If a person has drowned, can he be saved? Death on the water and what leads to it

Many drowning people find themselves in the water unexpectedly, for example when a boat capsizes or falls from a pier or bridge. Others are unable to stay afloat for various reasons - due to inability to swim, fatigue, poisoning by poisonous sea animals, intoxication, due to a heart attack.

Young children can drown by falling into the toilet if left unattended. Even an adult can drown in a bathtub with very little water, or choke in a bucket of water (see “How to Prevent Drowning”).

Symptoms

Even the most skilled swimmer can have an accident in the water. Be alert if you notice the following signs:

labored breathing;
signals for help (although some drowning people cannot give them);
floundering with almost no progress.

Do not rush to save a drowning person by swimming without special training. It can pull you under water too.

Do not overestimate your strength when rushing to help. Know your physical limits.

Symptoms after rescue

A drowning person pulled out of the water may be unconscious or in a state of stupor (decreased level of consciousness). He may be scared, irritated, restless or inhibited. Other symptoms at this point may include:

rapid, slow or absent pulse;
irregular heartbeat;
shallow or choking breathing;
vomiting;
low body temperature (if a person drowned in cold water);
cough with pink frothy sputum;
bloating;
pale or bluish skin tone;
cardiac arrest.

LET'S LOOK MORE CAREFULLY

What happens when a person drowns

Diving under water is dangerous to life, but not directly for the reason that can be assumed - inhaling water. This does begin a dangerous sequence of events, but what is truly destructive is the lack of oxygen in the body.

Path to ruin

When submerged under water, a person inhales or swallows water. So he tries to hold his breath. This increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood.

At some point, the level of carbon dioxide affects the respiratory center in the brain, the person begins to breathe again and inhales even more water. Then vomiting begins, the person swallows water again, then loses consciousness, convulsions begin, and he inhales water again.

What happens when the larynx is blocked

In some people, the larynx becomes blocked after inhaling water. The airways become blocked and due to lack of oxygen the person stops breathing and loses consciousness.

Cold water survival

Some people - especially young children - who have drowned in cold (below 12°C) water survive without brain damage. In such a situation, artificial respiration and cardiac massage should be started immediately and continued until the rescued person begins to breathe on his own. This may continue for several hours.

What to do

If you decide to save a drowning person, remember that if you act incorrectly, you can both drown. For example, a drowning person may drag you underwater in .

Therefore, it is better to save a drowning person by handing him something or throwing a life preserver. Here are different ways to save drowning people.

Standing on the shore, extend your hand or some object to the drowning person: an oar, a stick, a chair, a board, a rope, a tree branch.

Throw a drowning person a life preserver tied to your boat, pier, pole, or edge of the pool.

To help someone drowning in shallow water, go into the water, but not deeper than your waist. Stretch a stick, a board, throw a rope, a circle. Then drag the drowning person to a safe place.

If there is a boat, swim to the drowning man. Let him try to grab the side while you row towards shore. If he can't hold on, try to pull him on board, carefully so as not to capsize the boat.

How to prevent drowning

The best way is to follow safety rules when swimming. If you spend time near water, familiarize yourself with safety precautions.

Don't swim alone. Remember the basic rule: if everyone is responsible for the other, no one can slip under the water unnoticed.

Do not dive in shallow water unless you know how deep the water is.

Before swimming or boating, do not drink alcohol or take medications that cause drowsiness.

In winter, do not walk on ice unless you are sure of its strength.

Do not sled from the shore if the ice is unstable.

In spring, never drive on a road that is closed due to a river flood.

Keep children away from unexpectedly flooded streams. The child may not understand that the stream where he splashed last summer has now become a roaring torrent that can carry him away. It is even better not to leave children near water unattended at all.

SECONDS COUNT

When you reach the victim, check if he is breathing. If not, immediately begin artificial respiration (mouth-to-mouth), even before you have completely pulled the drowning person out of the water. Call an ambulance immediately. Perform artificial respiration even in a boat or in shallow water. Then place the victim on a hard surface and continue with your actions. If you know how, proceed to indirect cardiac massage (see,).

Don't waste time trying to empty your lungs of water. If the rescued person is not breathing, immediately begin artificial respiration.
Do not rush to interrupt your actions: this method requires time for breathing to recover. Continue until rescue services arrive. If you are tired, ask someone to relieve you.
If you suspect a neck injury, do not move the victim unless there is a direct danger to his or your life. If you still need to move it, place a board. If a person is lying face down in the water, gently roll them over, keeping their head, neck, and body in a straight line (see "Take Care of the Victim's Neck").
Protect the victim's neck

Every year, many people dive shallow or get injured while surfing. In this case, some injure the neck or spine, which can lead to.

That's why it's important to know what to do—and what not to do—if you have a diving or surfing accident. Correct actions will help a person avoid injury.

Send someone for an ambulance immediately.

If doctors can arrive soon, wait. They have everything you need for neck injuries.

If help is not forthcoming, you will have to move the victim. For this you will need an assistant. Remember the main rule when moving victims with a neck or back injury: the head, neck and torso must be in one line at all times.

If the victim is lying face down, carefully turn him over. While he is still in the water, place a board under him so that it reaches his buttocks. Use it to pull the victim out of the water. If there is no board, gently pull it under your arms.

Do not drag the victim sideways. Make sure his head remains in line with his body at all times.

Leave the victim lying on the board. Don't move it unless absolutely necessary.

If you need to perform artificial respiration or chest compressions, move the victim as little as possible. For example, lift your chin no more than necessary to allow air into the airways.

Summer is a time for vacations and relaxation on the water, but this fun time is associated with many dangerous situations. One of them is drowning. Saving a drowning person is exactly the situation when you need to act as quickly as possible. Any delay or inaction can cost a human life, and the timeliness of assistance is often more important than its quality.

More than 90% of victims survive if help is provided in the first minute after drowning. If help comes within 6-7 minutes, then the chances of survival will be much lower - 1-3%. That's why It is very important not to panic, pull yourself together and start acting. Of course, it is better for professional rescuers to provide assistance, but if they are not nearby, it is better to try to help to the best of your ability than to do nothing.

How to properly save a drowning person

If you see a drowning person, the first thing you need to do is call rescuers. You can swim to rescue yourself only if you are confident that you are swimming well and feel well. Under no circumstances should you swim at random and join the ranks of drowned people. It is necessary to swim up to a drowning person strictly from behind, so that he does not grab the rescuer in frantic attempts to escape. Remember, a drowning person does not control himself and can easily prevent you from swimming and even pull you under water, and it will be very difficult to free yourself from his convulsive grip.

If the drowning person has already completely immersed himself in the water, you need to swim to him along the bottom and at the same time take into account the direction of the current and its speed. When the drowning person is within reach, you need to take him under the armpits, by the arm or by the hair and pull him out of the water. In this case, it is important to push off strongly enough from the bottom and actively work with your free arm and legs.

Once you are above the water, it is important to keep the drowning person's head above the surface of the water. After that it is necessary to try to deliver the victim to shore as quickly as possible to provide first aid.

The concept of drowning and its types

In order to effectively provide first aid to a drowning person, it is necessary to understand what drowning is and what types of it doctors distinguish. Drowning is a condition in which the airways become blocked, preventing air from entering the lungs, resulting in oxygen deprivation. There are three types of drowning and they all have their own characteristics.

White asphyxia or imaginary drowning This is a reflex cessation of breathing and heart function. Typically, with this type of drowning, a very small amount of water enters the respiratory tract, which leads to spasm of the glottis and cessation of breathing. White asphyxia is relatively safe for humans, since the chances of returning to life remain even 20-30 minutes after immediate drowning.

Blue asphyxia is real drowning, which occurs when water enters the alveoli. Typically, drowning people have a blue tint to their ears and face, and their fingertips and lips are purple-blue. It is possible to save such a victim if only 4-6 minutes have occurred since the moment of drowning.

Drowning when the function of the nervous system is depressed usually occurs after cold shock or in a state of severe alcohol intoxication. Respiratory and cardiac arrest usually occurs 5-12 minutes after drowning.

Providing first aid for drowning

In the event of drowning, even if the victim is conscious and feels relatively well, An ambulance must be called. But before her arrival, you need to try to provide first aid to the victim, and the first thing to do is check his vital signs. If breathing and pulse are present, then you need to lay the person on a hard, dry surface and lower his head. Be sure to rid him of wet clothes, rub him and warm him up, if he can drink, give him a warm drink.

If the victim is unconscious, then after removing him from the water, you can try to clean his mouth and nose, pull his tongue out of his mouth and begin artificial respiration. You can often hear recommendations for removing water from the lungs, but this is not necessary; in most cases, there is either very little water or no water at all, since it has already been absorbed into the blood.

The most effective method of performing artificial respiration in the event of drowning is considered to be the classic “mouth to mouth”. If it is not possible to unclench the victim’s jaws, then you can use the “mouth to nose” method.

Carrying out artificial respiration

Typically, artificial respiration begins with exhalation. If the chest rises, then everything is normal and the air is passing through; you can make several blows, pressing on the stomach after each blow to help the air escape.

If the victim does not have a heartbeat, it is important to perform indirect cardiac massage in parallel with artificial respiration. To do this, you need to place your palm at a distance of two fingers from the base of the sternum and cover the second. Then press quite hard, using your body weight, 4-5 times and inflate. The speed of pressing should depend on the age of the victim. For infants, pressure is applied with two fingers at a speed of 120 pressures per minute, for children under 8 years old at a speed of 100 times per minute, and for adults - 60-70 times per minute. In this case, the sternum of an adult should bend by 4-5 centimeters, and in a child under 8 years old - 3-4 cm, in an infant - 1.5-2 cm.

It is necessary to carry out resuscitation until breathing and pulse are restored on their own or until undeniable signs of death appear, such as rigor or cadaveric spots. One of the most common mistakes when providing first aid is premature termination of resuscitation measures.

Usually, when performing artificial respiration, water is released from the respiratory tract, which got there during drowning. In such a situation, it is necessary to turn the victim’s head to the side so as to allow the water to flow out and continue resuscitation. If resuscitation is performed correctly, water will flow out of the lungs on its own, so squeezing it out or lifting the victim upside down makes no sense.

After the victim comes to his senses and breathing is restored, it is necessary to take him to the hospital, since deterioration of his condition after improvement is practically the norm for drowning. The victim should not be left unattended for a single minute, as swelling of the brain or lungs, respiratory and cardiac arrest can begin at any minute.

Some features of resuscitating drowning people (Video: “Rules for providing first aid to drowning people”)

There are quite a lot of prejudices and rumors associated with rescuing drowning people. We will remind you of some rules and features of resuscitation measures in case of drowning. It is important to remember these rules and use them in a real situation.

Resuscitation measures must be carried out even if a person has been under water for a long time. Cases of revival with complete restoration of the patient’s condition even after an hour of being under water are described. Therefore, if a person spent 10-20 minutes under water, this does not mean that he died and there is no need to save him, this is especially important when resuscitating children.

If during resuscitation measures the stomach contents are released into the oropharynx, it is necessary to carefully turn the victim to one side, trying to ensure that the relative position of the head, neck and torso does not change, then clear the mouth and, turning it to its original position, continue resuscitation.

If there is a suspicion of damage to the spine, especially its cervical region, then airway patency must be ensured without tilting the victim’s head, but simply by using the technique of “pushing the lower jaw forward.” If this action does not help, then you can throw back your head, despite suspicions of spinal injuries, since ensuring airway patency is a priority action when rescuing unconscious patients.

Resuscitation efforts can be stopped only if the signs of respiratory failure have completely disappeared. If there is a violation of the respiratory rhythm, rapid breathing or severe cyanosis, it is necessary to continue resuscitation efforts.

Rescue of drowning people: Will the victim come back to life in half an hour?

Summer has arrived, the swimming season has opened, and with its beginning, the number of accidents associated with drowning has traditionally increased. Alas, very often people die because they are given first aid incorrectly and untimely. Doctor Natalya Novitskaya spoke about how to bring an unfortunate drowned man back to life.

“People drown for various reasons,” says Natalya. “This is careless behavior on the water, swimming in prohibited places, or in a storm, alcohol intoxication.”

Experts distinguish between “pale drowning” and “blue drowning.”

“Let’s start with “pale” drowning,” says Natalya Novitskaya. “In this case, water does not enter the lungs and stomach. This happens when drowning in very cold or chlorinated water. This is explained by the fact that unexpected contact with very cold or chlorinated water causes "a reflex spasm of the glottis, which, in turn, does not allow water to enter the lungs, and also leads to reflex cardiac arrest. The victim develops a state of clinical death."

Signs of “pale” drowning are a pale gray color of the skin, a small amount of foam, which, when wiped, does not leave wet marks on a cloth or napkin. With “blue” drowning, the victim’s face and neck take on a blue-gray color, pinkish foam comes out of the mouth and nose, and veins swell in the neck.

Even in the case of a long stay in cold water, there is a chance to save the drowned person (if, of course, he can be pulled out of the water).

“The first thing you should do is turn the drowned person onto his stomach so that the head is lower than the pelvis,” teaches Natalya Novitskaya. “As quickly as possible, insert two fingers into his mouth and clean the oral cavity in a circular motion. Then press on the root of the tongue to provoke gag reflex and stimulation of breathing. If, after pressing, you hear the characteristic sound “e” and vomiting begins, and you see food remains in the vomit, this means that the victim is alive. Indisputable evidence of this will be a reduction in the intercostal spaces and the appearance of a cough."

If vomiting and coughing appear, then your task is to remove water from the lungs and stomach as soon as possible, says the doctor. Next, periodically press on the root of the tongue for 5-10 minutes until all the water comes out. To make it go away better, you can pat the victim on the back with your hands or, while exhaling, strongly squeeze his chest from the sides several times.

Even if a drowned person has no signs of life, you can try to resuscitate him. If, when pressing on the root of the tongue, there is neither a gag reflex nor breathing movements, quickly turn the victim onto his back, check the reaction of the pupils to light and the presence of a pulse in the carotid artery. If they are absent, begin artificial respiration. In this case, you need to stop every 3-4 minutes, quickly turn the victim onto his stomach and remove water and foam from the mouth and nose.

Resuscitation procedures are carried out within 30-40 minutes, even if they have no effect. If after this time the patient has not revived, then the death is irreversible.

If, as a result of resuscitation, the victim’s heart begins to beat again and he begins to breathe on his own, to avoid complications, turn him over again on his stomach and carefully remove water from the respiratory tract.

Complications from drowning may include pulmonary or cerebral edema. In case of pulmonary edema (characteristic signs are bubbling breathing, frequent coughing with the release of pinkish foamy sputum), the victim must immediately be seated or placed in a position in which his head is elevated.

If possible, apply a heating pad to his feet or soak them in warm water. After this, apply tourniquets to the upper thighs. They should be applied for no more than 40 minutes and then removed from the right and left legs alternately with an interval of 15-20 minutes. You can let the patient breathe in alcohol vapor.

Cerebral edema may be indicated by a coma, frequent vomiting and the appearance of. But even if this is not observed, to reduce the risk of developing cerebral edema, apply something cold to the victim’s head.

After carrying out rescue measures, you need to lay the victim on his side and call an ambulance. While you are waiting for doctors, do not leave the victim unattended, as cardiac arrest may occur at any second! - Natalya Novitskaya warns.

If, fortunately, you managed to save a drowning person on your own, calling an ambulance is still necessary, since as a result of water getting into the lungs (even in small quantities), a person often develops pneumonia. Therefore, it is better that he remains in the field of view of doctors for several days.

Shlionskaya Irina

It is your direct responsibility to help a drowning person. In order for help to be effective, it is not enough to be able to swim; you must also know a number of rescue techniques.

SWIM TO A DROWNING MAN

Swim up to the drowning person quickly, but rely on your strength. Tired, tired, you are unlikely to be able to provide real help.

Swim up from behind, thereby depriving the drowning person of the opportunity to grab your hands or head. Only very good swimmers can disregard this rule.

First of all, strive to raise the victim’s head above the surface of the water, making it easier for the drowning person to breathe. Having received air, the drowning person stops making convulsive movements, which only complicate his rescue.

If a drowning person grabs your arms, legs or head, immediately take measures to free yourself.

When grabbing one of your hands, sharply turn your hand against his thumb and jerk him towards you.

If your hand is caught between two hands of a drowning person, act as shown here.

If both of your hands are grabbed, turn them against the thumbs of the drowning person and at the same time pull your hands towards you.

Before freeing yourself, inhale the air and move your entire body into the water.

The drawings show the basic techniques for releasing grips from both arms from behind, from the torso from the front and from behind.

In all circumstances, push the victim upward.

If you get tired and want to take a break, do not swim away from it on the surface, but leave by diving underwater.

Your task is to quickly deliver the drowned person to the shore.

CAPTURE AND TRANSPORTATION OF A DROWNING PERSON

Turn the drowning person's back to you, place your palms on the lower jaw, fingers on the drowning person's chin, without covering his mouth. Straighten your arms. Lie on your back and, using breaststroke, swim to the nearest shore. Keep the face of a drowning person on the surface at all times.

Another position is also suitable. Turn the victim slightly onto his side. Pass your hand over the armpit of the drowning person's upper arm. With the same hand, grab the hand or forearm of the drowning person's other hand. Turn yourself onto your side. Working energetically with your arms and legs, swim to the shore on your side.

WHAT TO DO ON LAND

If a drowning person loses consciousness, immediately upon arrival on shore, apply artificial respiration.

Artificial respiration is performed by compressing the victim's chest at regular intervals 15-16 times per minute.

Contracting and expanding, it makes the same movements as during normal breathing. Swimming 100 meters in the free style is considered excellent if the distance is covered in less than 2 minutes 10 seconds, and good - if the time is 2 minutes 10 seconds - 2 minutes 25 seconds

Swimming in a suit is considered excellent if you swim 40 meters, and good if you swim 30 meters.

Long diving is considered excellent at 12 meters and good at 10 meters.

Swimming at a distance of 400 meters is passed after a thorough study of different styles.

You should strive to meet these standards, to minimize the time spent swimming any distance.

Each swimming lesson must be strictly regulated, since the load experienced by the body without habit is very high. A swimming lesson lasts approximately 45 minutes and consists of exercises on land (10 minutes), introductory exercises (30 minutes) and exercises to gradually reduce the load after classes in water - gymnastics (5 minutes).

For non-swimmers, it is best to practice in a group. Under the guidance of an instructor, you will learn how to work your arms and legs on land using a bench or board.

Gradually, classes must be transferred to water, to a shallow place, no deeper than 1.4 - 1.5 meters. It is highly recommended to study footwork using the crawl and breaststroke methods, holding your hands at the side or sitting on the side of the pool.

When learning crawl style swimming while standing on the bottom, start by working with one hand. Later you will move on to mastering working with both hands. The next stage is the work of one hand in connection with the breath and, finally, the work of the hands and breath.

It’s very good if you have auxiliary equipment at your disposal: rings, belts, etc. They will support you on the water and give you the opportunity to focus all your attention on the correct functioning of your arms, legs, and breathing apparatus.

However, do not get carried away with unnecessary auxiliary shells. Once you feel confident enough, free yourself from belts, circles, no matter how good they are.

Today I want to continue the theme of summer holidays, but with a twist on water.

Of course, I would like the essence of the article to be as easy as its beginning, but, unfortunately, it will not work out that way. After all, the sun is getting hotter and hotter. The water in the sea and other bodies of water is warming up. The number of picnics is increasing. The temperature in the body of many people rises, and sanity often fades into the background. The result is drowning. Moreover, as statistics and news reports show, people, despite all the warnings and other preventive measures, continue to drown. The reason in most cases is heat, alcohol, water - convulsion, loss of consciousness...

Our mind can replace the ellipsis in the previous paragraph with “drowned man,” but I want to replace them with “saved person,” who next time will be more conscious about the issue of his own safety on the water.

Let's look, dear readers, at how we can help in a situation when a person begins to drown and needs the help of another person. Moreover, after pulling a person out of the water, it is also necessary to provide him with first aid. So…

Help for a drowning person. What to do?

If you see a drowning person, no matter how trite it sounds, you must:

1. Pull a person out of the water;
2. Call an ambulance;
3. Provide him with pre-medical care.

These 3 points, if performed correctly and quickly, are actually the key to a successful completion of the situation. Delays are not acceptable!

1. We pull a drowning person out of the water

A drowning person in most cases panics, does not hear words, and does not understand what is happening. He grabs onto everything he can and thereby becomes dangerous for the person who wants to save him.

If the person is conscious

To pull a person out of the water, if he is conscious, throw him a floating object - an inflatable ball, board, rope, etc. so that he can grab onto it and calm down. This way you can easily pull it out.

If the person is unconscious or exhausted:

1. While still on the shore, get as close to the drowning person as possible. Be sure to take off your shoes, excess clothes (or at least heavy ones), and empty your pockets. Jump into the water and approach the drowning man.

2. If the person has already gone under water, dive after him and try to see him or feel him.

3. Once you find the person, turn him over onto his back. If the drowning person starts to grab onto you, quickly get rid of his grip:

- if a drowning person grabs you by the neck or torso, then grab him by the lower back with one hand, and with the other hand push his head away, resting on his chin;
- if you grab the hand, then twist it and pull it out of the hands of the drowning person.

If such methods do not help get rid of the grip, then take air into your lungs and dive, the drowning person will change the grip, and you can free yourself from it at that time.

Try to act calmly and do not show cruelty to the drowning person.

4. Transport the drowning person to shore. There are several methods for this:

- being from behind, clasp your chin with your palms on both sides and row your feet towards the shore;
- insert your left hand under the armpit of the drowning person’s left hand, at the same time, grab the wrist of his right hand with your left hand, row with your feet and one hand;
- take the victim’s hair with your hand and place his head on your forearm, row with your feet and one hand.

2. First aid for a drowning person (First aid)

When you have pulled the victim ashore, urgently call an ambulance and begin immediately providing him with first aid.

1. Get down on one knee next to the injured person. Place him on your knee, belly down, and open his mouth. At the same time, press with your hands on his back so that the water he swallowed flows out of him. The victim may experience and - this is normal.

If a person is semi-conscious and begins to vomit, do not allow them to lie on their back, otherwise they may choke on the vomit. If necessary, help remove vomit, mud, or other substances that are interfering with normal breathing from his mouth.

2. Lay the victim on his back and remove any excess clothing. Place something under his head to raise it a little. To do this, you can use his own clothes, rolled into a roller, or your knees.

3. If a person does not breathe for 1-2 minutes, it can be fatal.

Signs of cardiac arrest are: absence of pulse, breathing, dilated pupils.

If these signs are present, immediately begin to take resuscitation measures - do “mouth to mouth” and.

Take a deep breath into your lungs, pinch the victim's nose, bring your mouth close to the victim's mouth and exhale. It is necessary to make 1 exhalation every 4 seconds (15 exhalations per minute).

Place your palms on top of each other on the victim's chest, between his nipples. In pauses between exhalations (during artificial respiration), do 4 rhythmic presses. Press on the chest quite firmly so that the sternum moves down by about 4-5 cm, but no more, so as not to aggravate the situation and further harm the person.

If the injured person is elderly, then the pressure should be gentle. If the victim is a child, apply pressure not with your palm, but with your fingers.

Perform artificial respiration and chest compressions until the person comes to his senses. Don't give up and don't give up. There have been cases when a person came to his senses even after an hour of such measures.

It is most convenient for two people to resuscitate, so that one does artificial respiration, and the other.

4. After breathing has been restored, until the ambulance arrives, place the person on his side so that he is lying steadily, cover him and keep him warm.

If the ambulance cannot arrive, but you have a car, complete all the above points in the car while driving to the nearest medical facility.

May the Lord protect us all, dear readers, from such situations.