There were approximately 3,600 drowning deaths reported in 2005 (most recent statistical year available) and about 10-15% of those were labeled as secondary, or "dry" drowning, as per the Center for Disease Control (CDC). In the case of children, the most common reason for dry drowning is aspirating some water while taking a bath. However, it can also be caused by breathing in even a small amount of water at a swimming pool.
Parents need to be wary of the signs of “dry” drowning as they are difficult to detect and can be easily confused with normal childhood behavior. Difficulty breathing is often the initial sign, or unusual fatigue or out of the ordinary tiredness and "strange" behavior. Experts caution that sometimes it’s hard to determine the difference between "unusual" fatigue and a child who is just worn out from a day of swimming and sun.
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According to Dr. Daniel Rauch, a pediatrician at NYU’s Langone Medical Center, “The job of the lungs is to get oxygen into the blood and your brain needs oxygen to keep working, so when your brain isn’t getting oxygen, it can start doing funny things". He went on to say, “That becoming excessively tired, losing consciousness and the inability to be aroused appropriately are all symptoms of this lack of oxygen.” When it is caught in time, dry drowning can be treated at a hospital, where doctors would insert a tube into the lung to give extra oxygen and time for the lung to drain and heal.
As a personal injury law firm we see a variety of accident related injuries almost on a daily basis. Tragically, drowning deaths are more frequent and less rare as you would imagine. We would strongly advise that if your child comes out of the pool and seems sleepy or lethargic, watch them very closely. If these symptoms persist you should rush them to the hospital or call 911 immediately as it is certainly better to be safe than sorry.
Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Carolina injur law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.
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Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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