Episode #142 – Drowning: A silent public health threat

VGS Someone loses their life to drowning every two minutes. In fact, I could have been that statistic when I almost drowned twice. Drowning is one of the leading causes of death among children aged 1 to 4 years. In fact, it is one of the most underrecognized public health threats. We’re going to talk about drowning prevention with our expert, Dr Caroline Lukaszyk today. Welcome, Caroline. So drowning is such a big public health threat? I did not know that.

CL Yes, absolutely. It often flies under the radar and in fact, in the last 10 years alone, over 3 million people have lost their lives to drowning. We’ve made such great progress in protecting the health of children over the last 40 years. We’ve had increased investment in child and maternal health. However, now drowning has become one of the leading causes of death of this age group, so it’s really time for us to pivot our attention to it. Drowning doesn’t often make it to the newspapers it occurs silently, in villages, in bathtubs or while people do their daily commute to and from work or school. However, these losses are no less devastating to the families and communities and the friends of these individuals. Finally, I just wanted to also note, that not all drowning events are actually fatal and a lot of people who experience drowning end up with lifelong disabilities which prevent them from being employed, prevent them from living independently or from contributing to their communities and their societies.

VGS Why are so many people drowning, especially children?

CL There are three key, sort of, areas of concern. The first one is around unsafe environments, the second one is around a lack of awareness, and the third one is around a lack of safety skills and also safety equipment. Around the world, many people live in rural communities that are in really close proximity to a wide range of different water bodies. This could include rivers, lakes, ponds, uncovered wells or even ditches. It’s very complicated and difficult to maintain effective supervision on children at all times in these areas, and also a very costly, resource intensive, to fence everything to keep it safe. So children may enter the water accidentally, or they may choose to actually engage in playing in water that might not be safe. We also know that flooding exposes communities to water in a really sudden and unexpected way and we know that people who travel over water to reach school or healthcare or work, also people who work close to water, are at risk if they don’t have appropriate safety equipment such as life jackets. Finally, a lot of countries in the world don’t teach their children swimming and water safety skills through the school curriculum and this causes many children to not have this sort of understanding or this ability.

VGS  Caroline, coming back to the non-fatal drowning, I almost drowned twice. Both the times it was in the pool and I tried to signal to people standing right outside the pool and they could not tell that I was drowning. And at that time I was also aware that anyone who comes to rescue me I could pull them down with me because I was running out of breath and panicking. Could you talk to us about prevention of drowning?

CL Thank you for sharing that story, it’s a perfect example of how drowning can be a silent killer but also about the importance of having someone who is well trained and has the skills to do a safe rescue present and in the area. There are a number of things people at home can do to protect themselves and their families and loved ones from drowning. One of these things is to learn CPR and safe rescue skills. Another one is ensuring ongoing and effective supervision of kids, especially near water bodies. A moment of distraction can lead to devastation. Another idea is to teach children swimming and water safety skills from a young age, even really simple skills such as breathing and floating, could save a life. Additionally, it’s not a good idea to consume alcohol either before swimming, while boating or while supervising children, because we know alcohol impairs our judgement and impairs how we can react in an emergency situation. And finally, it’s critical that everyone wears life jackets while boating no matter how good their swimming skills are.

VGS Caroline, you’re WHO’s expert for drowning prevention, and also a young mother. How has this work become personal for you now?

CL Motherhood has definitely taught me a lot about the challenges in keeping children safe around water. I have a young two-year-old girl and she’s very adventurous and she’s very unaware of risks, especially when it comes to water, she loves being in and around the water.

I was making dinner one night I had laid out the food on the kitchen table and gone to bathe my daughter in a shallow bath in the bathroom. When I was bathing her, I heard my dog jump on the table and start eating the food and my initial instinct was to stand up and run out of the room to get the dog but then I remembered that drowning among children can take place in 30 seconds and drowning can occur in a really, really shallow amount of water. So, of course, I stayed put. And, again, I have these sorts of moments throughout the last two years, where you really recognize the complexity of caregiving but also the importance of making sure that you do have this supervision over your kids. One of my key goals through the World Health Organization Drowning Prevention Program is to make sure the messaging we have to parents is very supportive and empowering and it doesn’t blame but instead it provides people with really practical, effective ideas on how they are able to keep their children safe in these spaces.

VGS Thank you, Caroline and well done, Mom. It’s always difficult to multi-task and so difficult to stay, you know, focused when the dog is eating your breakfast. But that was Science in 5 today, remember, anyone can drown but no one should and let’s keep water and swimming a source of joy for all of us. Until next time then, stay safe, stay healthy and stick with science.