How To Help a Drowning Person

Now that spring is here, and with the school year winding down, it's a great time to be thinking about water safety.

Tia Prostko is a lifeguard and swim lesson instructor at the Pickens County YMCA. She recently took part in a Safety Expo held by The Parenting Place at Rock Springs Baptist Church.

“Drowning is a leading cause of death for children, especially for young kids, and those are the ones you hear most often about, especially in pools at homes and things like that,” Prostko said. “A lot of people don't realize that, especially until they have a kid, that their kid can kind of wander off into the pool or at the pool and kind of just fall in and not make a noise.”

Of all preschoolers who drown, 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less, Prostko said.

300 children under the age of five drown every year, and 500 children age 14 and under are hospitalized each year due to near-drownings.

People assume that drownings involve a lot of screaming and splashing, she said.

“That's actually not really what happens,” Prostko said.

The first instinct people have when someone is drowning or in danger of drowning is to “rush in and save the person,” she said.

“That's actually not the best way to think about it initially,” Prostko said. “The Golden Rule of rescuing is 'Reach or Throw, Don't Go,' at least initially.”

“If you have something like a towel or a rope or a buoy, something that will either float or reach to the person, then that's the best thing to do,” she said. “Brace yourself against something or brace yourself against someone else that's holding onto you and then throw something so that the person can grab onto it.”

Drowning people can panic and bring a would-be rescuer down with them.

“You can even get in the water and hang onto the ladder, especially if someone's underwater already,” Prostko said. “If you need to get in the water and hang onto the ladder or the side and then pull them up, at least you're not only in the water and depending on your ability to swim or float. Throwing something or reaching with something is the best way to rescue someone, especially if they're just starting to have trouble.”

There are three stages in the drowning process, Prostko said.

The first is being a distressed swimmer.

“That's someone who is no longer moving forward or backward toward the wall or toward the boat,” Prostko said. “They're having trouble getting their bearings and moving along.”

The second stage is active drowning.

“That's when you see the bobbing, going up and down, really having trouble,” Prostko said. “Then they get tired.”

The third stage – passive drowning - is when the person gives out and sinks.

“They're not moving around, trying to get to the surface,” Prostko said.

Many people don't realize how quickly a person can drown.

“The whole thing – distressed swimmer, active drowning, then passive drowning - can happen within 20 seconds,” Prostko said. “That's kind of a scary thing. Especially with kids, it happens when the parents are around. The kid wanders off and before the parent realizes it, they're in trouble.”

What should you do in someone is drowning?

“Let the person know that you're coming,” Prostko said. “We let them know, 'Hey, I'm a lifeguard, I'm going to come get you, can you try to stay calm while I'm helping you?' Even if they don't, you talking to them kind of reassures them that they're still alive and that there's somebody there that's going to try to help them.”

Call 911, even the person is taken out of the water and is “safe.”

“The person could be in shock or they could have swallowed some water or inhaled something,” Prostko said. “That's the best thing to do.”

Assess the victim and see how they're doing.

“If they're cold, get them a towel, get them out of their wet clothing if they're conscious,” she said. “Take care of the person as well as you can, to keep them comfortable and warm and safe. Keep them talking and make sure they're okay. Keep paying attention to them until EMS gets there.”

Don't forget about the other people still in the pool, Prostko said.

“At our pool, if we have to jump in and save someone, we get everybody out of the pool,” she said. “We always make sure one of the lifeguards is still watching the pool, in case someone didn't hear that everybody needed to be out of the pool. That's a good idea, even in a home pool situation. You want to make sure nothing else happens on top of that.”

Pools, home pools or community pools should have certain things nearby, including an emergency contact sheet that contains “Call 911” in big letters, safety equipment, including an AED if possible, especially for community pools.

Prostko also recommends having a spot where you can take a victim.

“Out of the rain or out of the sun, just kind of a general spot for people who've had trouble, so they can be more comfortable than they were and you can take care of them easily,” she said.

May is National Water Safety Month