A DROWNING PERSON DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING PERSON
Fri 8th April 2016
As part of our ongoing staff training, at the RibRide base in Menai Bridge, we have been discussing drowning with the team. We are all enjoying windsurfing, surfing, stand-up paddle boarding and kite surfing at the start of the season and are putting the winter wetsuits away. As the holiday makers arrive and beach visits increase we feel it is time to raise awareness of the signs of drowning.
The greatest misunderstanding of drowning, perpetuated by what we see on the telly, is that a drowning person actually does not look like a drowning person. Shouting and splashing? Doesn’t happen. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event.
Here’s a brutal statistic: it’s said that half of all children who will drown this year will drown within a few meters of their parents. Those parents will be completely unaware anything is wrong.
The Instinctive Drowning Response takes over and this is what happens:
1. Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.
2. Drowning people’s mouths sink below and reappear above the surface of the water in quick succession. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale and cry out for help. When drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface taking in water.
3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response, people’s bodies remain upright in the water with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water for 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.
However, this doesn’t mean that a person who is yelling for help and thrashing isn’t in real trouble. They are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the Instinctive Drowning Response, aquatic distress doesn’t last long. But unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue by grabbing lifelines, throw rings, etc.
Look for these signs of drowning when persons are in the water:
• Head low in the water, mouth at water level
• Head tilted back with mouth open
• Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
• Eyes closed
• Hair over forehead or eyes
• Not using legs, vertical
• Hyperventilating or gasping
• Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
• Trying to roll over on their back
• Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder
Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking around for safety. One way to be sure is to ask them, “Are you all right?” If they can answer, they are probably OK. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them to safety.
Parents, children playing in the water make noise. When they go quiet, you need to get to them and find out why.
With thanks to Mario Vittone and the U.S. Coast Guard.
http://www.army.mil/article/109852/Drowning_Doesn_t_Look_Like_Drowning
https://www.ribride.co.uk/blog/drowning-does-not-look-like-drowning/
.--.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Hoy por fin me llegò el mp3 con radio y me faltò tiempo para llevarla al taller a montarla . Esta es la foto del R5 preparado para llevar la piragua al tri y en el capó està la radio mp3 de 20 € que se ha instalado hoy.Caracterìsticas del aparato
http://ceciliobenito.blogspot.com/2016/04/radio-estereo-fm-control-remoto-para.html
Luego me fuì con el neopreno a la zona del tri y èsta es la foto post nataciòn
El Ceci después de entrenar en el mediterráneo con el neopreno en la zona del tri
Se hablaba de 16 grados de temperatura del agua , pero para mì màs frìa porque habìa corrientes y viento del sureste.Yo nadè 5 minutos y me salì ,porque no habìa nadie a la vista y era peligroso aunque no habìa olas . Lo que nos salva es que la previsiòn meteorològica es de 25 º!
Estuve casi media hora para ponerme el neopreno y sòlo 5 minutos en el agua.Salì corriendo playa arriba, hasta que me lavè los pies en la miniducha y luego seguì corriendo por la pasarela de madera y el paseo , por cierto patinè sobre las losetas y no me caì de milagro. Menos mal que hay moqueta para la carrera.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario