Prolonged Resuscitation Efforts Do Not Benefit Child Drowning Victims

In just a few couple of months from now, the temperatures will rise in California, and the year’s peak swimming season will begin. Every year, children constitute some of the most frequent victims of drowning accidents across the United States. New research seems to indicate that the current guidelines that call for prolonged resuscitation of children who have suffered a drowning incident, may actually not be beneficial to children at all. The study was conducted by Dutch researchers, who say that their study points to a lack of any benefit in prolonged resuscitation efforts, for children beyond 30 minutes. They found that when resuscitation efforts were continued in children, who had drowned, and had suffered a heart attack, or suffered a significant drop in their body temperature in a condition known as hypothermia, the prolonged resuscitation did not have any benefit at all, and 87% of the children died after the incident. Out of the remaining children, many were left in a vegetative state as a result of the brain damage. There is much that you can do to help reduce the risk of a child drowning in your swimming pool. Most child-related drowning incidents occur in residential swimming pools, when parents and caregivers take their eyes away from the child for just a few seconds. Make sure that children are not around any pool unsupervised. An adult supervisor must be present at all times. Avoid being distracted while you’re by the pool. You are not going to be of any help if you’re by the pool, and texting on your cell phone while children are in the pool. Understand that a child who is drowning will not make a lot of attention, or splash about. Drowning is very often a very silent killer. It takes just a few seconds for a child to slip below the surface and either die, or suffer long-term brain damage. If a loved one has suffered injuries in a drowning accident in a swimming pool, or hot tub, speak to a premises liability lawyer in Burbank.