Johnny Jackson, a 10-year-old boy from South Carolina, died at home on Sunday from “dry drowning” more than an hour after going swimming and walking home with his mother. The sad event highlights a little known danger that parents and child carers should be aware of, that drowning can kill hours after being submersed in water.
Johnny’s mother, Cassandra Jackson, told NBC News…that: “I’ve never known a child could walk around, talk, speak and their lungs be filled with water.”
Johnny must have got some water in his lungs while he was swimming in his local pool at Goose Greek, South Carolina. He didn’t show any signs of respiratory distress, but he had an accident in the pool and “soiled himself”, said the TODAY report. He then walked home with his mother and sister.
His mother said she bathed him and he told her he felt sleepy. When she went to check on him later she saw his face was covered in a “spongy white material”. He was rushed to hospital but it was too late.
According to the latest figures, about 3,600 Americans died from drowning in 2005…including a small percentage that die up to 24 hours later because of water entering the respiratory system. A not insignificant number of the victims are children who died after having a bath.
Read the whole article. Remember the symptoms. Hopefully, you’ll never need to respond to an emergency like this.
Thanks, K B
