For some, the bathing season is a rest and a tan. For others-employees of rescue services-work. Reservoirs and rivers with the onset of the season become not only a place for recreation, but also, unfortunately, tragic situations. In this article, we will tell you about life hacks and other ways not to drown. This material will be useful both for those who are afraid of water, and for those who confidently stay afloat.
It is curious that despite the constant preventive measures and warnings every season, people continue to happily swim in boiling rivers and potentially dangerous reservoirs. Often, drunkenness leads to such adventurism and the search for adventures. Let’s start with this.
It is strictly forbidden to swim in a drunken state!
A drunk on the water is a potential drowned person. This is repeated by both experienced instructors and swimming coaches, as well as lifeguards. The thing is that a person under the influence of alcohol increases blood pressure, and when immersed in water, there is often a sharp drop, as a result, he faints. The outcome is sad-drowning.
Фото ©Shutterstock
It is strictly forbidden to swim in a drunken state for those who have poor health. Due to the rapid heart rate, the swimmer begins to choke and, as a result, drowns. Drunk people often have impaired coordination of movements. This leads to vascular spasms, convulsions. By the way, seizures also occur in sober swimmers.
“Convulsions are a feature of some people, especially those who drink. Lack of potassium in the body and other reasons can cause a sharp contraction of the muscles, causing pain and cramps. The recipe is simple – do not panic, prick the muscle with a piercing object (for example, prick it with a pin or pinch it hard-Approx. The author) and wait until he lets go, ” explains experienced yachtsman Diana Frolova.
This was sorted out. Let’s move on. Even if you are an experienced swimmer, do not forget about safety measures. Not everyone will wear a life jacket, but there is an unusual alternative.
Rescue trousers and a whistle
There is one technique that will help you not to drown. To perform this trick, you will need trousers and a little sleight of hand. This method is suitable for both those who fell overboard dressed, and those who accidentally ended up in the water in their clothes. Here it is important to take yourself and your trousers in hand. So, you were in the water. Take off your trousers and tie both legs with a strong knot – you will get a kind of lifeline. Put your head through it. If there is a fly in the trousers, it must be turned to the water and must be unbuttoned, that is, the front of the pants must be from the bottom. After that, it is necessary to hit the water several times with force – the air will fill the legs and turn the trousers into something similar to a life jacket. For clarity, watch the following video.
Видео Youtube/Mario Vittone
When the pants are deflated, pat the water a few more times, and they will be filled with air again.
Another obvious way to help yourself is to call for help. You can do this with a whistle. Before bathing, fasten it on a rope and put it on your hand. Believe me, a whistle can save the lives of even experienced swimmers.
“Last year there was a case on Kapshagai. We accompanied swimmers who swam for five and 10 kilometers. There were five or six of them. We sailed on the ship to the required distance, from where they started swimming. By the evening, visibility worsened. Plus, the wave also rose, and we lost sight of one swimmer. Although she is a master of sports in swimming and was in overalls and with an inflatable buoy, we were looking for her for a long time. By that time, she was exhausted. Fortunately, she had a whistle, and only when she started to whistle, we heard her and helped her safely, ” recalls yachtsman Diana Frolova.
Relax and lie on your back
If you did not calculate your strength, swimming far from the shore, then try to rest on your back.
“As a coach, I never allow, and I don’t do it myself, to swim far alone. It’s dangerous. There should always be an escort who knows how to swim well. Preferably, even better than you and on a boat. For example, if you train for long-distance swims.
If you still swam far and are tired, then you should stop and relax. Determine the location of the shore, so that you can then start swimming to it, and turn on your back. We rested, swam back. You can alternate swimming styles, if you know how: a little crawl, then on your back. Short stretches mixed with rest. The main thing is not to panic, ” advises swimming coach Dmitry Tokarev.
Фото ©Shutterstock
Panic on the water reduces your chances of escape. Remember that even if you don’t know how to swim, you won’t drown right away.
“When a panic begins, a person gasps for air and most often chokes on water. The panic is growing even more, and it will not end well. Therefore, you need to relax, everyone has enough air in the body for a sufficiently long period of time. At least for 15-20 seconds. You will not immediately sink, you will float to the surface, ” Tokarev explains.
And here it is important that there are those who will help you get out to land next to you. For example, to throw you a lifeline or a “carrot”.
“We have a carrot on board. We throw it to the fallen one, he must catch on and get out on the rope, ” says Diana Frolova.
Фото ©РИА Новости
The rescue end of Alexandrov
This is the name of a tool for helping drowning people. It is a floating thin ship’s cable, usually made of polypropylene, about 30 meters long. At one end there is a loop on the arm, at the other two floats of bright orange color. Even in the people, this thing is called a “carrot”.
Видео Youtube/Аурика
Saving a drowning person is the work of others
To begin with, if you do not know how to swim, then you should not climb to save a drowning person. Otherwise, you will have to save two. It is better to attract the attention of others and quickly call for help. If you can swim, then there are a number of recommendations. Here is a list of rescue measures from the emergency situations of the Almaty region.
“Many people do not know that even if a person does not have a pulse and there is no breathing, he can still be saved and brought to life within the first five minutes,” the rescuers explain.
Time plays the main role in saving a drowning person. The chance to save a drowning person is great within the first five minutes, after this time the situation worsens. It is extremely important to correctly assess your own strength.
Фото ©Shutterstock
It is necessary to swim up to the drowning person strictly from behind, so that a panicked person does not grab the lifeguard in convulsive attempts to escape. As a rule, a drowning person does not control himself and can easily drag a lifeguard under the water. If a person has already managed to dive completely into the water, then you need to swim up to him along the bottom. When the drowning person is within reach, you need to take him under the armpits and pull him out of the water, pushing off strongly from the bottom.
It is important to keep the victim’s head above the surface of the water and try to get him to shore as quickly as possible for first aid. If the drowning person is conscious and resists or interferes with the rescuer, you should not try to reason with him or waste time on explanations. It is necessary to continue to swim and keep the person so that he does not interfere.
Фото ©Shutterstock
The most important thing is to pull the person to the shore and immediately call an ambulance. Even if a person is conscious, he must be examined by professional doctors. Sometimes after the rescue, a person smiles and feels good, but after a few minutes his condition deteriorates sharply, up to a fatal outcome. Therefore, you should always call the Unified Rescue Service at 112.
If a person is conscious, then you need to check his breathing and pulse. If they do not cause concern, then it is necessary to remove wet clothes from the victim, lay him on a dry surface and warm him. He must definitely wait for the doctors.
If visually it seems to you that there is no way to save a person, he is not breathing and does not react to anything, then you need to look at his pupils. If the pupils react to light, then there is still a chance to save a person. Timely provision of medical care is important.
To provide independent primary care, we recommend that you first familiarize yourself with the rules of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR, which implies indirect heart massage and mouth-to-mouth breathing).
Rules of behavior on the water
Surely many people are familiar with the lifeguards ‘memos, if not, then keep in mind that swimming in dangerous areas, which are usually marked with signs “Swimming is prohibited”, means that swimming is prohibited here, even if the reservoir looks calm. Experts also recommend:
Do not leave children unattended.
Everyone seems to know about this, but, unfortunately, accidents with children continue to occur. Very often, children go swimming in the water without parental supervision.
Do not enter the water during disturbances on the reservoir.
A restless pond is always a source of danger, since it is often difficult for a person to cope with large waves. It is not uncommon for a person who has avoided problems with one wave to be overwhelmed by the next, and he simply drowns.
Do not swim behind the buoys.
This is always fraught with the fact that the bather will simply be carried too far from the shore. In addition, the area of movement of boats, scooters and other water transport often begins behind the buoys, which is a potential threat to the vacationer. Therefore, even if you are a good swimmer and want to prove it to someone, you can do it better in the pool by winding a kilometer or two.
Do not swim in unfamiliar deserted places.
In such cases, the source of danger can often be an unfamiliar bottom relief, and the absence of people around automatically means the absence of first aid.
Do not swim after a long time in the sun.
This warning applies primarily to those who are not all right with the cardiovascular system, since due to a sharp temperature drop, a vascular spasm can occur, leading to cardiac arrest and the so – called syncopal type of drowning-when a reflex cardiac arrest occurs. The most common variant of this type of drowning is noted when the victim is suddenly immersed in cold water. Therefore, the best time for swimming is in the morning and evening.
Observing all these not too complicated precepts, you can easily minimize the risk of being in an extremely unpleasant situation during swimming, which occur everywhere during the active summer season.
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