Overview
Drowning is trouble breathing from being under water or having water enter the airway. It may lead to death, severe injury, or ongoing health problems, including brain injury from lack of oxygen. Drowning can occur in natural waters, swimming pools, bathtubs, buckets, and during floods or boating incidents.
Key Symptoms
A person in trouble in water may be unable to call out, wave, or keep their head above water. After rescue, warning signs can include coughing, trouble breathing, blue or gray lips, confusion, extreme tiredness, vomiting, or loss of consciousness. Any breathing problem after a water incident needs urgent medical care.
Causes and Risk Factors
Common causes include lack of supervision, inability to swim, unsafe water conditions, boating incidents, and not using life jackets. Alcohol or drug use, seizures, weak swimming skills, strong currents, diving into unknown water, and medical conditions that affect movement or awareness can raise risk. Very young children can drown in small amounts of water if left alone even briefly.
Who Is Affected
Anyone can drown, but risk is higher for young children, adolescents and adults around open water, boaters, people who cannot swim, and people exposed to floods or rough water. Risk may also be higher for people with epilepsy or other conditions that can cause sudden loss of awareness. In many places, limited access to barriers, swimming lessons, rescue services, and life jackets also increases risk.
Prevention
Use close, constant, undistracted supervision whenever children are near water, and stay within arm's reach for infants and toddlers. Install barriers such as four-sided pool fencing with self-closing, self-latching gates, and empty tubs, buckets, and kiddie pools right after use. Learn swimming and basic water safety skills, choose well-supervised swimming areas when available, wear a properly fitted life jacket for boating and higher-risk water activities, avoid alcohol around water, and check weather and water conditions before entering.
Treatment Categories
Drowning is an emergency that needs immediate rescue by trained responders when possible, emergency medical services, and urgent medical evaluation. Care may include rescue breathing, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, oxygen, warming, and hospital monitoring for breathing problems or other complications. People who seem better after rescue can still become seriously ill and should be assessed promptly.
When to Seek Medical Care
Seek urgent medical care after any submersion event if the person coughed a lot, inhaled water, had trouble breathing, fainted, was confused, vomited, or was unusually sleepy. Medical assessment is also important after near-drowning, even if the person seems to recover. A healthcare professional can check for breathing problems and other complications.
When It May Be an Emergency
Call emergency services right away if a person is missing in water, cannot be brought to safety, is not breathing normally, has blue or gray skin or lips, has chest pain, has a seizure, or is unresponsive. Start emergency first aid and CPR if you are trained and it is safe to do so. Do not put yourself in danger during a rescue; use reaching or throwing aids if possible.