What happens to the lungs after the rescue of a drowning person. How to save a drowning man - key points

In summer, autumn and winter - swimming in pools and resorts is always relevant. Unfortunately, not everyone can swim well and know how to behave if someone nearby is drowning. But even the theoretical knowledge that you will gain from this article will help you quickly navigate in a difficult situation.

Instruction:

1. You saw a drowning person - first of all, scream for help. The more people around learn about a drowning person, the more chances to save him.

2. Before jumping into the water, take off your shoes: sneakers swollen in the water will only interfere with swimming and staying on the water.

3. Try to grab something from the floating equipment on the way to the water. Usually this inflatable mattress, pillow or baby circle.

4. As soon as you find yourself next to a drowning man, swim behind him. In no case do not swim in front! A drowning person panics - he will try to grab you and pull you along. If this still happens, you need to unhook the hands of the drowning man and throw him off. Otherwise, you will need salvation.

5. Grasp the drowning person under the armpits from behind, turn face up. Swim to the shore, helping yourself with your free hand and feet. This is where any inflatable tool comes in handy.

6. After pulling the victim ashore, carefully inspect for damage, check breathing and heartbeat.

7. If the victim swallowed water, then turn him face down and bend the body forward. The head should be lowered below the chest. Unclench your jaws with your hands: drowning people often experience a spasm of the facial muscles. Remove mud, silt or sand from the mouth and nasopharynx. Make sure all the water drains out. Check for breathing and pulse.

8. If there is no breathing, no heartbeat is heard, and the pupils are dilated, then immediately proceed to resuscitation. Begin artificial respiration and chest compressions.

9. Lay the victim on a flat hard surface. Tilt your head back, release your mouth and push your chin down. Pinch the victim's nose with the fingers of one hand, hold the chin with the other hand. Take 1 breath into the mouth of the victim and 3-4 sharp pressure on the sternum. According to the rule, there should be 17 breaths per minute and 60-70 chest compressions. Closely monitor the pulse: as soon as a weak pulse appears, chest compressions should be stopped, because. the heart may stop. With spontaneous breathing and heartbeat, the victim must be covered with a warm blanket and sent to the hospital.

We all love to relax, especially by the sea or the river. However, holidays are not always pleasant. From childhood, we were taught that games have no place on the water, and that if you can’t swim, don’t go far. Having matured and learned to swim, we consider ourselves professional swimmers and, being firmly confident in our strengths and capabilities, we swim wherever our eyes look.

Few of us think about the consequences and dangers of a long swim or playing on the water. Misbehavior, drunk bathing, emergencies- all this is fraught with drowning. Drowning is an accident, accompanied by the ingress of liquid into the respiratory tract of a person, and as a result, oxygen starvation.

Not a single person is immune from such cases. The sooner a drowning person is removed from the water, and the sooner he is given first aid, the higher will be the chance of saving his life. Everyone should be able and to know how to provide ambulance to the victim on the water. From this article, you will learn how to act if a person begins to drown in your presence.

In medical practice, there are four types of drowning. Each of them is characterized by its own characteristics.

Primary, wet or true. Accompanied by penetration into the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract fluid. When immersed in water, there is no loss of the respiratory instinct. As a result, the bronchi and lungs fill with water. It is characterized by the release of foam from the mouth and cyanosis of the skin.
Dry or asphyxial. It is accompanied by immersion under water and loss of orientation, spasm of the larynx and filling of the stomach with liquid. There is also a blockage of the respiratory tract and the development of asphyxia.
Fainting or syncope. It is also called pale. It is characterized by the acquisition of a pale, white-gray or bluish hue by the dermis. Death occurs due to reflex cessation of the heart and lungs. Pale drowning is caused by a temperature difference, immersion in ice water.
Secondary. This is the result of an epileptic seizure or heart attack that suddenly occurred during drowning. The lungs fill with water after the onset of clinical death.

Algorithm of actions when rescuing a drowning person

Help for a drowning person should be provided immediately. Any delay is fraught with critical consequences, in particular death. The condition of the victim and life will depend on how competently and timely the ambulance was provided. The algorithm of actions and their sequence during drowning is divided into three stages: actions in water, on land and after an ambulance.

The first action in helping a drowning person is pulling him ashore. It is necessary to act quickly and as correctly as possible.

Swim up to the victim from behind, grab him in a way that is safe for you (a drowning person can grab onto clothes and drag you along). most acceptable and universal option- towing by the hair (the method is justified if the victim has long hair).
If a person still grabbed his hand or clothes, do not try to unclench his hands, so you will only lose time. Dive with him, in the water he will instinctively unclench his hands.
Swim to shore on your back while rowing right hand, if right-handed and with the left hand - if left-handed.
Make sure that the victim's head is above the water and that he does not swallow water.

After you have pulled the drowning person to land, proceed to the second stage. The sequence of actions is as follows.

Lay him on his back, then free the airways from foreign substances and objects, vomit and mud, remove dentures. Do not reach into the victim's mouth with bare hands, wrap the finger with a soft material.
Turn it over and put it on your knee with your stomach. Fluid that has entered the VRT will flow out.
Insert two fingers into the mouth, then press on the root of the tongue. Together with the gag reflex, all excess fluid will come out and the breathing process will be restored.
If these measures do not work, give artificial respiration and chest compressions. In case of asphyxial drowning, resuscitation should be carried out immediately. In this case, the stage of provoking vomiting is skipped.

The third stage involves the implementation of measures that contribute to the further restoration of the condition of the victim.

Lay it on its side.
Cover with a blanket or dry towel.
Call an ambulance.
Do not leave the patient alone for a second, monitor his condition until the doctors arrive.

With true or wet drowning, water in 70% of cases penetrates directly into the lungs. In addition to feeling the pulse, examining the pupils, warming and maintaining blood circulation (raising the legs), artificial respiration is often necessary.

In asphyxic drowning, fluid never enters the lungs. Instead, there is a spasm of the vocal cords. The lethal outcome is caused by untimely help and hypoxia. With this type of drowning, the first thing to do is to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The second stage is calling an ambulance and the third is warming the patient.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Respiratory arrest and cardiac arrest during drowning are frequent phenomena. In order to restore lung function and save human life artificial respiration and cardiac massage should be started immediately. The mouth-to-mouth technique is performed as follows.

Open the victim's mouth, remove the mucus and algae (do not forget to wrap the fingers with a cloth). Wait until all liquid has drained from your mouth.
Grasp your cheeks so that your mouth does not close, tilt your head back, and lift your chin.
Pinch the nasal passages, take a deep breath and inhale the air into the victim's mouth. The number of repetitions is 12 per minute.
Check your pulse.
After some time, the breath will appear.

Heart massage should be carried out as carefully as possible, as there is a high risk of damage to the ribs.

Position the person on the ground.
Put one hand on the sternum, put the other on top, at an angle of 90 degrees.
Perform rhythmic chest compressions, about one per minute.
To restart the heart small child, pressure should be carried out with two fingers.
If there are several rescuers, CPR is carried out simultaneously, if there is one, then artificial respiration with heart massage must be alternated every half a minute.

Causes and signs of drowning

Drowning is defined by the World Health Organization as a respiratory disorder caused by immersion or prolonged exposure to water. Long stay under water is fraught not only with respiratory failure, but also with asphyxia. Late or incorrect delivery first aid the victim is fraught with death. The brain can work for a maximum of six minutes during hypoxia, which is why you should act as quickly as possible, without waiting for an ambulance.

There are several reasons why a person may drown. Not all of them and not always random. This situation may be due to:

injuries while diving in shallow water;
swimming in unexplored reservoirs;
alcohol intoxication;
emergency situations: convulsions, stroke, diabetic or hypoglycemic coma;
inability to swim;
negligent attitude towards children, lack of education;
falling into whirlpools, storm.

Contrary to popular belief, it is rather difficult to recognize a drowning person, since his external holding on the water looks completely ordinary. Calm behavior is due to the inability to call for help due to impaired breathing. The maximum that a person has enough time and energy for is to inhale. How to understand that a person is drowning if he does not cry for help? It is easy to understand that the victim needs help if you are attentive.

The head of a drowning person is located in the rear direction, while the mouth is open. The head can be under water, and the mouth can be located near the surface of the water. The eyes of a drowning person are either hidden under the hair or closed. The breathing of a drowning person is frequent and deep. This is due to the desire to capture the maximum possible portion of air.

To understand that the victim was drowning, after removing him from the water, you can use the following symptoms: bloating, retrosternal pain, blue or bluish skin tone, cough, vomiting, shortness of breath.

Consequences and possible complications

Even after the patient has come to his senses, he needs qualified help. The fact is that when drowning in fresh waters, death can occur even after a few hours. That is why you should keep the situation under control and not step away from the victim until the ambulance arrives. Prolonged stay in an unconscious state and without oxygen is fraught with:

dysfunction of the brain and other internal organs and systems;
neuralgia;
chemical imbalance;
permanent vegetative state.

Drowning in sea and fresh water: is there a difference?

An accident can happen both in the sea, at the rate and in the river. However, drowning in fresh water is fundamentally different from immersion in salty sea water. What is the difference?

Salt water inhalation is less dangerous and has a more reassuring prognosis. The high salt content helps to prevent the penetration of fluid into the lung tissue. However, there is a thickening of the blood and there is pressure on the circulatory system. Within ten minutes, a complete cardiac arrest occurs, but this time is enough to save a person's life.

Diving into fresh water is a more complicated process. The ingress of fluid into the cells of the lungs is accompanied by their swelling and bursting. In addition, water is absorbed into the blood and makes it more liquid, which causes rupture of capillaries, disruption of cardiac activity and complete cardiac arrest. The duration of this process is a couple of minutes. Lethal outcome in fresh waters occurs much faster.

Dangers that may lie in wait for everyone

A variety of dangers can lurk in the water: algae, a storm or a strong current. And from each of these situations, in order to save lives, it is necessary to find a reasonable way out. Of course, it is difficult to think when you start to sink or when you are being sucked in by algae. But you still need to concentrate.

Quite often it happens that a person without swimming skills finds himself in the water, and not at the shore. In this case, the main thing is not to panic, but try to stay on the water until help arrives. It is necessary to lie on the water and breathe slowly and deeply. Don't try to swim, you'll just waste all your energy. When staying in cold water, shock may occur. It is important to monitor your breathing and try to always stay on the water.

Strong currents often cause drowning. All you have to do is stop fighting him. It's a waste of energy. Go with the flow, and as soon as his strength decreases, turn around and swim to the shore.

Often on the way of the swimmer come across algae. Many immediately try to get rid of them. Some even dive to unravel. This is not worth doing, as algae, while you free your legs, can entangle your neck. It is correct when entangling in river or sea vegetation to make sharp repulsive shocks. You can also try rolling them by rubbing one foot against the other.

Don't play in the water. Do not use entertainment that involves the capture of a person.
If you start to sink or get entangled in seaweed, in no case do not scream. When screaming, a person takes deep breaths, which is fraught with swallowing water. The liquid, once in the blood and the upper respiratory tract, provokes a deterioration in the functioning of internal organs.
If you are tired, give up swimming for long distances.
If your leg cramps, dive in, pull on thumb legs, try to straighten it.
Do not swim in unexplored and unknown waters.
Learn to swim.
Don't walk on thin ice.
Avoid swimming while intoxicated.

Do not neglect safety measures and before you dive and swim for a long distance, soberly assess your capabilities. Do not brag about your skills and brag to your friends. Water games are dangerous. Take care of yourself and try to behave correctly on the water.

Summer is the time for vacations and recreation on the water, but a lot is connected with this fun sometimes. dangerous situations. One of them is drowning. Rescuing a drowning person is exactly the situation when you need to act as quickly as possible. Any delay or inaction can cost a human life, and the timeliness of assistance is often more important than its quality.

More than 90% of victims survive if help is provided in the first minute after drowning. If help arrives within 6-7 minutes, then the chances of survival will be much lower - 1-3%. So It is very important not to panic, to pull yourself together and take action. Of course, it is better to have professional rescuers help, but if they are not around, it is better to try to help to the best of your ability than to do nothing.

How to rescue a drowning person

If you see a drowning person, then the first thing to do is to call the rescuers. You can swim to rescue yourself only if you are sure that you swim well and feel good. Swimming at random and joining the ranks of the drowned is not worth it in any case. It is necessary to swim up to a drowning person strictly from behind, so that he does not grab the rescuer in convulsive attempts to escape. Remember, a drowning person does not control himself and can easily prevent you from swimming and even drag you under water, and it will be very difficult to get rid of his convulsive grip.

If the drowning person has already managed to submerge completely in the water, you need to swim up to him along the bottom and at the same time take into account the direction of the current and its speed. When a drowning person is within reach, you need to take him under the armpits, by the hand or by the hair and pull him out of the water. In this case, it is important to push off the bottom strongly enough and actively work with your free hand and feet.

Once you are above the water, it is important to keep the drowning person's head above the surface of the water. After that it is necessary to try as quickly as possible to deliver the victim to the shore for first aid.

The concept of drowning and its types

In order to effectively provide first aid to a drowning person, it is necessary to understand what drowning is and what types of it are distinguished by doctors. Drowning is a condition in which airways become blocked and air cannot enter the lungs, resulting in oxygen deprivation. There are three types of drowning and they all have their own characteristics.

White asphyxia or imaginary drowning This is a reflex cessation of breathing and heart function. Usually, with this type of drowning, a very small amount of water enters the airways, which leads to spasm of the glottis and cessation of breathing. White asphyxia is relatively safe for a person, since the chances of returning to life remain even 20-30 minutes after direct drowning.

Blue asphyxia is a real drowning that occurs when water enters the alveoli. Usually, in drowning people, the auricles and face acquire blue tint, and the fingertips and lips are purple-blue in color. It is possible to save such a victim, if only no more than 4-6 minutes have occurred since the moment of drowning.

Drowning with depression of function nervous system usually occurs after a cold shock or in a state of extreme intoxication. Respiratory and cardiac arrest usually occurs 5-12 minutes after drowning.

First aid for drowning

In the case of drowning, even if the victim is conscious and feels relatively well, an ambulance must be called. But before her arrival, you need to try to provide the victim with first aid, and the first thing to do for this is to check his vital signs. If breathing and pulse are present, then it is necessary to lay the person on a hard, dry surface and lower his head. Be sure to rid him of wet clothes, rub and warm, if he can drink, give him a warm drink.

If the victim is unconscious, then after removing from the water, you can try to clean his mouth and nose, pull his tongue out of his mouth and start doing artificial respiration. You can often hear recommendations for removing water from the lungs, but this is not necessary, in most cases there is either very little or no water there at all, since it has managed to be absorbed into the blood.

by the most effective way carrying out artificial respiration in case of drowning is considered a classic "mouth to mouth". If it is not possible to unclench the victim's jaws, then the mouth-to-nose method can be applied.

Carrying out artificial respiration

Usually, artificial respiration begins with an exhalation. If the chest rises, then everything is normal and the air passes, you can take several breaths, pressing on the stomach after each breath to help the air out.

If the victim does not have a heartbeat, it is important to do an indirect heart massage in parallel with artificial respiration. To do this, put your palm at a distance of two fingers from the base of the sternum and cover the second. Then, strongly enough, using the weight of your body, press 4-5 times and inhale. The speed of pressing should depend on the age of the victim. Infants pressing is done with two fingers at a speed of 120 pressures per minute, for children under 8 years old at a speed of 100 times per minute, and for adults - 60-70 times per minute. At the same time, the sternum of an adult should bend by 4-5 centimeters, and in a child under 8 years old - 3-4 cm, in an infant - 1.5-2 cm.

It is necessary to carry out resuscitation until breathing and pulse are restored on their own or until undeniable symptoms appear. signs of death, like rigor mortis or cadaveric spots. One of the most common mistakes in the provision of first aid is the premature termination of resuscitation.

Usually, during artificial respiration, water is released from the respiratory tract, which got there during drowning. In such a situation, it is necessary to turn the head of the victim to the side, so as to allow the water to flow out and continue resuscitation. With a properly performed resuscitation, water will flow out of the lungs on its own, so squeezing it out or lifting the victim upside down does not make any sense.

After the victim comes to his senses and breathing is restored, it is necessary to take him to the hospital, since the deterioration after improvement is practically the norm for drowning. You should not leave the victim unattended for a single minute, as swelling of the brain or lungs, respiratory and cardiac arrest can begin at any minute.

Some features of resuscitation of drowning people (Video: "Rules for first aid for drowning people")

There are quite a lot of prejudices and rumors associated with the rescue of drowning people. We will recall some of the rules and features of resuscitation in case of drowning. These rules are important to remember and use in a real situation.

Resuscitation measures must be carried out, even if a person has been under water for a long time. Cases of revival with complete recovery of the patient's condition are described even after an hour of being under water. Therefore, if a person has been under water for 10-20 minutes, this does not mean that he died and there is no need to save him, this is especially important when resuscitating children.

If, during resuscitation, the contents of the stomach are ejected into the oropharynx, it is necessary to carefully turn the victim to one side, trying to ensure that the relative position of the head, neck and torso does not change, then clean the mouth and, turning to its original position, continue resuscitation.

If there is a suspicion of damage to the spine, especially its cervical region, then the patency of the respiratory tract must be ensured without tilting the head of the victim, but simply by using the “pull forward of the lower jaw” technique. If this action does not help, then it is possible to throw back the head, despite the suspicion of spinal injuries, since securing an airway is a priority action in rescuing patients in an unconscious state.

It is possible to stop resuscitation only if the signs of respiratory failure have completely disappeared. If there is a violation of the rhythm of breathing, rapid breathing or severe cyanosis, it is necessary to continue resuscitation.

August 06, 2015

With the arrival of the heat, many citizens have either already managed to open the swimming season, or are going to do it next weekend, since the hot weather favors this...

The hot sun drives everyone into the water: masters of swimming and "teapots" who are pretty drunk and with a naughty heart. Some jump into an unfamiliar pond, where the bottom can be studded with snags and rebar. In this case, a fun pastime can turn into a tragedy.

So, vacationers should remember following rules:

Bathe better in the morning or in the evening when the sun is warm but there is no danger of overheating. The water temperature should not be lower than 17 - 19°C. You can swim in the water for no more than 20 minutes, and this time should increase gradually, from 3 to 5 minutes. You can't bring yourself to the edge. Hypothermia may cause convulsions, respiratory arrest, loss of consciousness. It is better to swim several times for 15-20 minutes, and in between play outdoor games: volleyball, badminton;

Do not enter, do not jump into the water after prolonged exposure to the sun. Peripheral vessels are greatly dilated for greater heat transfer. When cooling in water, a sharp reflex contraction of the muscles occurs, which entails respiratory arrest;

Do not enter the water while intoxicated. Alcohol blocks the vasoconstrictor and vasodilator center in the brain;

If there is no equipped beach nearby, you need to choose a safe place for swimming with a gradual slope. Never jump in places that are not specially equipped;

Do not swim far, because you can not calculate your strength. Feeling tired, do not get lost and strive to swim to the shore as quickly as possible. You need to "rest" on the water. To do this, be sure to learn how to swim on your back. Rolling onto your back and supporting yourself on the surface with light movements of your arms and legs, you can rest;

If you are caught by the current, do not try to fight it. It is necessary to swim downstream, gradually, at a slight angle, approaching the shore;

Do not get lost, even if you are caught in a whirlpool. It is necessary to take more air into the lungs, dive into the water and, making a strong jerk to the side, emerge.

To avoid tragedy and save a drowning person, follow the advice of rescuers:

Your help to the victim is often the only chance for him to return to life, - they say in the GIMS of the Russian Emergencies Ministry. - If by chance you turned out to be the rescuer, then you need to remember a few rules.

1. You saw that the man began to drown.

2. No time to waste, but be careful. You need to swim up to a drowning person only from behind. Otherwise, in a fit of panic, he will begin to cling to you, you will swallow water and you will have to save two.

3. Having swum up to a drowning person, you need to grab him under the armpits (or grab him by the hair), turn him face up and swim to the shore.

IMPORTANT! Don't let him roll over and grab you.

4. After pulling the swallowed person out of the water, put him on his belly on a bent knee, face down and begin to press his hand on his back to pump water out of his lungs. Note that the head is lower than the chest. With any piece of cloth, remove water, mud and vomit from the mouth and nose. If there is no vomiting, then it is necessary to turn the victim on his back and check the pulse.

5. It should be remembered that if breathing is not resumed within 1-2 minutes, this can lead to the death of the victim. The main sign of cardiac arrest is the absence of a pulse, dilated pupils.

In this case, it is necessary to immediately begin mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration and indirect heart massage: 4-5 sharp pressures on the chest and then one air blow (16 breaths per minute, 64-90 pressures).

In older people, the pressure is gentle; for small children, pressure should not be applied with the palm of the hand, but with the fingers.

ATTENTION! You can not do indirect massage when there is at least a weak pulse. By your action, you can, on the contrary, stop the heart. Therefore, before sharply pressing on the chest, once again make sure that there is no pulse.

Drowning occurs when a person is submerged in water. Death by drowning is caused by a lack of oxygen. A significant part of the drowned are children. It should be remembered that drowning can be caused by violation of the rules of behavior on the water, fatigue, even with good swimming skills (for example, during long swims in cold water), diving injuries (especially in unfamiliar waters), alcohol intoxication, a sharp change in temperature when immersed in water after overheating in the sun, etc. Factors of an increased risk of drowning - a high speed of the current of the ox, the presence of whirlpools, key sources that dramatically change the temperature of the water by small area, storms, the possibility of collision with various floating facilities (for example, a vessel or raft passing by). Often drowning occurs as a result of the fact that a person is lost in a difficult situation. He forgets that his body is lighter than water and that, with minimal effort, it can stay on the surface for a very long time both in a horizontal and vertical position, for which it is enough just to slightly scoop up the water with your hands and feet and breathe as calmly as possible.

When you get into a whirlpool, you need to take more air into your lungs and, diving deeper, swim to the side under water, which is much easier to do, since the speed of water movement at a depth is much less than at the surface.

It is often necessary to rescue a drowning person by swimming, since misfortune often happens in places where there are no life-saving equipment and far from the rescue station. The success of the rescuer's actions is largely due to their rational sequence, the ability to swim, perform rescue operations and provide first aid to the victim.

The rescuer must quickly run to the nearest place to the sinking along the coast. It is necessary to undress and, having entered the water, intensively work with arms and legs, conserving strength for the upcoming rescue operations. When immersing a drowning person to the bottom, the rescuer must dive, swim along the bottom (in running water- taking into account the direction and speed of the current). With sufficient visibility, you should open your eyes underwater, since rescue operations are more effective in this case. Having found a drowning person, you should take him by the arm, under the armpits or by the hair and, strongly pushing off the bottom, come up to the surface with him, intensively working only with your legs or feet and your free hand. If the drowning person is on the surface of the water, then it is advisable to calm him down from afar. If this fails, then it is better to try to swim up to him from behind in order to avoid his grips, from which it is sometimes difficult to free yourself. One of the tricks to get rid of such a convulsive embrace is to dive into the water with the drowning person, who, trying to stay on the surface, releases the rescuer.

Towing

Seeing a drowning person, try to swim up behind unnoticed. And if you see that he is waiting for your approach in order to grab hold of you with his hands, beware. Remember: this is fraught with danger for both the saved and the savior. Swim up to the drowning man, do not give him the opportunity to grab yourself, Dive and push his knee with the palm of your right hand, and grab his right leg with your left hand. Turn the victim's back to you and at the same time push vigorously right foot and left hand up. Then start swimming, while grabbing the drowning man by the chin. tow it to shore.

It is necessary to tow so that the nose and mouth of the rescued person are not immersed in water. Having freed the chin of the rescued at the beginning of moving forward, take his face in your palms so that your mouth is compressed and your ears are closed. Swim smoothly and calmly. If the person being rescued begins to resist, put your right hand under his left armpit and, grabbing his right hand behind the back of the drowning person, firmly press his body to you. Swim, of course, while you have to on your left side.

Rules for release from grips

The drowning man grabbed you by the neck from the front. With your left hand, push his right elbow up and, grabbing the left hand of the rescued person with your right hand, pull it down and, carefully turning at the elbow, put it behind his back. In the meantime, go down under the water and swim behind the back of the drowning one, and then rise to the surface.

If you are grabbed by the back of your neck, push with your left hand left hand rescued under the elbow up and to the right, and with your right hand grab the wrist of his same hand and, bending at the elbow, turn it behind the back of the drowning person. Having descended under water, you will easily free yourself from the capture, and then emerge to the surface behind the back of the rescued.

In the case when you are captured by the body from the front, you will have to push the rescued under the chin with your hand, and if this does not help, then you will need to pinch his nose with your fingers, close your mouth with your palm and gently push your knee into the stomach. At the moment of the push, it is necessary to support the drowning man by the lower back with his free hand.

If a drowning man grabbed your legs with one hand, bend his head towards you and down, and turn his chin away from you with the other. He will be forced to release your legs, and by pushing back, you will get rid of the dangerous grip.

It is possible that the person in distress can grab your hands. Then, clenching your fists, sharply turn them towards the thumbs of the drowning person. This is quite enough to free your hands and be able to save the victim.

Bringing the drowning man to the shore, begin to provide first aid, the nature of which depends on the condition of the victim. If the victim is conscious, he has a satisfactory pulse rate and number of breaths per minute, then it is enough to lay him on a dry hard surface so that his head is low, then undress, rub with his hands or with a dry towel. It is advisable to give the victim a hot drink (tea, coffee, adults can have a little alcohol, for example 1-2 tablespoons of vodka), after which it is necessary to wrap him in a warm blanket and let him rest. If the victim is unconscious when being removed from the water, but his pulse rate and number of breaths are satisfactory, then his head should be thrown back and the lower jaw extended, and then laid in such a way that the head is low down, and with your finger (preferably wrapped in a handkerchief) free his oral cavity from silt, mud, vomit.

Subsequently, the victim is wiped dry and warmed. When removing the victim from the water unconscious, without signs of spontaneous breathing, but with continued cardiac activity, after carrying out similar preliminary measures aimed at freeing the respiratory tract, it is necessary to start artificial respiration as soon as possible using the mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-nose method. ". In the absence of both breathing and cardiac activity, artificial respiration should be combined with an indirect heart massage. Previously, as soon as possible, fluid should be removed from the respiratory tract. To this end, the caregiver puts the victim on his bent knee with his stomach. The victim's head hangs down, and water flows out of the respiratory tract and stomach.

It must be remembered that in oral cavity there may be foreign objects, removable dentures, which, if further assistance is provided, can clog the airways. Therefore, foreign objects should be removed with a finger. These activities must be carried out immediately after removing the victim from the water (on the shore, in a boat, on a raft, etc.) until the arrival of medical workers with special equipment and delivery to the hospital.

To prevent accidents on the water, the following rules of conduct must be strictly observed. So, for example, it is not recommended to leave children unattended near water bodies. Children should not swim without an adult who can swim and who knows how to provide first aid for drowning. It is not recommended to swim from boats and rafts, near locks, marinas and bridges, to swim outside the designated areas for swimming. You should not go into the water after drinking alcohol and in the next 1.5-2 hours after taking a heavy meal, in a state of physical or mental fatigue. It is dangerous for older people to go into the water after a long exposure to the sun. It is extremely dangerous to jump into the water, especially in an unfamiliar body of water, head down, as this often leads to damage to the cervical vertebrae.