What parents need to know about ‘dry drowning’
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – It’s summer!
A time for surf, sand and swimming. While we’re all looking forward to fun in the sun — especially after the past year — there’s an important issue I want to raise awareness about.
The concept is called “dry drowning.” The name is a little misleading. Drowning requires water, right? So, the term isn’t a real medical term, but it’s used to describe something different than what we typically associate with drowning.
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According to researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, with dry drowning, water never reaches the lungs. Instead, breathing in water causes a person’s vocal chords to spasm and close up.
This shuts off their airwaves, which makes it impossible to breathe. The signs can be immediate and reflect regular drowning (turning blue, loss of consciousness). But what’s most concerning is these signs sometimes only appear hours after a person has taken in water. Researchers, however, say not to be alarmed if your kid swallows some water and comes up coughing. The condition is very rare.