How long does a person remain alive if he losesthe ability to breathe? Cells of the brain remain viable under hypoxic conditions for no more than 5-6 minutes. While drowning in cold water this time may increase. In any case, assistance to the victim must be provided even before the arrival of the team of doctors. In this situation, the matter is solved by minutes. That's why knowing how to help is very important.
Not all people, however, are ready to answer the question, butespecially in practice, how to act in case of drowning. And it's very sad. For some reason, many people think that such skills should be possessed only by specialized services, to a common person who is far from medicine, this need not be known. But life sometimes puts people in difficult situations. It's very scary to see how a loved one dies, and do not know how to help him.
What is drowning?
This is a life-threatening condition characterized bythe impossibility of breathing as a result of getting a person into water or other liquid. Often, the airways are filled with water, although this is not strictly mandatory. Death from respiratory failure may occur, even if the lungs remain "dry". By the same token, by the way, different types of drowning are distinguished.
Classification by the mechanism leading to death
Types of drowning and their characteristics:
- True drowning.It is called so because in this case water (or other liquid) enters the lungs. Pathological processes underlying the true drowning, differ depending on whether drowning has occurred in fresh or salt water. In the first case, water quickly penetrates from the alveoli into the vascular bed, diluting the blood and destroying the red blood cells. Salt water, on the contrary, promotes the release of plasma from the vessels, which is accompanied by a thickening of the blood, as well as the development of pulmonary edema.
- Asphyxic drowning.In this case, water does not enter the lungs, as the vocal cracks close, protecting the respiratory tract from penetration of liquid in them. However, breathing still becomes impossible, because with laryngospasm air is also not missed. A person dies of suffocation.
- Syncopal drowning. The main cause of death is a reflex stop of the heart. The lungs remain "dry". A similar situation is possible when drowning in very cold water.
Classification of the skin color of the affected person
Types of drowning by skin color:
- White asphyxiation.As the name suggests, it is characterized by a pronounced pallor of the skin. Occurs in the event that the airway is not flooded with liquid. This type is most typical for the syncopal mechanism of drowning, when death occurs as a result of the cessation of cardiac activity.
- Blue asphyxiation.Occurs in the case when the victim commits respiratory movements, as a result of which the lungs are filled with water. Skin covers acquire a cyanotic color due to severe hypoxia. Death occurs because of respiratory failure. The cardiac arrest occurs after the cessation of breathing.
Appearance of the victim
Different types of drowning have certain differences in clinical manifestations.
If the victim at the time of immersion in waterwas in the mind, the scenario of events looks like this. Man tries to escape by swallowing water. Breathing becomes impossible, the body experiences hypoxia, resulting in a characteristic cyanotic color of the skin. Often there is an expansion of the veins of the neck. Mouth foam is allocated from the mouth. If a person is taken out of the water at the stage of agony, breathing and cardiac activity can still persist.
If drowning was preceded by oppression of functionsCNS (intoxication, poisoning, intoxication), laryngospasm often occurs. Lungs do not fill with water, but death also occurs as a result of asphyxia. Skin covers acquire a cyanotic shade.
Syncopal drowning occurs against the background of a strongfright or cold shock. The termination of cardiac activity comes first in pathogenesis. Skin pale, there is no characteristic of other types of drowning discharge of fluid and foam from the nose and mouth of the victim. White asphyxia is most favorable for resuscitation, the time of clinical death with it can be significantly prolonged.
Basic Principles of Rescue in Drowning
Types of drowning are diverse and require different approaches to care, but the general principles in all cases remain unchanged.
All activities include 2 stages:
- Extraction of the victim from the water.
- Assistance on the shore.
How to properly save a drowning person?
No matter how different the species aredrowning, first aid for drowning should begin with ensuring the safety of the rescuer himself. A sinking person (if he is still conscious) can behave extremely inadequately. That is why, when pulling the victim out of the water, you should be careful. Otherwise, the rescuer risks himself to be in the role of a drowning man.
If a person is close enough to the shore,try to reach it with a stick, use a rope or other devices to pull it out. If the victim is too far away, you will have to swim to it. The main thing in this situation is not to forget about the danger, because the victim can drown his savior. Therefore, it is necessary to act quickly and unceremoniously. It's best to swim to the sinking from behind and wrap around with one hand around your neck, you can grab your hair (it's even safer), and then pull it out to the land as soon as possible.
Remember: do not climb into the water, if you do not swim!
Types of drowning, the first medical aid for drowning. Activities on the shore
There are different types of drowning, and their features are discussed above. This knowledge needs to be taken into account when providing assistance to the victim.
- Everything is extremely simple, if the person extracted from the water is conscious. The main actions will be to warm him and calm him down.
- If a person is unconscious, the first thing you need isdo - remove water from the respiratory tract. With white asphyxia, this is not necessary (the mechanism of this type of drowning is discussed above), you can immediately start resuscitation.
- In the case of a blue type of drowning, first cleanse the mouth andnose from algae, sand, etc. Then press on the root of the tongue, thereby determining the presence of a vomiting reflex. Preservation of the latter means that the victim is alive, so the primary task will be to remove water from the lungs and stomach. For this, the victim is turned over on his stomach, his head turns sideways, several times we call him with vomiting, press on the chest. Then repeat these steps every 5-10 minutes, until water and water stop coming out of your mouth and nose. It is necessary to monitor breathing and pulse, be ready to perform resuscitation.
- If the emetic reflex is absent, it is necessaryurgently check the presence of vital functions. Most likely, they will not. Therefore, to remove water from the lungs, do not spend a lot of time (no more than 1-2 minutes), and as soon as possible to begin resuscitation.
Types of drowning. Features of resuscitation for drowning
Above, various approaches to providingassistance to the victim. There are different types of drowning, it is not surprising that they require unequal measures. However, cardiopulmonary resuscitation is always performed according to a certain plan, which is not affected by the causes that led to clinical death.
What is included in the set of activities for revitalization?
- Restoration of airway patency.
- Artificial respiration.
- Indirect massage of the heart.
No matter how different the types of drowning, the firsthelp always begins with the cleansing of the mouth and nose from sand, algae, vomit, etc. Then, water is removed from the lungs. To this end, the victim should be turned face down and put his belly on his knee. The head, thus, will be below the trunk. Now you can press on the chest, stimulating the flow of fluid from the lungs. If the assistance turns out to be a small child, it can be thrown over the shoulder with your head down or at all by the legs and turned over, thereby creating more favorable conditions for the leakage of water from the lungs.
Next, we proceed to the triple receptionSafar. The victim should be laid on a firm surface, to throw back the head, fingers to push forward the lower jaw and, pressing on the chin, open the mouth. Now you can proceed to artificial respiration. Densely pressing his lips to the victim's mouth, we exhale. The criterion of effectiveness will be the rise of the chest. After two exhalations, we begin an indirect heart massage. The base of the right hand is placed on the bottom third of the sternum, the left hand is placed over the right one. We begin to perform chest compressions, making sure that the hands remain straight, not bent at the elbows. According to the latest recommendations (2015), the ratio of exhalations and compressions should be 2:30 regardless of whether one or two rescuers perform resuscitation.
In conclusion
Never forget the rules of behavior on the water. It is easier to prevent tragedy than to try to correct it. Remember: life is given only once. Take care of her and do not play with death.
