Post-drowning Complications in Children (2024)

FAQs

What are the complications of drowning in children? ›

Those who are comatosed and resuscitated with CPR often develop severe brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy. At least 10-30% of children with brain damage require long term rehabilitation. Hypothermia can protect the brain in some children. Other risks of drowning include aspiration, ARDs, and death.

Delayed symptoms of drowning include shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, coughing and/or chest discomfort. Extreme fatigue, irritability and behavior changes are also possible. Remain vigilant for about 24 hours, even if your child appears happy and playful with no apparent problem at all.

Even though the person may quickly seem OK at the scene, lung complications are common. Fluid and body chemical (electrolyte) imbalances may develop. Other traumatic injuries may be present, and irregular heart rhythms can occur.

In addition, the skin can change texture like goose skin or what is called cutis anserina. This sign is a condition of the skin that looks shriveled with hairs standing on end due to contraction of the erector pylorus muscles due to body contact with cold water. feet and hands, and also areas prone to friction.

Long-Term Effects of Non-Fatal Drowning Accidents

Even when drowning accident victims survive, they can still suffer long-term effects. Brain damage from drowning is common because oxygen flow to the brain may be interrupted, even if the victims are successfully revived.

Of people who have survived drowning, almost one-third will experience complications such as acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ALI/ARDS can be triggered by pneumonia, sepsis, and water aspiration.

There is an approximate 20% mortality rate among pediatric patients who require cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene of the incident. Of those who do survive, approximately 5% will have significant long-term CNS damage from hypoxic-ischemic neurological insult.

The usual postmortem changes of vascular marbling, dark discoloration of skin and soft tissue, bloating, and putrefaction occur in the water as they do on land though at a different rate, particularly in cold water (4).

The two long term consequences of the drowning experience were: He could never forget the horrific incident an thus, left a lasting impression on him forever. He was scared of water for years to come and it took a lot of courage for him to be able to learn swimming after that.

What two organs are at the greatest risk for permanent damage during drowning? ›

a drowning persons mouth and nose are covered with water, and the head cannot be lifted or brought to the surface to breathe. What organs are at the greatest risk for permanent damage during drowning? The brain and heart.

Physicians believe that brain damage begins to occur after about five minutes of oxygen deprivation. “If you can rescue a child before that and restore their breathing with CPR, and get their breathing back, usually the children will recover,” Dr. Goodman says.

Goosebumps are the result of tiny muscles flexing in the skin, making hair follicles rise up a bit. This causes hairs to stand up. Goosebumps are an involuntary reaction: nerves from the sympathetic nervous system — the nerves that control the fight or flight response — control these skin muscles.

"The term 'dry drowning' refers to an acute lung injury caused by water aspiration that would develop over minutes to hours after exposure and could progress to respiratory failure," said Robert.

In drowning deaths, depending on the depth and time the body was under water, livores may not develop since the vessels beneath the outer surface of the body that are normally involved in livor mortis formation are obstructed due to compression by surrounding hydrostatic water pressure.

The Most Dangerous Locations Vary by Age

Children younger than 1 year old are more likely to drown at home. For children younger than 5, 87% of drowning fatalities happen in home pools or hot tubs. Most take place in pools owned by family, friends or relatives.

Conclusions. Children with cardiac arrest with hypothermia after drowning have an extremely poor outcome if return of spontaneous circulation is not achieved within 30 minutes of advanced life support.