Say Anything Blog

Secondary Drowning Phenomenon

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (June 5) - A 10-year-old South Carolina boy died several hours after he swallowed water in a swimming pool.

Goose Creek police said Johnny Jackson swallowed some water while swimming around noon Sunday.

Police say he later complained he was tired and took a nap. When someone checked on him, water was coming out of his nose and he was having trouble breathing.

“His lips were blue and his tongue was sticking out,” his mother, Cassandra Jackson, told the Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C. “We called 911.”

The boy later died at Trident Hospital.

Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad told the newspaper that the boy’s lungs were filled with water and he died of asphyxiation. There was no way the adults in the child’s family could have known what was happening to him, Rhoad said.

Unfortunately, not many people are aware of this is phenomenon. Secondary Drowning is a condition where water, or other fluids, enter the lungs but the person may be conscious and not fully aware of what has occurred.  Meaning, prior to exiting the water they inhaled, potentially deadly fluid, into their lungs.

The general warning signs for this include: coughing; trouble breathing; pain in the lungs or chest especially when taking a deep breath; and a feeling of swallowing or inhaling water. In rare occasions there are little to no signs.

It’s extremely important to seek medical attention as quickly as possible. As the name implies, the person can drown even several hours later as the fluid in the lungs impairs the breathing process.

The headline in the article I linked is misleading. The child did not drown by swallowing the water, he inhaled the water. The child, obviously, was playing innocently and vigorously in the water. Most likely, he coughed and choked many times, as do many children playing in water.

If your child or someone you know, repeatedly inhales water you need to monitor them closely.

A sad situation for sure, but as the mother mentioned, perhaps others may learn from this tragedy.