowning by skin color:
- White asphyxia. As the name implies, it is characterized by severe pallor of the skin. Occurs if there is no flooding of the respiratory tract with liquid. This type is most characteristic of the syncope drowning mechanism, when death occurs as a result of the cessation of cardiac activity.
- Blue asphyxia. It occurs when the victim makes breathing movements, as a result of which the lungs are filled with water. The skin becomes cyanotic due to severe hypoxia. Death occurs due to respiratory failure. Cardiac arrest occurs after the cessation of breathing.
Appearance of the victim
Different types of drowning have certain differences in clinical manifestations.
If the victim was conscious at the time of immersion in water, the scenario of development of events looks something like this. A man is trying to escape, while swallowing water. Breathing becomes impossible, the body experiences hypoxia, as a result of which a characteristic bluish skin color appears. Often there is an expansion of the veins of the neck. Pink foam is released from the mouth. If a person was removed from the water during the agony stage, breathing and cardiac activity may still persist.
If drowning was preceded by an oppression of the central nervous system
(intoxication, poisoning, intoxication), laryngospasm often occurs. The lungs are not filled with water, but death also occurs as a result of asphyxiation. The skin becomes cyanotic.
Syncopal drowning occurs against a background of severe fright or cold shock. The cessation of cardiac activity comes first in the pathogenesis. The skin is pale, there is no discharge of liquid and foam from the victim’s nose and mouth, characteristic of other types of drowning. White asphyxia is most favorable for resuscitation, the time of clinical death with it can be significantly extended.
Basic principles of salvation during drowning
The types of drowning are diverse and require different approaches to assistance, but the general principles in all cases remain unchanged.
All events include 2 stages:
- Removing the victim from the water.
- Providing assistance on the shore.
How to save a drowning person?
No matter how different the types of drowning differ from each other, first aid for drowning should begin with ensuring the safety of the rescuer himself. A drowning person (if he is still conscious) can behave extremely inappropriately. That is why, when pulling the victim out of the water, care should be taken. Otherwise, the rescuer risks himself in the role of a drowning man.
If a person is close enough to the shore, you can try to reach him with a stick, use a rope or other devices to pull him out. If the victim is too far away, you will have to swim to him. The main thing in this situation is not to forget about the danger, because the victim can drown his savior. Therefore, you need to act quickly and unceremoniously. It is best to swim to the sinking behind and grab one arm around the neck, you can grab the hair (it’s even more reliable), and then pull it to land as soon as possible.
Remember: you don’t need to go into the water if you yourself do not swim well!
Types of drowning, first aid for drowning. Actions ashore
There are different types of drowning, and their symptoms are discussed above. This knowledge needs to be considered when assisting the victim.
- Everything is extremely simple if the person extracted from the water is conscious. The main actions will be aimed at warming it and calming it.
- If the person is unconscious, the first thing to do is to remove water from the respiratory tract. With white asphyxia, this is not necessary (the mechanism of this type of drowning is discussed above), you can immediately begin resuscitation.
- With the blue type of drowning, we first cleanse the mouth and nose of algae, sand, etc. Then we press on the root of the tongue, thereby determining the presence of a gag reflex. The preservation of the latter means that the victim is alive, so the primary task will be to remove water from the lungs and stomach. To do this, we turn the victim on his stomach, turn his head to the side, several times induce vomiting, press on the chest. Next, we repeat these steps every 5-10 minutes, until water stops from the mouth and nose. It is necessary to monitor breathing and pulse, be prepared for resuscitation.
- If there is no gag reflex, it is urgent to check the presence of vital functions. Most likely, they will not be. Therefore, to remove water from the lungs, one should not spend much time (no more than 1-2 minutes), but proceed to resuscitation as soon as possible.
Types of drowning. Features of resuscitation during drowning
Various approaches to helping the victim have been given above. There are different types of drowning, it is not surprising that they require different measures. However, cardiopulmonary resuscitation is always performed according to a specific plan, which is not affected by the causes that led to clinical death.
What is included in the complex of measures for revitalization?
- Restoring airway patency.
- Artificial respiration.
- Indirect cardiac massage.
No matter how different the types of drowning, first aid always begins with cleansing the mouth and nose of sand, algae, vomit, etc. Then the water is removed from the lungs. For this purpose, the victim should be turned face down and put his stomach on his knee. The head will thus be below the torso. Now you can press on the chest, stimulating the flow of fluid from the lungs. If help is given to a small child, it can be thrown over the shoulder with his head down or even taken by the legs and turned over, thereby creating more favorable conditions for the outflow of water from the lungs.
Next, we proceed to the implementation of the
triple reception of Safar. The victim should be laid on a hard surface, his head thrown back, with his fingers extended the lower jaw and, pressing on the chin, open his mouth. Now you can start
artificial respiration. Pressing our lips tightly to the victim’s mouth, we exhale. The criterion of effectiveness will be the rise of the chest. After two exhalations, we begin an
indirect heart massage. The base of the right hand is set on the lower third of the sternum, the left hand is placed on top of the right. We begin to perform chest compressions, making sure that the arms remain straight, do not bend at the elbows. According to the latest recommendations (2015), the ratio of exhalations and compressions should be 2:30 regardless of whether one or two rescuers perform resuscitation.
In conclusion
Never forget about the rules of behavior on the water. It’s easier to prevent a tragedy than trying to fix it. Remember: life is given only once. Take care of it and do not play with death.