What to do when you start to sink? Lifeguard: this is the only chance to save yourself

196 drownings in just three months. This tragic balance from last summer could have been much less if we had been vigilant: they would bathe where allowed, watch their loved ones in the water, and respond to disturbing others’ behavior. This year we have another chance to do so. Mateusz Wawryszuk, paramedic and lifeguard, tells Medonet how to be careful, what to do when we notice that someone is drowning and how to save ourselves when we are overcome by water.

1. According to police statistics, in 2020 there were 483 cases of drowning in Poland. As a result of these accidents, 460 people drowned. Among them were 23 children and teenagers 
2. – On hot Sundays at the bathing beach where I worked, we had five to 10 rescue operations in one day – says the expert 
3. In the event of drowning, the most important thing is emergency prevention: swimming in a safe and guarded place. However, even the presence of a lifeguard does not release us from vigilance, especially when we have children under our care 
4. A lifeguard also offers advice on how to help ourselves when we realize that we may drown. – Fight. Swim with the last of your strength to the shore. Call for backup. Unfortunately, people often wait for the last minute, they are ashamed to shout that they need help – he admits 
5. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Paulina Wójtowicz, MedTvoiLokony: Police data show that drownings most often occur in rivers. Why?

Mateusz Wawryszuk: Because there is a river current and an uneven shore. We walk along the shore or rest on it, soaking our feet in water. Suddenly the shore collapses and the current carries us away. If we cannot swim, we have very little chance of being saved. In my experience, people most often sink right next to the shore.

In addition, various objects flow with the current, against which we can hit or hurt. They can be large boughs and branches, as well as glass bottles, which often float below the surface and cannot be seen from the shore. There are also faults in rivers and places where the water foams. When we fall into such a surf, we have little chance of getting out – the water flows faster than we can move our hands.

Rivers are very dangerous, so there are hardly any bathing areas, unless there are bays within them.

What is security in the Baltic Sea like?

A lot depends on the place – it is definitely safer next to the bay than in the open sea, but in general the Baltic Sea poses a completely different level of risk than the ocean in Portugal, where waves reaching even 10 meters are really terrifying.

At our seaside, the threats are more atmospheric conditions, waves and reverse currents. Drowning occurs especially in the case of the latter, because we try to save ourselves there using techniques that work well in normal water conditions. For example, we are trying to swim to the shore, but it is against the current, so the effectiveness of such an action is close to zero. It is also impossible to go with the flow, because it can throw us far out into the sea. It’s best to try to get out of such a current by going sideways. Fortunately, the reverse currents are not too wide – you can get out of them quite quickly and swim to the shore, as long as you know what to do and in which direction to go.

So where is the safest place?

In the pools – first the swimming pools, then inland waters, i.e. lakes, where popular bathing areas are created, guarded by lifeguards. These are safe places, because you enter the water relatively evenly, there are no dangers such as branches under the water or garbage that someone threw into the water the day before from the pier, because there was a party. In the latter case, it may happen that one day someone jumps on the head in some place and nothing happens, and the next day he bangs his head on a bench that someone torn from a pier or a beach drunk and threw it into the water. That is why we never jump into water that we do not know.

There is no shortage of bravery in places like this. How can you tell the fooling around from the actual drowning?

The rule here is simple: we are wrong on the worse side. Better to assume that someone is drowning and start a rescue operation than do nothing and let them die.

Are we even able to help ourselves by drowning?

Only by preparing properly for swimming or being in the water. If we decide to swim in an unguarded place, we should have company. The presence of another person increases the chances of getting help in the event of an accident. Moreover, we should be afraid of. There are special little buoys that are used by, for example, triathletes who prepare for a competition. When we get tired, we can grab them and rest. An additional advantage is the fact that we are well visible thanks to them.

We never know what will happen. We can swim great, but we will get cramp or feel dizzy and go to the bottom. Such a buoy will help us come to the surface or at least mark our location. Maybe someone will notice us and save us thanks to it.

What to do when we do not have such protection?

Fight. Swim with the last of your strength to the shore. Call for backup. Unfortunately, people often wait for the last minute, ashamed to shout that they need help. They think that they can still make it, they will come. The moment they lose their strength and choke on water, their airways are flooded, their head goes below the surface and they have no way to scream anymore. All they have time to swim out to is gasping for air. So: I feel bad, alert you. I’m in the water and my head is spinning, screaming. I have a contraction, I am calling for help. Only then am I still able to save myself.

The rest of the text below the video.

People are said to be drowning silently. So how do you know when someone needs help?

Indeed, it is not that simple. The general rule is that in case of any doubts or suspicions, just shout and ask if everything is okay. No reaction is also an answer. A lonely person who drifts too far away or is swimming very slowly should be alert, perhaps just draining of strength. A sign of drowning is also an unnaturally crooked head protruding above the surface or emerging from it, hands up, mouth opening like a fish taking air. We rescuers also recognize drowning people by their eyes. They turn black, full of terror and disbelief. They are one big cry for help.

Do children sink like adults?

Paradoxically, children drown more often, but drown less often. They love to fool around in the water. They play, splash and scream, but often, when it comes to a crisis situation, their instincts are triggered in them, allowing them to save themselves. Not so long ago, they spent nine months in the water, so this environment is natural for them. When they sink, they usually wave their arms quickly and violently, they move a lot, they bounce off the bottom, they fight. Many of them stay afloat in this way before someone else comes to them. For comparison: drowning adults are often paralyzed by fear, their muscles tense, the body becomes inert and can sink like a stone.

Each drowning is a tragedy, but it is not difficult to resist the impression that those involving children are most touching. Reading reports of another drama in the water, the question arises: where were the guardians?

Usually very close. Once I had a situation where my parents came to the bathing beach with a toddler, maybe three years old. First they undressed the child, then they started to unpack. I watched them because I had seen such families more than once and I had a feeling how it would end. When the parents turned for a moment to spread the blanket, the baby ran straight into the water. I managed to run when it reached the toddler’s armpits and the child was almost going under the water. Sometimes these are moments, seconds of inattention and the tragedy is ready.

Once I saved a five-year-old boy from drowning. For the next 10 minutes we couldn’t find his guardians. It was not the first and the last such situation. Carers often put children into the water and look after themselves. This is outrageous behavior. Children may stay above the water only under the supervision of adults. This is the law. The presence of lifeguards does not release parents from the obligation to look after the child. We are not keepers.

In general, on hot Sundays at the bathing beach where I worked, there was not a day without a child drowning. On average, we had five to 10 rescue operations in one day there.

How to protect a child from the elements?

First of all, when we are with children at a bathing beach, even if guarded, it is our duty as parents to look after their children, especially when they are in the water. The lifeguard has many more people to observe, and it may take some time for the lifeguard to notice. It is also worth getting ready for your stay by the water. Swimming sleeves work well for children. As long as they are well matched to the child’s weight, they ensure safety and comfort. Popular inflatable wheels are tricky, they like to tip over – unfortunately, together with the child.

What can we do when we see a drowning person but we cannot swim ourselves?

First of all, it doesn’t matter whether we can swim. Swimming skills, even if they are brilliant, are insufficient to help a drowning person. Lifeguards never enter the water without belaying. Helping a drowning person, even with the knowledge of specialized holds and swimming techniques in water rescue, is very difficult and dangerous, even for a lifeguard. Therefore, at the level of first aid from water, we will only help as a last resort.

First, we give the drowning person something to hold on to. A rescue crampon, i.e. a long stick, is ideal. We pass it directly to the hands of the drowning person; such assistance is the fastest – precise and effective, and we are safe because we stay on the shore. As a last resort, we improvise and look for whatever we can give that person. It could be a stick, a towel, a sun umbrella, a screen, whatever.

A good improvement for this is the creation of a so-called living chain. People grab hands and get the victim. This provides security and strength to pull the person out. This technique is also used to search the bottom if the victim has lost sight under the water surface.

What if it is too far for the drowning person to reach the object we are handing over?

Then we have two options. First we try to throw him this thing. We are looking for a lifebuoy or a lifebuoy in the vicinity. Throwing a wheel is not as easy as it may seem. It also requires training to do it effectively. Therefore, very often a rope is tied to the wheel. We missed? We download and try again. We hit? We pull the rope. Remember to hold the end of the throw! We are also careful not to hit the head with such a wheel, so we aim at the drowning person, not at him. The wheel will flow towards it by the force of its momentum.

If that doesn’t work, we come. Preferably by boat, pedalo, kayak or SUP board. It can also be anything we have at hand that floats in the water and has a high buoyancy: a wheel, a mattress on which we were swimming. We never shake hands! We approach and carefully hand or push the item into the hands of the drowning person. However, we swim only when we can swim, and it is safe in the water. We never risk our own life. We can die ourselves, and who will save the victim? Unfortunately, such situations occur frequently by the water.

Let’s say we managed to transport a drowning person to the shore. She is unconscious. What are the next steps?

If we manage to tow a drowning person to the shore, first we put him in a safe place and check his condition. If he is breathing, we put him in a safe position and call for help. When there is no breathing, we call an ambulance and start cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

How is it different from the one we undertake, for example after a traffic accident or a heart attack?

A modification of the algorithm for drowning persons is to start resuscitation with rescue breaths. This is important because of the different mechanism of cardiac arrest. It is caused by stopping breathing, exhausting blood oxygen reserves, not stopping the heart. These breaths are needed to oxygenate the body. So we give five breaths, then 30 chest compressions, two rescue breaths, and then more compressions. If this is a stranger to us, we fear infection, we feel disgusted or we just don’t know how to use the mouth-to-mouth method, we can perform the compressions only. The most important thing is to start CPR at all, because it can save a person’s life.

The advice contained in the publication does not represent complete knowledge of first aid to a drowning person. Water rescue requires professional training.

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