User:Mr. Ibrahem/Drowning
Medical condition / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Drowning is defined as respiratory impairment as a result of being in or under a liquid.[7][10] Drowning typically occurs silently, with only a few people able to wave their hands or call for help.[1] Symptoms following rescue may include breathing problems, vomiting, confusion, or unconsciousness.[2][3] Occasionally symptoms may not appear until up to six hours afterwards.[3] Drowning may be complicated by low body temperature, aspiration of vomit, or acute respiratory distress syndrome.[4][11]
Drowning | |
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Vasily Perov: The Drowned, 1867 painting | |
Specialty | Critical care medicine |
Symptoms | Event: Often occurs silently with a person found unconscious[1][2] After rescue: Breathing problems, vomiting, confusion, unconscious[2][3] |
Complications | Hypothermia, aspiration of vomit, acute respiratory distress syndrome[4] |
Usual onset | Rapid[3] |
Risk factors | Alcohol use, epilepsy, low socioeconomic status, access to water[5] |
Diagnostic method | Based on symptoms[3] |
Differential diagnosis | Suicide, seizure, hypoglycemia, heart arrhythmia[2] |
Prevention | Fencing pools, teaching children to swim, safe boating practices[5][6] |
Treatment | Rescue breathing, CPR, mechanical ventilation[7] |
Medication | Oxygen therapy, intravenous fluids, vasopressors[7] |
Frequency | 4.5 million (2015)[8] |
Deaths | 324,000 (2015)[9] |
Drowning is more common when the weather is warm and among those with frequent access to water.[4][5] Risk factors include alcohol use, epilepsy, and low socioeconomic status.[5] Common locations of drowning include swimming pools, bathtubs, natural bodies of water, and buckets.[3][7] Initially the person holds their breath, which is followed by laryngospasm, and then low oxygen levels.[4] Significant amounts of water usually only enter the lungs later in the process.[4] It may be classified into three types: drowning with death, drowning with ongoing health problems, and drowning with no ongoing health problems.[10]
Efforts to prevent drowning include teaching children to swim, safe boating practices, and limiting or removing access to water such as by fencing pools.[5][6] Treatment of those who are not breathing should begin with opening the airway and providing five breaths.[7] In those whose heart is not beating and who have been underwater for less than an hour CPR is recommended.[7] Survival rates are better among those with a shorter time under the water.[7] Among children who survive, poor outcomes occur in about 7.5% of cases.[7]
In 2015, there were an estimated 4.5 million cases of unintentional drowning worldwide.[8] That year, there were 324,000 drowning deaths, making it the third leading cause from unintentional injuries after falls and motor vehicle collisions.[9] Of these deaths, 56,000 occurred in children less than five years old.[9] Drowning accounts for 7% of all injury related deaths, with more than 90% of these deaths occurring in developing countries.[5][9] Drowning occurs more frequently in males and the young.[5]