We imagine that a drowning child will be in panic mode, flailing around, screaming, calling for help. Not so.
Instead a child drowning may make no movement at all. He could simply sink to the bottom of a pool, arms out to the side. It usually isn't the noisy swimmers who are having a problem. It is the quiet ones.
The Instinctive Drowning Response has five qualities, according to Francesco A Pia, an American lifeguard whose doctoral studies focused on unobserved drowning:
1 No calls for help. Breathing becomes primary and drowning victims will have no chance for speech.
2 Mouths sink below the surface and then reappear. Victims exhale, inhale but have to time to make noise.
3 Arms extended to the side. Naturally this helps victims press down on the surface to lift mouths out of the water. But they can't wave for help.
4 They can't reach for rescue equipment or move toward a rescuer.
5 Bodies are upright with no kicking. A drowning person can struggle on the surface from 20 to 60 seconds before totally submerging.
There is a pre-drowning moment when a victim may be able to scream, wave and reach for life-saving equipment so thrashing in water should not be ignored.
In a boating situation, a person in the water sometimes appears to be treading water. The best way to be sure they are not in trouble is to simply ask them if they are okay. If they don't answer, they are not okay. Experts say rescuers have about 30 seconds to get to them.
A drowning person who is quiet and unmoving in the water may have their head low with water at mouth level. Or their head could be titled back with the mouth open. Eyes may be closed. Hair may be over the eyes or forehead. They may be vertical in the water but not using legs.
A drowning person may also be moving, appearing to slowly climb an invisible ladder. They may be trying to swim, but not getting anywhere. They may try to roll over on their back.
Watch for these signs and let silence in the water be a warning.
