chest compressions, placing one hand over the other and placing them over the patient’s breastbone and administering 30 compressions. Start again with the two breaths and compressions until the patient starts breathing.
Timing is crucial so call for help and start administering CPR as quickly as possible.
What other pool-related injuries should parents watch out for?
At the Emergency Department, we see significant head injuries and spinal cord injuries that come from reckless diving, and this happens more among teenagers and young adults.
To prevent diving injuries, make sure pool-goers are only using existing diving boards that are designed to dive into deep water. We see catastrophic injuries from diving from unsafe places such as roofs or patios, or diving head-first into shallow water.
Many of these injuries are alcohol-related. Alcohol and swimming don’t mix. Your risk of a drowning or near-drowning event increases 37-fold when you are consuming alcohol while swimming.
RELATED: Have You Heard Of Dry Drowning? What Every Adult Needs To Know To Protect Our Children
What is “dry drowning?”
Dry drowning is when you’ve had a near-drowning event that resulted in water getting into your lungs and that stimulates what’s called laryngospasm. What that means is that your airway is basically closed off so you are not getting enough oxygen and this can occur from several hours to 24 hours after the event.
The signs may be subtle and can present as coughing, vomiting, not being able to talk, or just not appearing well. If this happens, you need to go to the Emergency Department or call 911 right away. Although it is very rare, dry drowning can be fatal.
The key to a fun and safe pool experience is prevention. If you have the right safety equipment and proper supervision, you can prevent most pool-related injuries and drownings.
By Cedars-Sinai