Dry drowning in children

Severe and concerning

The condition in question falls into the category of those quite serious in nature and it poses a really great threat to a child’s life. This is, of course, the prevailing reason why parents tend to become overly concerned and why they feel unrest once it occurs. This condition appears once the lungs of the person in question are filled with water in smaller quantities. As a direct consequence, laryngospasms occur, and these are further known to hinder and limit the quantity of water that is aspirated into the lungs. Once this happens, what can and in most cases does follow is the respiratory arrest – hindrances in the oxygen supplies to the blood, accompanied by cardiac arrest, which can also ultimately lead to the death of the person’s, i.e. the child’s brain. This condition is directly connected with a delayed effect of some minor quantity of water present in the lungs, without the immediate immersion.

When it comes to children, the implications and consequences are even more serious due to the manifestations which are not so easily recognizable and thus, the process of diagnosing becomes pretty difficult. Direct consequence of this is also a treatment which if not timely, leads to a condition that only tends to progress and get worse.

Toddlers and manifestations

Those manifestations that the parents should especially be on the lookout for in moments when their child has swallowed a smaller amount of water after swimming in the pool or accidentally falling into one, as well as after being unexpectedly knocked by a bigger wave are the following are cough, crying and excessive rubbing of the eyes. But the most prominent and tell tale manifestations, especially in toddlers and babies, are:

cough of more-than-normal duration, i.e. the one that does not stop even after the time period of 20 to 30 minutes;breathing difficulties;occurrence of pain while breathing;pain in the chest;mood swings;mental changes (e.g. inability to make out the words when addressed to, inability to express themselves properly and alike);extremely low energy levels, accompanied by excessive fatigue and increased agitation;sweaty skin;pale or blue and grayish color in the face, to name those but the most prominent ones.

Preventive measures

Regarded as the most effective prevention technique is for parents to always be on the watch and keep track of their loved one (or their loved ones) while doing swimming or any other water related activity.