photo credit: Micah Sittig
Would you know a drowning person if you saw one?
This article (from Aviation Survival Technician First Class Mario Vittone) explains that there’s no sound, no flailing, no splashing.
And of course, a person can get in trouble in just seconds.
I took a Blue Cross lifeguard course in the ’80s, and none of this ever came up. We had to swim laps, tread water, “save” partners and instructors, practice CPR, swim/tread with only arm use and with only leg use, etc., but they never told us this description of a drowning victim. It’s a bit chilling to realize I could have let someone drown because I didn’t know what to look for.
FWIW, a lot of the description matches how I am in the water at times. I’ll tread with just the minimal arm movement, alternating between mouth just above and just below the surface, head tilted back, and eyes closed. I had no idea I was mimicking a drowning victim, but then again I guess few people seeing me like that would have seen me as a probable drowning victim either.
My brother and I were both just saying that we were trained as lifeguards and don’t remember any of this stuff.
The huge difference between you and a person drowning is that if someone asks whether you’re ok, you can say yes. So that’s the first step, I think. Ask.
The folks at Boing Boing obviously get their ideas from Rob:
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/20/drowning-doesnt-look.html