Five Ways To Save Someone From Drowning

Posted on Jul 3 2017 - 10:39am by Editorial Staff

If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation where you have to help someone who is drowning, then it’s best that you’re aware of the steps to take in order to ensure their safety. You might end up being the only person who can help save them from this dangerous situation. And if you’re not prepared to help them, then they are seriously going to be in a life or death situation. Be sure to keep reading down below, so you can learn more about the steps that you should take in this situation to ensure their safety and well-being.

First, Assess the Situation

The first thing that you need to determine before you actually try to save someone from drowning is determine whether or not they are drowning. Someone who is actively drowning is going to be thrashing their arms in the air and might be bobbing up and down screaming for help. This is the first step that you’ve got to take – someone might not be drowning when you think they are.

And no matter what kind of experience you have, you should always start this process of saving someone who is drowning by yelling out for help. There are going to hopefully be people around you who can help you out in this situation. Even if you don’t think there is anybody, go ahead and yell for help in case someone is out of sight, but can still hear you. The chances of saving someone are much greater when there are more people helping out.

A Reaching Assist

If you are trying to save someone in the pool or the dock and they are close to the side of the pool or dock, then you can do a reaching assist. This involves you laying down flat surface with your legs spread out and your chest flat on the surface. You should never lay down in a position that puts you in the position to fall into the water, as well. Yell out to the person and tell them that they should grab onto your outreached hand and arm. Once they have a strong grip on you, you can pull them onto the dock. This is going to be a lot easier if you have someone else with you who can help.

A Throwing Assist

The next type of safety method that you can use is called a throwing assist. The first thing you need to do for this saving method is a floating device that can float in the water. It’s going to be much better if this floating device has a rope attached to it. That way, you will be able to reel the person in whenever you throw it into the water. Throw the floating device into the water near the person who is drowning and once they grab on, you can reel them to the edge of the pool or dock.

A Swimming Rescue

This last rescue option should be used as the last resort if you are in the situation with someone who is drowning. You should ensure yourself that you have the swimming abilities to do a swimming rescue without drowning yourself. Be sure to dive in with floating aid that can help you bring the person back to the shore or the edge of the pool/dock.

Make sure that you have the victim calm down first if they are still conscious. If you’re not careful, the victim could drag you down with them, since they are going to be in a state of fear.

Care for Them After the Rescue

Once you have saved the victim from drowning, it’s time to take care of them and ensure that they are going to make it through with the help of CPR. You should assess how well he or she is able to breathe and if he or she is breathing at all. If there is no pulse or there is no breath coming through, then you should perform CPR on the victim until the medical authorities arrive.

There you have it! When you are in the unfortunate situation where someone you know is drowning and you have to save someone, you need to ensure that you know what to do. This could mean life or death for the person who is drowning.

Photo by heju, CC0 1.0

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Editorial Staff at I2Mag is a team of subject experts.