Children Drown without a Sound
A backyard swimming pool is a relaxing and fun place for children and families to have a poolside barbecue, or pool party, or to keep cool during hot summer days. However, as an injury epidemiologist, former lifeguard, and parent, pool owners, parents, and caregivers must understand the risk and how easily a child can drown, both when the pool is in use and when it is not in use. The risk of drowning is real, whether a child or adult. They drown without a sound or warning. Drowning is not like what you see in movies, where a person who is drowning is yelling and waving their arms. When someone is drowning, they are unable to stay afloat and it only takes seconds. They suddenly begin to drop downward under the water and quickly gasp for air. A person who is drowning cannot wave their arms or yell for help like you see in the movies. This is the same for both adults and children, they drown without a sound.
When a child is drowning, they are unable to yell or wave for help. They cannot get your attention. They panic and get pulled downward, deeper into the water only able to quickly gasp for air and begin swallowing water. They use their arms to try to stay afloat. Unable to wave or yell for help.
While gasping for air and unable to keep on top of the water to breathe, as the child tries to gasp for air, they often swallow water, choking, unable to gasp for more air, as they silently lose consciousness, and fall to the bottom of the pool.
A child can drown in as little water as it takes to cover their mouth and nose, resulting in irreversible brain damage or death in only 4-6 minutes. In the United States, children ages 1-4 are among the highest of age categories for drowning, and most drown in backyard swimming pools (CDC WONDER). Most toddler age children of 1-4 who have drowned in backyard swimming pools, were not expected to have been in the pool area but somewhere else in the home while playing or sleeping. Nearly half of all drownings among children ages 5-13 also occur in backyard swimming pools. Lack of supervision and access to the pool are among the common risk factors for drownings (National Center for Health Statistics, 2021). Drowning deaths among children is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury deaths, with motor vehicle crashes ranking number one for children ages 1-14 (CDC WISQARS).
The risk of drowning among children in backyard swimming pools is high, but 100% preventable (children also drown inside the home in bathtubs, toilets, buckets, sinks, etc. - see Childproofing Your Home for prevention recommendations). To help reduce the risk of pool drownings, layers of protection (please see link to Pool Safety) for when the pool is, 1) in-use, and 2) not-in-use, will help prevent a child from drowning and keep children safe (Denny et al., 2019; CPSC, 2019). If you have any questions regarding pool safety, contact [email protected].
The risk of drowning among children in backyard swimming pools is high, but 100% preventable (children also drown inside the home in bathtubs, toilets, buckets, sinks, etc. - see Childproofing Your Home for prevention recommendations). To help reduce the risk of pool drownings, layers of protection (please see link to Pool Safety) for when the pool is, 1) in-use, and 2) not-in-use, will help prevent a child from drowning and keep children safe (Denny et al., 2019; CPSC, 2019). If you have any questions regarding pool safety, contact [email protected].
References
CDC WONDER. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) [Online]. Available at http://wonder.cdc.gov. Accessed 16 April 2021
CDC WISQARS. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars. Accessed 16 April 2021.
Denny SA, Quan L, Gilchrist J, McCallin T, Shenoi R, Yusuf S, Hoffman B, Weiss J. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) – Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention. Policy Statement – Prevention of Drowningexternal icon. Pediatrics 2019;143(5): e20190850
National Center for Health Statistics. (2021, July). Unintentional Drowning Deaths Among Children Aged 0–17 Years: United States, 1999–2019 (No. 413). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db413-H.pdf
U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Submersions related to non-pool and non-spa products, 2011 Report [online]. Available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/nonpoolsub2011.pdfpdf iconexternal icon. Accessed 16 April 2019.
CDC WONDER. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) [Online]. Available at http://wonder.cdc.gov. Accessed 16 April 2021
CDC WISQARS. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars. Accessed 16 April 2021.
Denny SA, Quan L, Gilchrist J, McCallin T, Shenoi R, Yusuf S, Hoffman B, Weiss J. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) – Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention. Policy Statement – Prevention of Drowningexternal icon. Pediatrics 2019;143(5): e20190850
National Center for Health Statistics. (2021, July). Unintentional Drowning Deaths Among Children Aged 0–17 Years: United States, 1999–2019 (No. 413). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db413-H.pdf
U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Submersions related to non-pool and non-spa products, 2011 Report [online]. Available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/nonpoolsub2011.pdfpdf iconexternal icon. Accessed 16 April 2019.
