Drowning

Excerpt

Drowning is defined as a process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in a liquid medium. To delineate the incident's outcome, this is further divided into descriptive terms such as death, morbidity, and no morbidity. Wet drowning, dry drowning, and near-drowning are no longer accepted terms, although they may still be used when discussing drowning.

Drowning is a major public health problem, especially in children. Drowning usually occurs in a rapid fashion and is most often silent. Individuals who thrash wildy in water while drowning are rare. In most cases, a motionless individual floating in water who rapidly disappears beneath the surface is the classic scenario.

Drowning can occur in both warm and cold water. In many cases, cold water can be protective especially in children. The most immediate threat in drowning is dysfunction of the cardiac and CNS systems. Hypoxemia and acidosis need to be corrected immediately if mortality is to be avoided. Even those who survive may develop a vegetative state due to the prolonged cerebral hypoxia.