Comments on: How to Determine a Dry Drowning

on 10/9/2008 I've never even heard of a dry drowning until now.

on 6/17/2008 actually, after reading what happened to the boy, it sounds more that he died of 'delayed drowning', not actually 'dry drowning'.

on 6/13/2008 following others' comments about the today show story, i'm curious about how to reconcile extreme tiredness (the boy was asleep; and extreme tiredness is one of the apparent warning signs) with difficulty breathing--i would think that it would be difficult (or at least appear out of the ordinary) for someone experiencing 'difficulty breathing' to fall asleep, with or without being 'extremely tired'. i find myself constantly checking on my sleeping baby after she's coughed after drinking water from her bottle. am i nuts?

on 6/13/2008 I too was wondering what this "white frothy material" could be. I read the above comments, and want to know: If this froth could be fluid mixed with digested content-then could it be assumed that he vomited while sleeping heavily-due to lack of oxygen-and that choked or drowned him?

on 6/10/2008 I too have read the article about the boy. I am confused about the diagnosis though. After looking up the criteria, it seems that a diagnosis of water toxcisity would have been more accurate. Please clarify.

on 6/9/2008 Perri,

If your child or any other child stops breathing or has no pulse, your only option is to perform CPR if you know it. If this was caught prior to your child going into full resp. arrest we would place a breathing tube to help force air into the lungs. When we are doing CPR it is no different, we are forcing air into the lungs (sometimes against resistance) and attempting to regain circulation. NEVER NOT DO CPR WHEN THERE IS THE ABSENCE OF RESPIRATIONS AND PULSE

on 6/9/2008 Hi Nicole,
The white substance is prob. froth. When a person drowns dry or otherwise, our bodies can release fluids which appear frothy, it may have been mixed with digested contents as well. Hard to say exactly but more than likely...frothy fluid.

on 6/9/2008 Okay, so we know the signs to look for-- But how do we prevent it-- or stop it from happening if it begins?

CPR doesn't appear to be a viable options due to the vacuum created by the pressure from the diaphragm-- So what does one do while waiting for an ambulance?

on 6/6/2008 The spongy white substance was likely foamy sputum (or lung fluid)pushed up through his esophagus and then out his mouth onto his face, caused by muscle spasms during the drowning.

on 6/6/2008 The white spongy substance was likely foamy sputum (or lung fluid) Forced into the boy's mouth then onto his face as a result of muscle spasms during the drowning.

on 6/6/2008 Here's the rest of my response... If this foam was slowly released from the balloon, it would ooze out to cover the outer surface of the balloon. This is analagous to what the boy experienced. With excess water in his lungs, he was having trouble taking a full breath, which may have caused him to cough and shake up this water in his lungs. He may have spewed this foamy substance, which is basically a mixture of surfactant and water, while he was sleeping in an effort by his body to clear his lungs. This is truely a tragedy. My heart goes out to the boys family.

on 6/6/2008 The white "spongy" stuff was probably a result of this stuff your lungs produce that is generically refered to as surfactant. Tiny sacs in the lungs called alveoli are lined with a thin almost molecule thick layer of water. Surfactant is dispersed in between the water moleluces to counteract a phenomenon called "surface tension". With out surfactant, our lungs would collapse and would not be able to expand. Surfactant in water behaves much like dish soap would in water. "Pulmonary edema" that results from excess water in the lungs is composed of mostly water. The boy's lungs may have responded by producing/releasing more surfactant from alveolar cells that reside in the lung's alveoli. Imagine a water balloon filled with soapy water that is shaken up. Hundreds of tiny bubbles result in the balloon that comprise a "foamy-spongy" like substance. If this foam was slowly released from the ba

on 6/5/2008 The spongy substance described was most likely the frothy secretions produced by the pulmonary edema. The child most likely coughed up the secretions just before he died.

on 6/5/2008 The white spongy substance found on the child's face was most likely frothy secretions resulting from the pulmonary edema. He most likely coughed it up in his sleep just before he died.

on 6/5/2008 The white spongy substance is frothing at the mouth, which is a key component of drowning and near drowning. It is brought on by pulmonary edema (water retention in the lungs) and the body's frantic attempt to get air, expelling the water from the tissue and 'frothing' it back up the trachea, expelling it from the mouth. His lungs were filled with water, which means he probably had some kind of shock in the pool, maybe causing him to choke (like many of us have while playing in the pool) and aspirating the water into his lungs. Drinking the pool water would not have caused this, because then we could all simply drown from having a Coke, etc. Most likely this water in his lungs and the chemicals in it started affecting him, and he probably had what's called a laryngospasm, where his body cut off the air supply in a misguided belief that it was keeping water from coming INTO the lungs.