Charleston Boy Dies of 'Dry Drowning'

Dry drowning is when a person's lungs become unable to extract oxygen from the air, due primarily to:

* Muscular paralysis
* Puncture wound to the torso (affecting ability of diaphragm to create respiratory movement)
* Changes to the oxygen-absorbing tissues
* Persistence of laryngospasm when immersed in fluid
* Breathing any gas other than oxygen, that does not kill the patient on its own, for too long. (e.g. Helium)

A mother in Charleston, S.C., is grieving the bizarre death of her 10-year-old boy.

On Sunday, Johnny Jackson begged his mother to let him and his sister swim for the first time. After swimming, the family had a normal walk home with no signs of anything being wrong with the boy.

About an hour after the swim, Johnny decided to take a nap. That's when the coroner says the pool water the 10-year-old ingested filled his lungs.

Instructions:

Step1

Determine whether the victim entered a body of water forcefully from a high diving board or slid down a long steep slide. These two activities have been associated with dry drowning. The victim involuntarily suffocates by holding his breath or experiencing a muscle spasm of the larynx.

Step2

Decide if it's possible the victim's epiglottis was hit forcefully with droplets of water. This causes the flap to spasm and close over the windpipe. Once it is closed, water and air are unable to enter the lungs.

Step3

Notice whether someone is choking or gagging while they are in or around water. It may be an indication that water has hit the epiglottis and caused spasms. This can happen in the water or after leaving the water and usually occurs 6 to 10 minutes after the water hits the epiglottis.

Step4

Examine a dry drowning victim, and it may reveal water in the stomach but not in the lungs. Water in the lungs indicates the victim was alive before submersion, but the absence of water indicates dry drowning or death before drowning.