The act of drowning does not appear the way most people expect it to appear – drowning is not a noisy, splashy, affair.  It comes without violent thrashings about in the water, without calls of distress – no waving or yelling.  Instead, drowning, true drowning and not the related ‘Aquatic Distress’, is a quiet event.  This is due to certain physiological responses which the drowning person experiences and which are beyond the person’s control.

The term ‘instinctive drowning response’, or IDR, was coined by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D. to describe these various effects.  In a typical drowning scenario the IDR overrides a person’s ability to speak, to wave for help or even to reach out to grab a flotation device, boat, raft, dock, etc.  The person simply CANNOT perform any of those actions because their body has gone into an instinctive mode and they no longer have self control.  This is why so many people drown within 25 yards of other swimmers and/or a ‘safe’ location or apparatus.

When the body begins to sense it may be in trouble it locks the respiratory system down into its primary function, which is breathing, and it blocks the secondary function of speech.  It doesn’t want you wasting your time on yelling when it thinks you need every breath to continue to survive.  Unfortunately, this means you are physically unable to call for help.  Additionally, as your mouth bobs above and below the surface of the water, your lungs use those brief moments to quickly exhale and inhale, leaving no time to call out even if you had the ability.

Another of the effects of IDR is that your arms will instinctively, and through no conscious control of your own, extend outward to your sides and then push down on the water in an effort to keep your head above the waves.  Your body will remain in a vertical attitude instead of trying to float on your back and your legs will NOT kick in support of your arms.  Again, this is not your choice – just like the fact that you don’t have to consciously think about taking every breath or making your heart beat or your mouth swallow, something primordial in your brain takes over and you are just along for the ride.

Once this vertical positioning in the water occurs you will typically only have a minute or less before you sink beneath the surface and drown.

Potential signs of drowning to look for are:

-Person’s head is low in the water or their mouth keeps shifting above and below the surface.

-Their eyes are wide open but look unfocused, or conversely, they are completely closed.

-Their eyes are covered by their hair and they make no attempt to brush it aside.

-They are gasping for air.

-Their body is in the vertical position and their legs are not kicking.

-They are only ‘pushing’ the water with their arms and are making to progress forward.

A quick way to check on the person is to call out to them and ask if they are okay.  If they are unable to respond verbally or to wave they are in need of immediate assistance.

Of course, a person who IS thrashing about and calling for help is also in need of assistance.  This is known as ‘Aquatic Distress’ and is often a precursor to the act of actual drowning.  But it is very important to be aware that many drowning victims never display the Aquatic Distress phase before they get into trouble.

Drowning is deadly and it is quiet.