Child drowning accident
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What is a drowning accident?
In a drowning accident, there is always a lack of oxygen when submerging in a liquid. Depending on the length of the lack of oxygen, the result is damage to the organs or death by drowning.
What are special dangerous situations?
- Unattended play by the water
- A garden pond, especially on neighboring or unknown properties
- A shallow water depth is sufficient for infants and young children. The so-called diving reflex can lead to respiratory arrest when the face is immersed in cold water.
What are the signs of a drowning accident?
The signs depend on the duration of the immersion. They can be completely absent at first and only appear after several hours.
- Coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, frothy sputum, rattling breathing
- Hypothermia
- Rapid pulse
- Bluish-greyish skin color, especially of the lips and fingernails
- Confusion or loss of consciousness, loss of consciousness, respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, severe hypothermia
First aid measures
- Rescue the child from the water!
- Talk to the child, check the state of consciousness.
- One should not try to remove the water from the lungs.
- If the child is responsive: remove soaked clothing, dry off child, keep warm, calm down.
- If the child is not responsive, but breathes regularly, you should bring them into a stable position on their side.
- If you have stopped breathing, start donating your breath!
- If no pulse can be felt, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
- Make an emergency call.
- Carry out measures that have already been started until rescue arrives.
Even if a child does not show any of these signs after a suspected drowning accident, they should definitely receive medical attention. A short-term lack of oxygen can also impair organ functions. Under certain circumstances, however, this can only be recognized after 24 to 48 hours.
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