Understand how helping a drowning victim differs from an ordinary cardiac arrest, and how to rewarm someone with hypothermia without doing harm.
Why it's different here
Water starts with your safety, cold with dry clothes
Near water, weigh your own strength first, not the seconds. Guidelines rank this above any technique: people die trying to rescue. Not trained in water rescue? Don't go in. Throw anything that floats: a life ring, an empty jug, the end of a rope — reach or throw, don't go. Call 911.
Drowning differs from other cardiac arrests in its cause: the person ran out of oxygen. So here breaths aren't a formality — they're the exception to the usual “compressions only.” Someone pulled from the water who isn't breathing normally gets five breaths, then regular CPR. The defibrillator (AED) goes on once the chest is wiped dry. If you can't give breaths, start compressions: they're still better than nothing.
“Pouring the water out of the lungs,” shaking, laying them belly-down over a knee — lost minutes.
Cold. Move them out of the cold, swap wet clothes for dry ones, cover them, and protect them from the wind and the cold ground — the ground draws off heat as much as freezing air does. A warm sugary drink only for someone fully alert who can swallow. Handle them gently, without jerking. No hot bath, no rubbing. Alcohol doesn't count as warming and isn't advised: it widens the skin's blood vessels, so they feel warmer but lose more heat.
Example: a fisherman in wet clothes in the wind. First take off the wet clothes and shield him from the wind; tea comes later.
Lesson notes
Water starts with your safety, cold with dry clothes
Near water, weigh your own strength first, not the seconds. Guidelines rank this above any technique: people die trying to rescue. Not trained in water rescue? Don't go in. Throw anything that floats: a life ring, an empty jug, the end of a rope — reach or throw, don't go. Call 911.
Drowning differs from other cardiac arrests in its cause: the person ran out of oxygen. So here breaths aren't a formality — they're the exception to the usual “compressions only.” Someone pulled from the water who isn't breathing normally gets five breaths, then regular CPR. The defibrillator (AED) goes on once the chest is wiped dry. If you can't give breaths, start compressions: they're still better than nothing.
“Pouring the water out of the lungs,” shaking, laying them belly-down over a knee — lost minutes.
Cold. Move them out of the cold, swap wet clothes for dry ones, cover them, and protect them from the wind and the cold ground — the ground draws off heat as much as freezing air does. A warm sugary drink only for someone fully alert who can swallow. Handle them gently, without jerking. No hot bath, no rubbing. Alcohol doesn't count as warming and isn't advised: it widens the skin's blood vessels, so they feel warmer but lose more heat.
Example: a fisherman in wet clothes in the wind. First take off the wet clothes and shield him from the wind; tea comes later.