By Claire Maldarelli, Working Mother
Secondary and dry drowning are rare, but extremely serious.
This past week, a Texas family suffered a heartbreaking loss when
their 4-year-old son succumbed to a suspected (though not officially
confirmed) case of secondary drowning—a condition in which inhaled water
causes fluid to build up in the lungs. In these cases, death can occur hours after a child goes swimming. Such fatalities are extremely rare, but knowing the causes and symptoms can help put parents' minds at ease—and help you act fast if something isn't right.
[post_ads]The Texas boy was splashing in knee-deep water when a wave knocked him
over, submerging his head for a few seconds. He recovered quickly and
seemed fine, but a few days later he developed diarrhea and vomiting as
well as pain in his shoulder; within a few days, he stopped breathing
and passed away.Though doctors aren’t yet sure, they suspect that water
got into the boy's lungs when the wave knocked him down, resulting in
fluid build-up and a condition called pulmonary edema. The fluid makes
it difficult for a person to breathe and get oxygen
into the lungs and throughout the body. Without an official autopsy
report, however, the cause of the tragic death can't be confirmed.
Michael McHugh, the acting chair of the pediatric critical care until at
The Cleveland Clinic, told The Washington Post that a bacterial or viral infection
from untreated swimming water could also be to blame—and that symptoms
of this type of atypical drowning usually manifest more rapidly.Either way, secondary and dry drowning are both incredibly rare. In fact, as The Washington Post
reports, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report
that about 10 people die from unintentional drowning daily, the agency
doesn't even collect statistics on “dry drowning.” One 2006 study out of the British Medical Journal states that they account for just two to five percent of all submersion incidents.
What to look out for
Atypical drowning usually results from one of two conditions:
“secondary” (or “delayed”) drowning as described above and “dry
drowning,” which occurs when water enters the airway and causes the
muscles there to spasm, preventing air from entering the lungs. Both
incidents, which occur most commonly in young children (but can also, on
occasion, happen in adults) are considered a medical emergency, and any
symptoms should be treated with urgency, according to the American Osteopathic Association.
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The
two types of atypical drownings share many of the same symptoms, though
dry drowning usually occurs immediately (or very shortly after) the
water inhalation incident. Secondary drowning can occur between one and
24 hours after the event.
The typical signs are: trouble breathing,
coughing, sleepiness or a drop in energy level, chest pain, vomiting,
and any type of irritability that is strange or abnormal for the child.
The American Osteopathic Association warns that if parents notice any of
these indicators after their child has spent time in the water, they
should immediately go to the emergency room for evaluation. Sometimes
the symptoms can be mild and improve on their own, but they can also
quickly become life-threatening—and it’s often impossible to tell which
outcome you'll get. And because these symptoms can be hard to spot,
especially in young children, it’s important to always note if something
is just not quite right, or if your child is not acting like their
normal self, if you know they've recently had the opportunity to inhale
water.
In addition, parents should attempt to avoid these incidents altogether by teaching their kids about water safety, taking them to swimming lessons, and watching them closely—though
there are always accidents that are unavoidable. Parents of teenagers
should ensure that their children understand the risks involved with
swimming while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, when accidental
water inhalation becomes more common.
