Secondary/Dry Drowning

Although fall is just around the corner, parents are still concerned about  “dry drowning” or “secondary drowning.”  I would like to reassure parents that dry drowning, in the fantastical way the media has portrayed it, is not a true entity. Your child will not have an uneventful day playing in the pool, swallow a mouthful of water that causes no respiratory symptoms, and suddenly die 5 days later from a “dry drowning.” Here are a couple links to articles written by emergency room physicians that explore this issue.

Http://journals.lww.com/em-news/blog/breakingnews/Pages/post.aspx?PostID=377

http://newsroom.acep.org/2017-07-11-Death-After-Swimming-Is-Extremely-Rare-And-Is-NOT-Dry-Drowning