{"id":194,"date":"2014-06-23T12:19:56","date_gmt":"2014-06-23T16:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com\/blog\/?p=194"},"modified":"2026-04-21T07:11:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T11:11:33","slug":"secondary-drowning-essential-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com/blog\/secondary-drowning-essential-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Secondary drowning: essential facts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In early June, Lindsay Kujawa went through every parent\u2019s worst nightmare. With her back turned for just a second, her nearly 2-year-old son, Ronin, fell into a nearby spa, she wrote in her blog. Fortunately, she was close enough to quickly pluck him from danger. But the nightmare wasn\u2019t over. Later that evening, she noticed that he was acting strange. Not long after, he was rushed to an emergency room, where Kujawa learned he was suffering from lack of oxygen.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_195\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/children-swiming.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-195\" class=\"size-full wp-image-195\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/children-swiming.jpg\" alt=\"babies swimming with adults\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/children-swiming.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/children-swiming-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/children-swiming-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-195\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">How panicked do you need to be about secondary drowning? As long as you&#8217;re already watchful, not very. From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/overdrive_cz\/\">overdrive_cz<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>The culprit? The near-drowning Kujawa thought she had rescued her son from. But Ronin was suffering from a different effect of the incident. It\u2019s what doctors call a dry drowning or secondary drowning, which can happen after a near-drowning.<\/p>\n<p>Ronin was saved, but Kujawa\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delightedmomma.com\/2014\/05\/secondary-drowning-my-recent-experience.html\">blog post<\/a> about the incident soon went viral with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/miami\/news\/long-after-the-splashing-subsides-children-can-still-fall-victim-to-drowning\/\">local news<\/a> outlets picking up the story, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2014\/06\/09\/health\/secondary-drowning-symptoms\/\">CNN<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.today.com\/health\/toddlers-near-death-secondary-drowning-warning-parents-2D79738995\">NBC<\/a> soon following suit. Frightening headlines warned that \u201cYou Can Drown After You Leave the Pool.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rrZDFr61N8E\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Technically, this is true, but it\u2019s also highly misleading. Secondary drowning is <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/7427600\/\">defined<\/a> as \u201cdeterioration of pulmonary function that follows deficient gas exchange due to loss or inactivation of surfactant.\u201d It happens if someone breathes even a small amount of water into their lungs during a struggle or near drowning. The water causes airway muscles to spasm and makes breathing difficult. Fluid can then build up in the lungs, which causes trouble breathing. Symptoms usually appear 1 to 24 hours after an incident, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/parenting\/default.htm\">WebMd interview<\/a> with a drowning expert.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">While all this sounds scary, secondary drowning is rare. It happens in only 1 to 5 percent of near drownings, with saltwater immersion being more deadly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>But just getting in the water, or even accidentally swallowing some water while swimming (as long as it\u2019s not swallowed into the lungs), aren\u2019t likely to cause secondary drowning.<\/p>\n<p>Still, if you, or someone you know, experience a near-drowning, or a struggle in the water, here are the signs to watch for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Trouble breathing, chest pain, or cough<\/li>\n<li>Sudden changes in behavior<\/li>\n<li>Extreme fatigue<span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you see any of these signs related to a drowning or struggle in the water, immediately seek medical help. Victims can be ventilated in a hospital, and usually recover. But the best way to prevent secondary drowning is to remain vigilant at all times when children are in the water. Experts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com/blog\/top-4-myths-drowning\/\">recommend<\/a> staying within arm\u2019s distance of children while they are in the water. And remember to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com/blog\/how-do-i-fence-my-pool\/\">fence<\/a> off any pools or cover spas that are not in use to prevent unintended immersions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-products\">\n<h3>Like this topic? Check out our related products:<\/h3>\n<div class=\"slitrule\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"wraptocenter\"><a href=\"\/adult-supervision-signs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mypoolsigns.com\/img\/sm\/S\/children-not-use-pool-sign-s-5640.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Adult Supervision Required<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"wraptocenter\"><a href=\"\/no-lifeguard-signs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mypoolsigns.com\/img\/sm\/K\/warning-no-lifeguard-on-duty-pool-sign-k2-0504.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>No Lifeguard Signs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In early June, Lindsay Kujawa went through every parent\u2019s worst nightmare. With her back turned for just a second, her nearly 2-year-old son, Ronin, fell into a nearby spa, she wrote in her blog. Fortunately, she was close enough to quickly pluck him from danger. But the nightmare wasn\u2019t over. Later that evening, she noticed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[96,90,9,107,85,108],"class_list":["post-194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-safety","tag-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention","tag-cnn","tag-drowning","tag-nbc","tag-united-states","tag-water"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Secondary drowning: essential facts - MyPoolSigns Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is secondary drowning something to watch out for when you take your kids to the pool? 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