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Dry Drowning Warning For Parents

Eddie Farah — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:59:00 GMT

The death of a 10-year-old boy from South Carolina this week while lying in his own bed, has brought attention to the little known “dry drowning.”

Johnny Jackson had gone for a swim in his neighborhood and walked home with his mother. He seemed fine except that his mother says he soiled himself, and then started talking slowly. He was sleepy. He lay down to take a nap and about one hour later he was dead.

Parents need to understand how dry drowning works. When water gets into the lungs, and it doesn’t have to be much, a child can asphyxiate. Lungs immersed in fluid are unable to take in oxygen from the air, but even with a small amount of water, Wikipedia says the “laryngospasm reflex essentially causes asphyxiation and neurogenic pulmonary edema.”

Basically when you breath, the diaphragm contracts, increases the volume of air into the lungs from the outside. During laryngospasm the person’s larynx spasm shuts. Air does not rush into the lungs. The heart is beating the blood flowing but it is not picking up oxygen.

Dry drowning can happen when someone has forceful contact with the water, such as from high diving or a water slide. Or just from summer fun in a pool, or even from a bath.

But the signs can be delayed and doctors don't know why. Signs are extreme fatigue and strange behavior which results from a reduction in oxygen to the brain. They need to get to an emergency room and have a breathing tube inserted so oxygen can be forced into the lungs so they regain their function.

3,600 people drowned in 2005, according to the CDC. About 10 to 15 percent were dry drownings, which can occur up to 24 hours after water is breathed into the lungs.

Johnny's mother, Cassandra Jackson, just didn't know, like most of us wouldn't.

"I feel like someone reached in and grabbed my heart and just yanked it out,” she says.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Fatal Boating Accident Grief And Tributes Pour In

Eddie Farah — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:40:19 GMT

It was a senseless loss of life on Easter Sunday. And the funerals are now underway.

Three of the five killed Sunday on a boat in the Intracoastal area of Palm Valley south of Jacksonville are being laid to rest. The first funeral was held Thursday for 20-year-old Liz Rosenfeld a student at the University of North Florida. Her friends have entered about 1,500 tributes on a Facebook page set up in her honor.

Two women who were friends will be buried Friday. They were invaluable members of the YMCA family of Clay County where they both worked.

Altogether five people were killed and nine injured when the 22- foot boat in which they were riding hit a tugboat in the Intracoastal Waterway. The tug was tied up to a barge at a worksite building a boat lift.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Shand’s trauma center took in the mass casualties that included blunt trauma, head injuries, fractures and internal injuries.

Alcohol was present at the boat crash site. It is not illegal to have an open container of alcohol on the boat as it would be in a car. It is illegal if the boat’s operator is impaired. No word on who was driving the boat, how fast it was traveling, or to what extent, if at all, he was impaired.

Charges are not out of the possibility here. For one thing the 22-foot Crownline was over capacity by two people. For another, it was traveling in a no-wake zone. Witnesses at The Bridge restaurant say they saw it going nearly full throttle. Then they heard the emergency vehicles.

The boat belongs to 37-year-old Melvin Bethel of Pone Vedra Beach, who is listed in fair condition at the Mayo Clinic.

The Florida Wildlife Commission is conducting the investigation as is the National Transportation Safety board because of the number of deaths and injuries.

There is a lot to study here - the throttle and steering mechanisms, what the engine tells them, and what damage to both vessels reveals. Ultimately the federal agency will share what we all can learn to prevent injury from boating accidents.

Our hearts go out to all of the families impacted by this tragedy. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Georgia Teen Tosses Baby On YouTube Video

Eddie Farah — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:54:46 GMT

A video has been removed from YouTube, but it’s fair to say it shows a stupid teenager doing something potentially harmful to an 8-month-old infant -- tossing him.

The South Georgia teen from Lee County has now been charged with child cruelty for putting the baby on a large, inflatable pillow on the floor, and jumping on the pillow so the baby would fly in the air a few feet away, land on his little body, and start crying.

The 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged with a felony count of cruelty to a child, as well as a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to children. The first count is for violence to a child under the age of 18. The second count is for allowing a teenage friend to see and tape the violence. Too bad there is no charge for stupidity.

A Lee County teacher was alerted to the YouTube video and brought it to the attention of the Sheriff's office. The boy shooting the video, another 16-year-old has not been charged. His family was allegedly watching the infant.

No word on the condition of the child, but doctors warn that shock to a little body can lead to bleeding inside the brain, as well as fractures. Not to mention extreme fright of a defenseless child who is at the mercy of such cruelty.

A good judge will not buy any "boys will be boys" excuses here but should let the seriousness of a felony charge shake a little reality into this 16-year-old, his friend, and the adults in their lives. Child cruelty is not funny and should never be tolerated. Even if done by a stupid 16-year-old.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Jet Ski Accident Kills One Teen, Leaves Another Critical

Eddie Farah — Sat, 10 May 2008 23:51:00 GMT

Two teenagers riding on a personal watercraft Saturday collided with a small boat in the Jacksonville area waters. The 19-year-old man was killed and an 18-year-old woman seriously injured. No one in the boat on Durbin Creek was injured.

When a boater tried to come to the rescue of the two victims, he went to the Julington Creek boat ramp, about two miles from the accident. But the young man was dead at the scene. The young woman was air lifted to Shands-Jacksonville in critical condition.

Both of the young people were wearing life vests.

"It's a hard time right now, especially for the parents of those kids," said Ken Johns, who was boating nearby. "It's just heartbreaking, to tell you the truth."

It's always possible in these cases that charges will be filed. Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission officers say that a blood sample was taken from the teenager, which is standard practice.

Whether the speed in a narrow and winding part of the creek played a part in the collision or simply the inability to steer the jet ski skillfully will have to be determined.

Jet skis are fun but they require skill and frequently people do not realize that you often need to apply speed to have the ability to adequately steer away from a hazard, which seems counterintuitive. We wish the young lady a speedy recovery.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah