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Is your child a water baby? Be alert to symptoms of ‘dry drowning’

Is your child a water baby? Be alert to symptoms of ‘dry drowning’
Along with cardio, water-based exercises help improve strength, endurance and flexibility of an individual.© Shutterstock

Dry drowning can cause mild to severe breathing problems in your child. Know how to deal with it.

Written by Editorial Team |Published : August 24, 2019 6:46 PM IST

Swimming is a very good exercise and you must have noticed your kid splashing around happily in the pool. Of course, you make sure about safety issues before you even let your child enter the water. You talk to the instructor, lifeguard and make sure that it is absolutely safe for your child to go for a swim. Granted that there are risks of drowning when your baby enters the pool water. But did you know that he could be at risk of drowning once he gets out of the pool as well? There is a condition called dry drowning that may affect you child. You must be alert to signs that may indicate dry drowning in your child.

This condition is rare but not unknown. Here, water doesn't enter the child's lungs. But when a child breathes in water through either the nose or mouth, it may cause spasms in the vocal cords. As a result, the vocal cords close up and this shuts off his airways. Symptoms manifest immediately after your child gets out of the pool.

Symptoms of dry drowning

Be alert to any coughing, chest pain and fatigue. Your child may experience difficulty in breathing. He or she may display irritability or complain of a drop in energy levels. This happens because the brain is unable to get enough oxygen. Seek immediate medical help. Prompt treatment will ensure that there are no lasting health complications.

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Be alert to signs of dry drowning

If you notice any symptoms in your child, you must immediately contact a doctor. At the same time, keep your child calm. This will relax the windpipe muscles. This is a medical emergency and it requires urgent medical care. If the symptoms are not too severe, it may go away on its own. But severe cased may require hospitalisation.

Your child's doctor will recommend a chest X-ray, administer an IV and probably keep him under observation for 24 hours. His oxygen levels will be monitored constantly and, in severe cases, a breathing tube may be necessary. The doctor may also recommend an evaluation by a pulmonary specialist.

A few tips for parents

Prevention is better than cure. So, the best thing to do is prevent dry drowning from happening in the first place.

Keep an eye on your child when he is in the pool.

Make sure that the instructor is alert to what the kids are doing in the pool. Children need to be monitored when they are in any water body.

Avoid lonely water bodies and deserted pools.

Always make sure that there are other people in the pool other than your child.

Take a water safety course along with your child.

Be on guard even if water is shallow. Even portable plastic pools and bathtubs are dangerous.