Statistics don’t lie. A study conducted in the Philippines from 2006 to 2013 showed some 3,276 people die each year of drowning and submersion. It is the second-leading cause of death among children aged 14 years and below.
“About eight persons die every day due to drowning, and more were reported to be victims of near drowning [10 cases per day],” said the country report presented at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention (WCDP) in 2011.
A research done by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) listed drowning, with 12 percent, as the fourth-leading cause of death from injury in the Philippines. Road traffic accidents (20 percent), gun shots (17 percent) and stabbings (14 percent) were the top three causes, while electrocution and falls (4 percent each) was ranked fifth (4 percent each).
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) singled out the month of April as having the highest average number of deaths (355) caused by drowning and submersion from 2006 to 2013. May trailed with 316 reported deaths.
The months of April, August, and September had also higher number of casualties: 291, 286 and 281, respectively. February had the least number, with 205 deaths. Less number of deaths were also reported during January (226), December (264) and November (267).
Sunday, with 606 deaths, had the highest average number of deaths caused by drowning and submersion. Saturday settled for second with 576 deaths. Wednesday had the least number of deaths: 400.
Most of those who die of drowning are children and teenagers. According to the findings of a study conducted by Safe Kids Philippines, the Philippine Life Saving Society and the Department of Health, almost 2,000 children die yearly from drowning.
The result of the study—Child drowning in the Philippines: The silent killer speaks—ranked drowning as the second leading cause of death among children aged one to 14 years old, outnumbering deaths from serious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), malnutrition, diarrhea, cancer, and meningitis.
The Unicef research found that drowning rates were highest among boys and girls less than five years old compared to other age groups and higher among females than males for all age groups.
In addition, the drowning rates were higher among males under five years and among those under 15 years compared to females of the same ages. This gender difference is largest for male toddlers whose relative risk for drowning death is 1.5 times higher than female toddlers, the research pointed out.
With more than 7,000 islands, it is not surprising that the country has a high drowning rate. A review and analysis of 40 years of data on drowning injury (from 1963 to 2003) showed at least 3,000 Filipinos of all ages die annually from drowning.
The alarming number of maritime disasters has contributed to the drowning statistics. From 1980 to 2003, 10 of the 22 major maritime disasters in the country happened. Those disasters snatched the lives of 3,543 people.
Not only that. “The Philippines is often visited by typhoons [average of 20 to 25 annually] causing floods, flooded areas, flash floods and turbulent seas, which undeniably cost the lives of Filipinos,” said the Philippine report to the WCDP 2011.
Drowning and near drowning are two different terms. Near drowning is “severe oxygen deprivation” (suffocation) caused by submersion in water but not resulting in death; when death occurs, the event is called drowning.
“When a person is submerged under water, water enters the lungs,” explains The Merck Manual of Medical Information. “The vocal cords may go into severe spasm, temporarily preventing water from reaching the lungs. When filled with water, the lungs cannot efficiently transfer oxygen to the blood. The decrease in the level of oxygen in the blood that results may lead to brain damage and death.”
According to the Geneva-based World Health Organization, drowning is the third-leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, accounting for 7 percent of all injury-related deaths. It defines drowning as “the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in liquid.”
Drowning itself is quick and silent, although it may be preceded by distress, which is more visible. “People who are drowning and struggling to breathe are usually unable to call for help,” the Merck manual reminds. “Children who are unable to swim may become submerged in less than one minute compared with adults, who may struggle longer.”
What happens during the drowning event? Dr. Ben Wedro, who practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin, shared this sequence: First, the person panics or struggles, followed by submersion with breath-holding. Loss of consciousness can begin within three minutes of being under water. The brain may suffer damage if it is deprived of oxygen for more than six minutes. The heart may go into an irregular rhythm that doesn’t allow the heart to pump blood, if it too is deprived of oxygen for more than a few minutes.
People who survived drowning may have symptoms ranging from anxiety to near death. “They may be alert, drowsy, or comatose,” the Merck manual informs. “Some may not be breathing. People who are breathing may gasp for breath or vomit, cough or wheeze. The skin may appear blue (cyanosis), indicating insufficient oxygen in the blood. In some cases, respiratory problems may not become evident for several hours after near drowning.”
Drowning doesn’t just happen in lakes, rivers and oceans. A person can get drowned in a bathtub—or even a wading pool. Sometimes, drowning occurs because of another injury, a heart attack or stroke that causes unconsciousness. Sometimes, it can happen from a head injury caused by diving into shallow water. Cramps, too, can cause panic, which in turn may lead to drowning.
According to health experts, the common causes of drowning are as follows: alcohol consumption (which impairs coordination and judgment), boating accidents, child abuse or neglect, diving and scuba-diving accidents, falling through the ice of a body of water, fatigue or exhaustion, illicit drug use, inability to swim, having no life preserver, failure to observe water safety rules and suicide attempts.
Drowning is an emergency situation. Just in case you spot someone drowning far out in the water and you are on land, what should you do? “Get help as fast as you can,” suggested Dr. Stephen J. Rosenberg and Karla Dougherty, authors of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to First Aid Basics. “As frustrating as it can be, the odds are against you. If you are not someone equipped to handle crashing waves, you are likely to become a victim instead of a hero.”
For those who want to be a hero, here’s a tip from the Wikipedia: “Rescue involves bringing the person’s mouth and nose above the water surface. A drowning person may cling to the rescuer and try to pull himself out of the water, submerging the rescuer in the process. Thus, it is advised that the rescuer approach with a buoyant object, or from behind, twisting the person’s arm on the back to restrict movement. If the rescuer does get pushed under water, they should dive downwards to escape the person.”
It has been said that most of die from drowning really don’t know how to swim. No one knows how many would have survived if they possessed basic swimming skills.
займ 30000 рублей на карту без отказа мгновенно круглосуточноImage credits: unsplask.com | by li yang, pixabay.com, pixabay.com, freepik.com