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How to spot drowning


Pnwrider

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Thanks PNW.  Probably one of my biggest fears as a parent with kids who are always around water for 6-8 months a year.  While I realize you can drown in 2" of water our standard rule is deeper than waist the it's a PFD for you.  As I've gotten older and play more with the kids in the water, I find muskeg wearing one more often than not when we are all swimming off the platform.  

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15 minutes ago, carguy79ta said:

Good info.  When my family gets in the water, we wear life jackets.  My wife says why struggle to stay alive, just wear the life jacket

 

Yep...get out of my boat, put a jacket on.  I don't care if you are just jumping in to 'cool off' (i.e. take a pee) and I don't care how old you are or how good you can swim.

My 11 year old daughter earned a high school varsity letter for swimming while she was a 6th grader last year (K-8 and High School are on the same campus, so she was allowed to try out).  Despite her telling me how good of a swimmer she is, and she is a darn good swimmer, when she gets out of the boat she has a properly fitting jacket on....period.

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27 minutes ago, RTS said:

 

Yep...get out of my boat, put a jacket on.  I don't care if you are just jumping in to 'cool off' (i.e. take a pee) and I don't care how old you are or how good you can swim.

My 11 year old daughter earned a high school varsity letter for swimming while she was a 6th grader last year (K-8 and High School are on the same campus, so she was allowed to try out).  Despite her telling me how good of a swimmer she is, and she is a darn good swimmer, when she gets out of the boat she has a properly fitting jacket on....period.

Same rule on my boat. Many years ago the 11 year old son of a co-worker drowned at Lake Mead in Nevada. He and his father were taking the boat to meet some friends and jumped in to cool off. Despite being an excellent swimmer, the boy never surfaced. His body was recovered days later. Tragic!  

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I don't understand why people will not wear a jacket these days. They must not have had to wear the big orange titanic survival pfd or one of those sterns jackets that rose up to your neck and cut into you armpits that my parents MADE us wear no matter how stupid or "uncool" we felt. Now the jackets fit better and are thinner..MUCH more comfortable and even have awesome graphics. If you want to be "cool" swimming out of my boat you wear a jacket.

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This is up there on my list of best posts of all time. Great job Pnwrider! I personally have learned a few new things. Obviously not a topic to be taken lightly. Thanks!

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I get what everyone is saying about wearing their life jackets always...and I always do (now days) when I'm being towed or when I'm too lazy to swim...but it's a very freeing feeling to not wear a life jacket when out surfing behind the boat. It's not illegal in Oregon so I've done it a handful of times but not since having kids...

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On 7/16/2016 at 3:40 PM, bamaboy said:

Great info Jer Bear.

*dead* lol

 

I've read this several times, and I always take the time to read it when I see it. 
Fresh water isn't like sea water. You take a lung full of fresh lake water and you're going to go to the bottom. Last year I watched a search and rescue go on for a couple hours in 25' of water while they looked for a guy that drowned. I don't wear a life vest when I climb out, but I always have something to hold on to. My surf board, a pool noodle, etc. 

 

We were chillin' a couple weekends ago and there was a kid on another boat that was in our party. This kid kicked my surfboard out from under me and swam away a couple times thinking it was funny, despite being warned.

The third time I reached out and grabbed him as he was trying to get away, I spun him around and held him by his life vest and pulled him within a few inches of my face and told him if he ever did anything like that to anyone again, I would give him the beating of a lifetime. He stared at me, scared. The parents were on the boat staring and I didn't care. I said very firmly "you're going to nod your head so I know that you understand me, I will beat you within an inch of your life if I ever see you do anything like that again."  He nodded, terrified.  I calmly held the front of his life vest and slowly eased him away from me. My wife was freaked out and like "is everything OK?" I was like "yup, we were just chatting." 

I went back to chillin'.

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Just my $.02.  I have always worn a jacket when I surf, even before this happened.  I don't always wear one when I swim, but always have something to hang on, float on or sit on.  I was taking a surf set and went out overt the front of the board.  The board rode up the wave and came back down.  I had my hands up, but it somehow slipped through and caught me on the forehead.  It was a blunt nose board, but the impact still did enough damage.  It could happen to anyone at any time.  I just don't see taking the chance, with all the talk of CO poisoning or any other mishaps that could happen. 

IMG_0649.JPG

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41 minutes ago, ibelonginprison said:

*dead* lol

 

I've read this several times, and I always take the time to read it when I see it. 
Fresh water isn't like sea water. You take a lung full of fresh lake water and you're going to go to the bottom. Last year I watched a search and rescue go on for a couple hours in 25' of water while they looked for a guy that drowned. I don't wear a life vest when I climb out, but I always have something to hold on to. My surf board, a pool noodle, etc. 

 

We were chillin' a couple weekends ago and there was a kid on another boat that was in our party. This kid kicked my surfboard out from under me and swam away a couple times thinking it was funny, despite being warned.

The third time I reached out and grabbed him as he was trying to get away, I spun him around and held him by his life vest and pulled him within a few inches of my face and told him if he ever did anything like that to anyone again, I would give him the beating of a lifetime. He stared at me, scared. The parents were on the boat staring and I didn't care. I said very firmly "you're going to nod your head so I know that you understand me, I will beat you within an inch of your life if I ever see you do anything like that again."  He nodded, terrified.  I calmly held the front of his life vest and slowly eased him away from me. My wife was freaked out and like "is everything OK?" I was like "yup, we were just chatting." 

I went back to chillin'.

So apparently you enjoy accosting children in addition to elderly females.  

 

Sometimes I question our friendship

Edited by bamaboy
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26 minutes ago, bamaboy said:

So apparently you enjoy accosting children in addition to elderly females.  

Sometimes I question our friendship

 

We're a good balance. Ying and yang and all that. 

37 minutes ago, JeffK said:

Just my $.02.  I have always worn a jacket when I surf, even before this happened.  I don't always wear one when I swim, but always have something to hang on, float on or sit on.  I was taking a surf set and went out overt the front of the board.  The board rode up the wave and came back down.  I had my hands up, but it somehow slipped through and caught me on the forehead.  It was a blunt nose board, but the impact still did enough damage.  It could happen to anyone at any time.  I just don't see taking the chance, with all the talk of CO poisoning or any other mishaps that could happen. 

IMG_0649.JPG

 

Your forehead is why I always put my arms in front of my face when I fall off a surfboard.
Cause this was my "funny bone nerve." I can only imagine if it was my face.

IMG_6565_zpssssppz0h.jpg

 

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10 minutes ago, ibelonginprison said:

 

We're a good balance. Ying and yang and all that. 

 

Your forehead is why I always put my arms in front of my face when I fall off a surfboard.
Cause this was my "funny bone nerve." I can only imagine if it was my face.

IMG_6565_zpssssppz0h.jpg

 

Ouch.  That looks pretty nasty too. 

I hear ya.  I had my hands up, but apparently not quite close enough.  I can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't put anything up at all.

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Thanks for posting this! Great info. 

When my kids get out of the truck their jackets go on before they hit the dock. When I swim with them I wear mine as well. It's much easier to play when you don't have to hold yourself up too. I had their friends out with us and they always want to take their jacket off because they "swim all the time". I've  even had parents say they can swim and shouldn't need a jacket. It's the law in WI any one under 13 must wear one at all times. I'll take them back to the dock if they don't want to follow it. It's not worth it!

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This article was posted a while back and I was surprised when I read it.  Very very glad I did and that I remembered it as (unfortunately) I saved a kid IN A POOL who exhibited this.  His parents were just like in the article, right next to him, as were probably 20 other people.  I spotted it from 50 feet away and was able to sprint to the parents attention and yell "get him up NOW" and sure enough, he was barely able to breathe.  I firmly believe he was within seconds of drowning right next to his parents.

That really really shook me.  It really is amazing that the warning signs are not more obvious.  

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My too...trained lifeguard as a teenager (long time ago). Playing in big waves on Lake Erie with my daughters in life jackets at a friends cottage. Came back to shore and saw our hosts son exhibiting the signs as described (treading, facing out into the waves, not going anywhere). Swam out, let him climb on my back (not an approved lifesaving technique), swam back in. He had maybe 30 seconds left....his parents were on the beach, obliviously watching him "swim" while they talked. Still gives me shivers just thinking about it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

if any of you have small children please look into ISR swim classes in your area for your infants and tods. ISR = Infant Survival Resources and they will teach kids as young as 6-months the ability to FLOAT. it typically takes about 5-6 weeks. FYI kids that do not know how to swim will go face down straight to the bottom. 

Warm-water drownings are basically near 0% survival rate: FYI you have 2:00 mins after 2:15-2:30 its basically zero chance of survival on a small child in warm water and thats excluding possible brain damage. in Warm water at the 2:00-2:30 sec mark a childs lungs will then allow water into the lungs making survival near impossible and thus the success rate pretty much falls off planet earth. That is why there are so few warm water drowning survivals...just soo little time... 

also FYI if you ever in such a situation chest compressions on a child are far more important than breaths or checking for a pulse, DO NOT waste any time checking for a pulse just start doing compressions right away. You may even break ribs but keep going!

Almost everyone does NOT stop to think about what a real drowning looks and sounds like... ITS NOT someone screaming for help. its just SILENCE...  If its a child you are lucky to hear the water splash, and then guess what you cant hear anyone screaming under water so its silent. no screams and nothing to be heard just silent as all an be and its over. With lake water in and around the docks its not always "clear water" like a pool so finding someone could be impossible or difficult let alone within 2:00 mins or less. 

ISR swim classes are typically 10mins long every day 5/days per week. Give your child the gift of survival. 

 

great post! constant reminder to everyone!

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  • 1 month later...

Love this post.  Am a true believer water current is stronger than one think and will drift you faster than you can swim back.

Bring a noodle or anything that will help no matter how good a swimmer you are.  

No one jumps out of my boat without a floating device. 

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  • 5 weeks later...

I swim a half hour a day in a pool.

I won't even think about myself or anyone from my boat jumping into the water without a pfd  on, it's not worth it. Any troubles and your are beyond visible range in natures waters very soon, unable to be spotted and rescued.

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  • 7 months later...

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