Special
guidelines to people with a duty to respond to drowning victims.
(Taken
from First Aid Explained)
The following information has been taken from the guidelines issued by the European Resuscitation Council on 28 November 2005. It should be used in conjunction with specific first aid training for lifeguards or anybody who has a duty to respond to drowning victims.
1. Always be aware of personal safety and minimise danger to yourself.
2. Whenever possible, attempt to save the person without entry to the water.
3. If entry to the water is inevitable, use a flotation device or buoyancy rescue aid.
4. Remove the casualty(ies) from the water by the fastest means possible, ideally in a horizontal position. (This is because of a sudden drop in blood pressure as the water is no longer on their body - hydrostatic squeeze).
5. Start rescue breathing as soon as their airway is open, which can be achieved in shallow water, and your safety is assured. This may mean mouth-to-nose as MTM is difficult.
6. If in deep water start rescue breathing only if you have been trained to do so and ideally with the support of a buoyant rescue aid.
7. Untrained rescuers should not attempt to perform any kind of resuscitation is deep water.
8. If there is no spontaneous breathing after opening the airway, give rescue breaths for approximately ONE MINUTE. If they do not start breathing after one minute, further management depends on the distance from land.
8A. If they can be brought to land is less than 5 minutes continue rescue breaths whilst towing.
8B. If greater than 5 minutes, give a further one minute of rescue breaths and then bring him to land without further attempts at ventilation.
NOTE: There is no need to clear the airway of any water as the majority of victims aspirate only a modest amount and this is rapidly absorbed. An attempt to remove any water from the air passage by any means other than suction is unnecessary and dangerous.