Summer has arrived, and many people like to escape the heat of summer in cool river or lake water. However, at this time, drowning incidents occur frequently, and what’s even more regrettable is that many people, because they don’t know how to save themselves and each other, lead to tragedy. Therefore, our magazine has invited emergency experts to teach everyone the correct first aid knowledge.
When a person is submerged in water, water and debris fill the respiratory tract and alveoli, causing hypoxia and suffocation, it is called drowning or drowning. The death caused by respiratory and cardiac arrest is called drowning.
In fact, drowning can be divided into two categories: dry drowning and wet drowning.
Dry drowning refers to a person’s throat spasms caused by strong stimuli (panic, fear, sudden cold, etc.) after entering water, resulting in complete obstruction of the respiratory tract and suffocation death. When the throat spasms, the heart can reflexively stop beating, or it can be caused by asphyxia or myocardial hypoxia. Wet drowning can be divided into freshwater drowning and seawater drowning based on the composition of the water during drowning. However, regardless of the composition of water, when inhaled by a drowning person, it may cause harm to the human body and even endanger life through certain actions.
Regardless of the cause of drowning, it can cause systemic hypoxia and can lead to cerebral edema. Inhalation of sewage into the respiratory tract can lead to pulmonary infections. The worsening of the condition can lead to complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and acute renal failure. Therefore, correct first aid in the event of drowning is crucial for saving the lives of drowning victims.
Self rescue
It is important for those who are not familiar with water or accidentally enter the water to actively engage in self rescue. Firstly, after falling into the water, do not panic and maintain a clear mind. The specific method is to take a supine position, with the head facing back and the mouth facing upwards, and try to expose the mouth and nose above the water surface as much as possible to allow for breathing. When breathing, exhale shallowly and inhale deeply, which can help the body float on the water surface for others to rescue. Never raise your hand or struggle desperately, as raising your hand can easily cause a person to sink.
Swimmers who experience drowning due to spasms (cramps) in the calf and gastrocnemius muscles should stay calm and call for help in a timely manner. At the same time, one should huddle their body together, float to the surface of the water, take a deep breath, then immerse their face in the water, and lift the spasmodic (cramping) lower limb’s big toe forward and upward with force, making the big toe stand up and continue to exert force until the severe pain disappears, and the spasms stop.
Mutual aid
Ambulants should remain calm, take off their outerwear as much as possible, especially their shoes and boots, and quickly swim to the vicinity of the drowning person. For exhausted drowning victims, rescuers can approach from the head; For a conscious drowning person, the rescuer should approach from behind, hold the drowning person’s head and neck with one hand from behind, and swim towards the shore with the other hand holding the drowning person’s arm. When rescuing, attention should be paid to preventing the drowning person from tightly hugging and getting entangled, which could cause danger for both parties. If caught, one should let go and sink, so that the drowning person’s hand can be released for further rescue.
Medical first aid
1. Remove mud, weeds, vomit, etc. from the mouth and nose, and open the airway. Subsequently, place the abdomen of the drowning person on the rescuer’s bent thigh, with the head down, and press the back to force the water from their respiratory tract and stomach to pour out, but do not delay recovery due to prolonged pouring time.
2. For those who have stopped breathing or heartbeat, rapid cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be performed, including mouth to mouth breathing and chest compressions. The amount of air blown during mouth to mouth breathing should be large (Editor’s note: For specific methods of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, please refer to the third issue of this journal in 2004, “Seizing the Key 4 Minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation”).
3. For freshwater drowning, 500ml of 3% physiological saline is intravenously administered; For seawater drowning, intravenous infusion of 500-1000 milliliters of 5% glucose or 500 milliliters of dextran. In addition, glucocorticoids can prevent and treat cerebral edema, pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and alleviate hemolytic reactions.
