why do people drown?

[HN]

Nonono



Though I guess different societies had different ways of dispatching blasphemers.

Good ole western witch test was to dunk them in water, in a contraption as such:

if they drowned, they were cool, not a witch. if they survived, they must have used some witchcraftery to survive, in which case, they were dried, bound to a stake, and burned for their sorcery.

 

[TridenT]

You're doing it wrong then. Everybody will float regardless of body fat. Your lungs are your life preserver, keep them filled with air and don't exhale more than 1/3rd of your capacity. You will float.

Again, you have a lot of misconceptions.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Here is what you need to know to spot a drowning victim:

1. Drowning victims don’t scream or call out for help. They are saving their energy to stay afloat.
2. Drowning victims don’t wave their arms wildly. They put their arms out to the side and their heads are titled back.
3. Drowning victims are not leaning forward. They try to stand straight up in the water and push themselves up.
4. Most importantly, drowning is NOT loud and noisy it is silent and swift.

Plus there's the whole part that they might be under water so you might not even be able to see them. Even when people know they're there they can drown before they can get help. Plus there's plenty of times where the would be rescuer ends up drowning because the drowning victim.

I can swim, I'm not sure that I could save a drowning person though and while I would try in certain conditions there's plenty where I wouldn't (such as a fast moving river or other when its turbulent water).

What is appalling though are the cases like this: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6661068
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/sh...six-year-old-boy-from-drowning?urn=nfl,wp2597

Apparently, Pope was the only adult at the scene who knew how to swim, which — let's go ahead and say it — speaks to some less-than-stellar planning when it comes to a pool party.

 

[Svnla]

People that could not swim become panic and drown as result.

A couple years ago, several young folks died from falling into the river while walking on the river edge = http://abcnews.go.com/WN/teens-drown-wading-louisianas-red-river/story?id=11312631

 

[spidey07]

Again, you have a lot of misconceptions.

If you fill your lungs with air, you WILL float.

 

[TridenT]

If you fill your lungs with air, you WILL float.

Again, this is not the case for everyone. You really don't know anything about swimming if you are this ignorant about something as simple as floating.

 

[spidey07]

Again, this is not the case for everyone. You really don't know anything about swimming if you are this ignorant about something as simple as floating.

I was a life guard and have over 200 scuba dives.

Fill your lungs with air and you WILL float. The human body is positively buoyant if your lungs are full of air, there is no way around that.

 

[Gibsons]

Nonono

Though I guess different societies had different ways of dispatching blasphemers.

You're suggesting Monty Python had it wrong?

 

[darkxshade]

what constitutes as floating though... I can float meaning I'm not touching the ground but 99% of my body is stills somehow submerged including my face.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I thought witches float, because they are like wood. If she burns then she's a witch!

No, if she weighs the same as a duck she's made of wood and therefore a witch.

 

[TridenT]

what constitutes as floating though... I can float meaning I'm not touching the ground but 99% of my body is stills somehow submerged including my face.

Floating is keeping your head above the water to a certain extent (allowing you to breathe) without any assistance from movement of limbs. This is possible for a lot of people but not everyone.

I was a life guard and have over 200 scuba dives.

Fill your lungs with air and you WILL float. The human body is positively buoyant if your lungs are full of air, there is no way around that.

So, you were never a well regarded swim instructor for a long period of time with a lot of clients? Ok. Then you don't know what you talkin' about! NOT EVERYONE IS BUILT THE SAME. Low fat + very lean muscle + low lung capacity = you are not likely to float. A lot of bodies are built different.

 

[BurnItDwn]

since my body is mostly muscle, i don't float on my back. Fatties float really well though

That's not true.

I weigh over 300 pounds and sink like a rock. (I might have some muscle, but I know I've got about 50 pounds that I really ought to lose.)

I think you're going to find that bone density is the most significant factor when it comes to float vs sink.

 

[Fayd]

Floating is keeping your head above the water to a certain extent (allowing you to breathe) without any assistance from movement of limbs. This is possible for a lot of people but not everyone.



So, you were never a well regarded swim instructor for a long period of time with a lot of clients? Ok. Then you don't know what you talkin' about! NOT EVERYONE IS BUILT THE SAME. Low fat + very lean muscle + low lung capacity = you are not likely to float. A lot of bodies are built different.

muscle is only barely more dense than water because, guess what, it is mostly water. same with all other tissue.

anybody who breathes in can float.

 

[ImpulsE69]

We lack the ability to convert water to oxygen.

 

[MetalMat]

Because they drink too much water

 

[jagec]

I was a life guard and have over 200 scuba dives.

Fill your lungs with air and you WILL float. The human body is positively buoyant if your lungs are full of air, there is no way around that.

Yeah, but you gotta replace that air sometime too. You can't just take a breath and hold on to it forever. And if you're drowning, often you CAN'T take that initial big breath. Even if you do, holding onto a big breath, then gasping it out and refilling your lungs again, is very energy intensive and not a good survival strategy. That's why the SEALS teach that bobbing technique.

And "floating" as described by most people involves lying on your back in the water. Not everyone can do that, no matter how much air is in their lungs. I am an excellent swimmer, but there is practically no fat in my legs, and they drop like rocks if I try to float on my back.

 

[SillyOReilly]

ATOT, full of chiseled and muscled young men that can't float.

 

[Six]

Saw a statistic once at a beach that said something like "80% of downing victims know how to swim." I turned towards my sister-in-law who was terrified of the 2-3 feet waves and said "see, you'll be fine...you don't know how to swim."

 

[SillyOReilly]

Saw a statistic once at a beach that said something like "80% of downing victims know how to swim." I turned towards my sister-in-law who was terrified of the 2-3 feet waves and said "see, you'll be fine...you don't know how to swim."

I'd suspect that most people that can't swim avoid the water.

 

[spidey07]

Yeah, but you gotta replace that air sometime too. You can't just take a breath and hold on to it forever. And if you're drowning, often you CAN'T take that initial big breath. Even if you do, holding onto a big breath, then gasping it out and refilling your lungs again, is very energy intensive and not a good survival strategy. That's why the SEALS teach that bobbing technique.

And "floating" as described by most people involves lying on your back in the water. Not everyone can do that, no matter how much air is in their lungs. I am an excellent swimmer, but there is practically no fat in my legs, and they drop like rocks if I try to float on my back.

Then do a dead man's float. Much eaiser and saves energy.

 

[Miramonti]

waves, current, panic, fully clothed, exhaustion. drowning is a terrifying way to die. overcoming it is not always an easy proposition.

 

[shortylickens]

since my body is mostly muscle, i don't float on my back. Fatties float really well though

Olympic swimmers can float on their backs.

 

[keird]

Race is a major factor in lung volume. I work in the field of respiratory medicine and this has factor been long known to effect long volume, as well as sex, height and age.

Caucasians generally have larger lung volumes than asian and african races. You can see this in various nomograms that were published for references in pulmonary function testing. Since the age of computers we've just recently (in the last decade or so) separated the different data tables by race on a dropdown menu rather than using paper references separated by sex and race. For instance, after selecting the appropriate nomogram by sex and race, simply use a straight edge to align the height and age values and you'll get the predicted norm values.

I suspect that people with relatively more lung volume would expend less energy to stay afloat.

 

[Dumac]

Olympic swimmers can float on their backs.

Cause of all that weed they smoke, increasing their lung capacity.

Race is a major factor in lung volume. I work in the field of respiratory medicine and this has factor been long known to effect long volume, as well as sex, height and age.

Caucasians generally have larger lung volumes than asian and african races. You can see this in various nomograms that were published for references in pulmonary function testing. Since the age of computers we've just recently (in the last decade or so) separated the different data tables by race on a dropdown menu rather than using paper references separated by sex and race. For instance, after selecting the appropriate nomogram by sex and race, simply use a straight edge to align the height and age values and you'll get the predicted norm values.

I suspect that people with relatively more lung volume would expend less energy to stay afloat.

Interesting data.

 

[shortylickens]

Natures miracle herb.