What Drowning Really Looks Like

“Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning"

Everybody thinks that they know what a drowning person looks like - since we've all seen in on TV and in the movies hundreds of times.

But they’re WRONG! You learn this during lifeguard training – unfortunately most people don't have this training.
 
To help you identify the differences between Hollywood fantasy and reality here's a great article by Mario Vittone (updated online on “Soundings” on 4 May 2018) that describes the "Instinctive Drowning Response" and what a real drowning person looks like in the water.

SPOILER ALERT: A drowning person does not flail their arms and scream “Help Me!” at the top of their lungs since they are too busy trying to breathe, avoiding getting water in their mouth and can’t really control their arm motions since they instinctively feel compelled to place them flat on the water to try to press themselves out of the water.

With Summer quickly approaching you might want to read Mario Vittone’s great article so that you're a little better prepared when you hit the water. Here’s the URL:

https://www.soundingsonline.com/voices/drowning-doesnt-look-like-drowning