Why the Terms Near Drowning, Dry Drowning, Delayed Drowning & Secondary Drowning Should Not be Used

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. - April 7, 2015 - PRLog -- The Starfish Aquatics Institute (SAI), a leader in the aquatic safety field, has released a position statement designed to clarify the correct definition of drowning as adopted by the World Health Organization, international lifesaving and lifeguarding agencies, and medical organizations. Despite efforts to standardize definitions and clarify that drowning is a process, the use of incorrect and confusing drowning terminology continues. As recently as 2015, stories regarding the dangers of “secondary”, “dry”, and “delayed” drowning were widely circulated on social media and picked up by print and broadcast media as well.

One of the reasons it is so important that we (parents, doctors, researchers, lifeguard trainers, EMS, aquatic safety organizations and the media) use the same correct language is so that we can get a better understanding of the scope of the drowning problem and learn to better prevent and treat it.

The Position Statement was authored by SAI’s Medical Directors. Justin Sempsrott, MD is a frequent lecturer across the globe, publishes widely on the topic of drowning, and has won numerous awards and honors from educational institutions and conferences. He is a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians and a member of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.

Seth C. Hawkins, MD  is an emergency physician and EMS medical director in North Carolina. He attended Yale University, graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine and completed  his residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a Master Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine and a Fellow of the Academy of Emergency Medicine and the American College of Emergency Physicians.

The full Position Statement is available for viewing and download at https://docs.google.com/a/sai-intl.org/file/d/0B3Ylak5R8r... or from starfishaquaticsinstitue.blogspot.com