Facts About Drowning

 

​Drowning

What should you do when you see someone drowning?

Get immediate help from those present.Make sure that the area is clear for the lifeguard.Take the drowning person out of the water immediately if they are nearby, but if they are far you must not swim to them unless you are a skilled lifeguard.

First Aid Measures:

Place the drowning person on their back on a flat surface, and be careful when handling them as they may be unconscious after bumping their head against something.Try to call the drowning person and shake their shoulders to make sure they are responding.If the person does not respond, check their breathing.Ask someone to call the Red Crescent (997).If the person is breathing: Place them in the recovery position and warm them up with clothes or blankets. Change their wet clothes while waiting for the ambulance.

If the person is not breathing:

Elevate the head by placing a hand on the forehead and another hand down the chin and lifting it gently to clear the airway.Check their pulse by placing two fingers on the windpipe (Adam's apple).Start artificial respiration (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) straight away by slowly blowing into the mouth of the person 5 times (for 1.5 to 2 seconds) while observing their chest as it rises with each blow. Wait until the chest drops back before you blow into their mouth again.Start cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR (30 chest compressions).Repeat mouth-to-mouth resuscitation twice then do CPR once, until the person wakes up or until the ambulance arrives.If the drowning person starts breathing again before the ambulance arrives, they must be warmed up with clothes or blankets and their wet clothes must be changed.Monitor the patient and keep checking their pulse and breathing until the ambulance arrives.

Source :Saudi Arabia Health Ministry 

Inserted by 

 Zimbabwe Online Health Centre

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