4.0 First Aid Protocol for Drowning

Responding to a drowning incident is a procedural process where rescuer safety is the absolute first priority. Following a systematic approach is essential for ensuring your own safety while providing the victim with the best possible chance of survival.

1. Ensure Safety First: Prioritize your own safety above all else. If you are not a trained professional, you must not enter dangerous water. Attempt to reach the victim from a safe location using an object like a rope, pole, or life buoy.
2. Call for Emergency Help: Immediately call your local emergency services or direct someone else to make the call.
3. Remove the Victim from Water: Move the victim to a safe, stable location on dry land as quickly and safely as possible.
4. Check for Consciousness: Gently tap the victim’s shoulders and shout, “Are you okay?” to check for a response.
5. Check for Breathing: Open the airway by tilting the head back and lifting the chin. Use the “Look, Listen, and Feel” method for no more than 10 seconds to check for normal breathing.
6. Administer Initial Rescue Breaths: For a drowning victim, the protocol begins with 5 initial rescue breaths. Pinch the victim’s nose, seal your mouth over theirs, and give one full breath, watching for the chest to rise. Repeat this for a total of five breaths before starting chest compressions.
7. Begin Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR): If the victim is unresponsive and not breathing normally after the initial breaths, you must immediately begin chest compressions.
   • Hand Position: Place the heel of one hand on the lower half of the breastbone. Place your other hand on top and interlace your fingers.
   • Compression Rate & Depth: Perform compressions at a rate of 100-120 per minute. For adults, the compression depth should be 5-6 cm.
   • CPR Cycle: Follow the standard cycle of 30 chest compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths.
8. Continue CPR: Continue the 30:2 cycle without interruption until professional medical help arrives, the scene becomes unsafe, or the victim shows definitive signs of recovery.
9. Prevent Hypothermia: Once the victim is breathing, cover them with dry blankets or clothing to prevent body heat loss (hypothermia).
10. Insist on Medical Evaluation: It is critical that every drowning victim, even if they seem to recover fully, be transported to a hospital. They must be evaluated for delayed complications like secondary drowning.

While drowning involves fluid in the airway, the next section will address emergencies caused by solid objects.