What happens if you nearly drowned

This is a machine that breathes for your pet through a tube. If you have a pool that your pet has access to, teach them where the steps are located so that they can get out easily. Breathing difficulties may develop several hours after a near drowning incident, and as such, veterinary attention and observation is strongly recommended even if your pet appears normal. If treated appropriately, even severe cases of near drowning can make a full recovery. Symptoms Vomiting Lethargy, collapse, loss of consciousness Coughing, panting, difficulty breathing Pale gums or blue tinged gums Cool extremities Drowning can cause life threatening shock and oxygen deprivation, swelling of the brain, and pneumonia — this is an emergency situation and you should seek veterinary attention immediately.

Emergency treatment before transport to a veterinarian Remove your pet from the water immediately, dry it and make sure you keep it warm.

If your pet is not breathing, attempt mouth to nose resuscitation, giving one breath every 3 seconds. Water is crucial for your health, but drinking too much of it can become life-threatening. Learn how much is too much and how to recognize the…. Pulmonary edema is a condition in which the lungs fill with fluid. Many people say that infant swimming can have many benefits.

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Learn how it works, who it helps, and where to get one. Belly or abdominal breathing offers a number of benefits for health and well-being. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Drowning Facts and Safety Precautions. Medically reviewed by Kevin Martinez, M. How much water does it take to drown? Stages of drowning. Drowning prevention and water safety. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph. Medically reviewed by Stacy Sampson, D.

Brain Hypoxia. The current was far stronger than I was used to and I had moments of sudden panic — perhaps I should have taken them as a warning. But exhilaration won out, and when we visited a small cove farther up the coast the next day, I was keen to get back in the water.

As the light began to fade, I felt compelled to have a last dip before we headed home. The waves had become choppier as afternoon eased into evening, but still appeared harmless enough from the shore. I plunged in and struck out, confident at first, realising my mistake only when I was out of my depth.

The surf dragged at my legs, hauling me down, and rocks hidden below the surface grazed my knees and elbows as I tried to fight my way back to the beach. A great, grey wave sucked me towards it and then broke across me like a sack of gravel, bouncing me along the seabed. Desperate for air, I was churned around until I no longer knew up from down. Then the current relaxed its grip and up I went, just in time for the next big wave to break over my head and push me back under.

Each time I surfaced, the process repeated itself, until I was battered and winded, and still out of my depth. I swallowed water, tried not to breathe it in, waved frantically at the party on the beach. They were packing bags and chatting, paying me little attention. Once or twice, someone waved back. From their perspective, it probably looked as if I was larking around, diving into the waves; waving but certainly not drowning.

I'll never read that poem again, I thought.