Water entering the nose can be fatal to a child

Drowning is a common experience for anyone who is just learning to swim. However, difficulty breathing due to water getting into the respiratory tract can also occur even if a person does not drown. This is known as dry drowning . This disorder can happen to anyone, especially children, without the need to swim. Dry drowning can happen to children even if they are only bathing or playing water.

What is that dry drowning?

Dry drowning is a respiratory disorder caused by the entry of water into the airways through the mouth or nose. Even if only a small amount of water gets into the airways, this can cause spasms in the airways and cause the airway muscles to close, resulting in difficulty breathing.

The entry of water into the airways can also cause other related disturbances dry drowning as secondary drowning . On secondary drowning , water has entered up to the lungs. This causes inflammation and swelling or pulmonary edema , so that the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs is inhibited or even stopped altogether.

Term dry drowning and secondary drowning often considered the same, but they are different conditions. Both are also not medical terms, experts only consider the difference between the two only as differences in the severity of drowning or how far water enters the respiratory tract. On dry drowning, the water has not entered into the lungs. However on secondary drowning, water has reached the lungs.

Complications due to drowning are a rare thing, someone who drowns does not always experience it dry drowning or secondary drowning . Nonetheless, the difficulty breathing caused by both is a dangerous condition with the worst possibility of being death.

Symptoms and signs a person is experiencing dry drowning

Although it is more likely to be found in children, anyone who is near drowning and causing symptoms of difficulty breathing should seek medical attention. Here are some signs to look out for when someone is drowning:

Breathe very fast
Coughing that causes difficulty breathing
Vomiting - either due to inflammation, lack of oxygen or having too much coughing
Trouble remembering and not being able to remember what just happened
There was a change in behavior and irritability
Discharge of pain in the chest
Drowsiness or fatigue

The above symptoms can appear immediately when someone experiences dry drowning with a relatively light intensity. However if someone experiences secondary drowning then symptoms can appear within hours. If dry drowning generally can improve in the near future, secondary drowning can have serious consequences but can be managed if you get medical attention right away.

What to do if someone experiences dry drowning ?

Monitor someone who experiences drowning to be aware of it happening secondary drowning as well as symptoms dry drowning which just doesn't get better. This can be a sign if someone is experiencing a lack of oxygen. Especially if there are complaints such as excessive fatigue or excessive drowsiness even after resting.

Emergency treatment is needed when the symptoms of drowning do not improve or get worse. The doctor will need to check for obstruction of the airways due to drowning. Sufferers may require supportive treatment tailored to oxygen levels. If there is difficulty breathing accompanied by a lack of oxygen then you must use a breathing apparatus, but this is very rare. Most of the handling dry drowning aims to help blood flow in the lungs and oxygen circulation in returning to normal.

How to prevent dry drowning?

The main deterrence from dry drowning is to behave safely near the surface of the water and minimize water to enter the airway. For parents and caregivers, here are some things you can do to prevent your child from drowning:

Teach children to swim from an early age
Always supervise children when they are near the surface of the water
Don't let the child swim or play water alone
Make sure the swimming area is safe and accompanied by a guard or lifeguard
Teach safe behavior while swimming, such as always using buoys, forbidding diving and drinking water from the pool.