This Little Boy Died Hours After Swimming. All Parents Should See This.
By Michele
After a day at the pool it is understandable that a child may be tired and feel sleepy. That is exactly the reason why Cassandra Jackson did not suspect anything when her son told her that he was exhausted and wanted to take a nap after spending his day at the pool. Ten-year-old, Johnny, laid down to rest a nap and his mother thought nothing of it. However, when she went to check on Johnny later that evening she was shocked at what she found.
“I walked over to the bed, and his face was literally covered with this spongy white material,” she said. “And I screamed.”
A family friend, Christine Meekins, was visiting and went to see what was wrong. “I pulled his arm and said, ‘Johnny! Johnny!’ ” Meekins told NBC. “There was no response. I opened one of his eyes and I just knew inside my heart that it was something really bad.”
Her son had foam on the mouth and he could barely breathe so she immediately rushed him to the hospital, but unfortunately it was too late. When she reached the hospital Johnny had died and she had learned that her son had a condition caused from swallowed water (that may occur within 72 hours), known as “dry drowning”.
“I’ve never known a child could walk around, talk, speak and their lungs be filled with water,” Cassandra Jackson told NBC News in a story broadcast on TODAY.
“We physically walked home. He walked with me,” Jackson said, still trying to understand how her son could have died. “I bathed him, and he told me that he was sleepy.”
Although rare, "secondary drowning" may be fatal if the warning signs are ignored or missed. Each time someone, whether it be a kid or adult, inhales even a very small gush of water (ocean, lake, or pool) it could irritate the lungs and therefore, cause a swelling.
You need to keep a close eye on your child after they spend time in the water and always look for dry drowning symptoms. If your kid has swallowed a lot of water or had a near drowning experience, take them to a hospital immediately. The symptoms may even take between 1 to 72 hours to show.
Here are the most common dry drowning symptoms you should look for:
Shortness of breath
Excess fatigue
Irritability or mood swings, for no obvious reason
All are the result of reduced oxygen flow to the brain. If caught in time, the victims of dry drowning are treated by having a breathing tube inserted so that oxygen can be supplied under pressure to the lungs. Then the lungs will heal itself.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, some 3,600 people drowned in 2005, the most recent year for which there are statistics. Some 10 to 15 percent of those deaths was classified as “dry drowning,” which can occur up to 24 hours after a small amount of water gets into the lungs.
You are currently reading about This Little Boy Died Hours After Swimming. All Parents Should See This.. If you've found this helpful, please share This Little Boy Died Hours After Swimming. All Parents Should See This. on your favorite social media site, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Google+
