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| | May 2009 - Drowning |  |
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Dear Bush Doctor, this  summer my nephew drowned in a dam
while on holiday. What could I do to prevent this tragedy if I ever find myself witness to a near drowning?                                                                                                                                             Â  
I am not sure how many people are aware that most drownings do not occur in pools or dams but in fact most drowning occurs in the house, in toilets, buckets, baths even fish tanks. The best thing is obvious, prevention. Never leave your children unattended in the bath alone and watch those buckets of water. Keep an eye on your children, if they are not being heard they are probably doing something they shouldn’t be doing. Most children in a drowning accident die because the child is not resuscitated. A child’s heart stops beating because it has no oxygen. So breath, breath, and breath, before the heart stops! Water coughed up in a drowning victim occurs in the movies. In the early stages of drowning the lungs do not fill with water. The larynx goes into a spasm as soon as water enters the airway. This prevents water entering the lungs. At the same time it stops proper breathing into the lungs, but you must continue. There will be a point at which the spasm stops and the larynx relaxes so you will feel air go into the lungs, you will know because the resistance to your breathing gives. If the chest does not expand, continue to make sure you have a good seal and blow gently. Do this over and over checking for a pulse every time you blow 2 breaths. Do NOT blow hard, if you blow hard you will force air into the stomach increasing the chance of vomiting and the vomit entering the lungs. If you are already scared, which I hope you are, you should attend a CPR course as soon as possible! If you were ever to witness a drowning, remember DO NOT PANIC! Pull the child out of the water, check for breathing. Breathing may be shallow so look at the chest and abdomen to see if it rises and falls, listen for breathing and feel for breaths with your cheek (covered in a CPR course). Then check the Airway,  i.e. look for gunk in their mouth and nose. They could have sweets, biltong or any food even objects stuck in their throat. Remove it if you can, use the Heimlich manoeuvre and any chocking method to dislodge the object (covered in a CPR course). Once clear, Breath into the child’s mouth, do not blow. Then check for a pulse for Circulation. Thus you adopt the A,B,C of CPR. If there is no pulse, start chest compressions. If you are still reading this article in order to learn how to do CPR because you have not done a CPR course, then you best attend one. This article is woefully inadequate to be able to learn on how to do CPR.
Â
Yours Truly,
 The Bush Doctor
Dear Bush Doctor, this  summer my nephew drowned in a dam
while on holiday. What could I do to prevent this tragedy if I ever find myself witness to a near drowning?                                                                                                                                             Â Â
I am not sure how many people are aware that most drownings do not occur in pools or dams but in fact most drowning occurs in the house, in toilets, buckets, baths even fish tanks. The best thing is obvious, prevention. Never leave your children unattended in the bath alone and watch those buckets of water. Keep an eye on your children, if they are not being heard they are probably doing something they shouldn’t be doing. Most children in a drowning accident die because the child is not resuscitated. A child’s heart stops beating because it has no oxygen. So breath, breath, and breath, before the heart stops! Water coughed up in a drowning victim occurs in the movies. In the early stages of drowning the lungs do not fill with water. The larynx goes into a spasm as soon as water enters the airway. This prevents water entering the lungs. At the same time it stops proper breathing into the lungs, but you must continue. There will be a point at which the spasm stops and the larynx relaxes so you will feel air go into the lungs, you will know because the resistance to your breathing gives. If the chest does not expand, continue to make sure you have a good seal and blow gently. Do this over and over checking for a pulse every time you blow 2 breaths. Do NOT blow hard, if you blow hard you will force air into the stomach increasing the chance of vomiting and the vomit entering the lungs. If you are already scared, which I hope you are, you should attend a CPR course as soon as possible! If you were ever to witness a drowning, remember DO NOT PANIC! Pull the child out of the water, check for breathing. Breathing may be shallow so look at the chest and abdomen to see if it rises and falls, listen for breathing and feel for breaths with your cheek (covered in a CPR course). Then check the Airway,  i.e. look for gunk in their mouth and nose. They could have sweets, biltong or any food even objects stuck in their throat. Remove it if you can, use the Heimlich manoeuvre and any chocking method to dislodge the object (covered in a CPR course). Once clear, Breath into the child’s mouth, do not blow. Then check for a pulse for Circulation. Thus you adopt the A,B,C of CPR. If there is no pulse, start chest compressions. If you are still reading this article in order to learn how to do CPR because you have not done a CPR course, then you best attend one. This article is woefully inadequate to be able to learn on how to do CPR.
Â
Yours Truly,
 The Bush Doctor |
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