Drowning people are not what you see on TV - good to know
The kind of drowning you see on T.V.—think thrashy, screamy—doesn't have much in common with what real drowning looks like, because of something
called the Instinctive Drowning Response, a pattern of behavior that appears to be hard-wired into humans and pops up whenever somebody feels like
they're suffocating in water.
Frank Pia, Ph.D., the psychologist and lifeguard described the Instinctive Drowning Response as: In real
life, a drowning person will be a lot more still and silent than you expect.
Read the comments on the link for some interesting examples and comments
http://www.boingboing.net/2...
Comment
By netchicken:
posted on 27-7-2010
Frank Pia, Ph.D., the psychologist and lifeguard described the Instinctive Drowning Response as:
...
Quote:
1 Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The
respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech occurs.
2 Drowning people's mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people's mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
3 Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water's surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water, permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
4 Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
5 From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people's bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.
Read the entire article Here
2 Drowning people's mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people's mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
3 Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water's surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water, permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
4 Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
5 From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people's bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.
Read the entire article Here
Read the comments on the link for some interesting examples and comments
http://www.boingboing.net/2...
Comment
... Quote:
This is precisely why lifeguarding methods like
Red Cross and Ellis and Assoc. use a "scanning" procedure to cover the guards' zones completely multiple times per minute, and why well-run pools
cycle their guards regularly (every 15-30min). Paying that much attention to your zone is tiring, and inattention for even half a minute can kill
someone. Ten years guarding at municipal pools in Austin taught me exactly what Dr. Pia and commenter millrick describe: one second the victim is on
the surface, then their eyes go big in surprise/embarrassment, then they go under without a peep. It happens VERY fast.
In in-service training, the guard playing the "victim" roll in practice rescues, when they were new, would thrash about, and when they were more experienced, would just stop swimming and sink. New guards get very freaked out.
In in-service training, the guard playing the "victim" roll in practice rescues, when they were new, would thrash about, and when they were more experienced, would just stop swimming and sink. New guards get very freaked out.