Dry drowning: symptoms, what should a parent know?

Dry and secondary drowning are terms that are particularly common among parents and in the media, during holiday trips to the water. What is dry drowning, can you really "drown" if you are not swimming in water? 

What are the symptoms of dry and secondary drowning, when can they appear and why are they especially dangerous in children? In today's article, we present basic information and rules of conduct in case of dry and secondary drowning.

What is dry drowning i secondary drowningwhen can they occur?

Dry drowning (nec. dry drowning), also otherwise known as post-immersion team and secondary drowning (secondary drowning) are colloquial terms, but quite often used in the medical community to describe complications after drowning or choking. What is dry drowning?

What is dry drowningand what it is secondary drowning, what are the differences?

The so-called dry drowning occurs when, after aspiration, even a small amount of liquid, the glottis reflexively tightens (as a result of irritation of the superior laryngeal nerve). The tightening of the glottis, which is inside the larynx, is a defense mechanism of the body, which, however, causes more or less severe difficulties in breathing, which in turn may lead to hypoxia.

Symptoms of dry drowning may occur immediately after aspiration of fluid into the respiratory tract, but they often become apparent only a few hours (up to 24 hours) after aspiration.

The so-called secondary drowning It is a condition in which liquid enters the lungs as a result of aspiration. In this case, the glottis also tightens reflexively, but still, water, to a small or large extent, enters the lungs. The liquid irritates the lung mucosa, causing it to become inflamed and/or edema, which leads to impeded gas exchange, and thus progressive hypoxia of the body.

Symptoms of the so-called Secondary drowning can occur from 15 minutes to as long as 72 hours (3 days) after aspiration.

What are the symptoms of dry and secondary drowning?

We already know what secondary drowning and dry drowning are — worth being aware of can happen to anyone. However, children who love carefree fun in the pool, lake, sea, but also in the home bathtub are more often exposed. While playing in the water or while drinking drinks greedily, it is very easy to choke, which in most cases turns out to be harmless.

However, after a shorter (several minutes) or longer time (up to 3 days), the child may develop symptoms of dry or secondary drowning. Belong to them:

• Attacking, severe cough: which may be accompanied by a gag reflex;
• Breathing difficulties: the child gets tired when breathing, puts a lot of effort into it. There may also be shortness of breath, wheezing, pain and/or tightness in the chest, headache;
• Paleness, bruising of the skin: in particular, it is worth paying attention to the blueness of the lips, the skin around the eyes, and the blue color of the nails, but it is worth remembering that the blueness of the skin may also occur as a result of the body cooling down, e.g. after a long bath in cool water;
• Unusual behavior: increased irritability, slurred speech, increased drowsiness, apathy, impaired consciousness and even loss of consciousness.

The scenario might look like this: after playing in the water, we return home with the child and the toddler begins to complain of extreme fatigue and drowsiness, is irritable, may also report, among others: tightness/pain in the chest, headache, nausea. These may be symptoms of dry drowning or secondary drowning, which should not be underestimated because they are direct threat to the health and life of the child.

What to do when we observe in a child symptoms of dry or secondary drowning?

First of all, don't panic and assume the worst. Although dry and secondary drowning are dangerous, they are relatively rare. Therefore, when we observe that the child choked while drinking or swimming, but coughed up the liquid and returned to play, you should just watch him closely and do not underestimate the complaints reported by the toddler.

Czy dry and secondary drowning can be prevented, what to pay attention to?

In the prevention of dry and secondary drowning, a key role plays common sense and knowledge of the basic rules of safe staying by the water, including:

• While swimming and playing in the water, children should be under the constant supervision of a sober adult.
• Familiarize children with water safety rules, and if necessary, equip them with life jackets, sleeves or swimming rings. If possible, enroll your children in swimming lessons.
• Always use guarded bathing areasavoid playing in places that may be dangerous, e.g. due to the unknown depth of the water body, sudden drops in the terrain under water
• We avoid suddenly running into cold water, swimming and playing in the water after a hearty meal.

It is crucial in the prevention of drowning and dry drowning increased vigilance over water, as well as familiarity first aid rules, among others in case of choking.

First aid courses are often free and organized in many clinics and hospitals, both in smaller and larger towns - it is worth taking advantage of them to know how to help your child or other injured person if necessary.