Would You Know if Someone Was Drowning?

As skeptics we often look at other people's beliefs and views and comment on those. How often do we look at our own in a critical way? And how often do we test our knowledge to see if what we believe to be true still is?

For instance, can you tell me what a person drowning looks like? And would you hear a person drowning if they were close to you?

If like me, your answer was, "Yes, of course - they'd be splashing about, probably shouting for help and stuff." then you'd be wrong. At least wrong most of the time.

I came across this interesting article last week entitled Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning and it was, for me, an eye opener.

You see, when people drown they don't usually shout or scream - the body prioritises breathing over talking. And a drowning person's instinct is to use their arms to press down onto the water's surface to lift their head out of the water to breathe, so they can't wave either. Which means there's usually not much splashing and no shouting for help.

This quote from the article may be particularly worrying for parents (figures are for the USA);

It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening (source: CDC).

So why are we so uneducated in what drowning looks like? Is it because we all think we know what drowning looks like?

Television and films are full of people drowning, waving their arms, shouting for help and such. Maybe that is the problem. Apart from a few lifeguards and so forth, we've all been educated in what drowning looks like from tv and film. Splashing and shouting is dramatic. It works for tv. It works for film.

Its just not realistic.


Of course, if someone is shouting and making a lot of noise they may still need help. We just need to be aware when we are near water (and when our children are near or in water) that no noise may be as much an indicator of a problem than a cry for help.


We just need to remember that a our information and knowledge these days comes to us via a large number of sources, from books to tv to the internet. Not all these sources will be factual and spotting the "embellished" stuff is not always easy or even obvious. We assume a lot every day, but every now and then it doesn't hurt to question the mundane things which seem so obvious that they must be true.


Until last week I would have been confident that I could have spotted a person drowning nearby. Now I am not so sure, but now I at least know I have a better chance of spotting someone drowning as I know the correct things to look for.


I hope that now you also do too.