While drowning rates for young children have decreased, drowning remains a leading accidental death cause, with the highest risk for ages 0-4, especially around age one when mobility increases. Drowning is often silent, fast (seconds in just a few inches of water), and can happen anywhere, from bathtubs to lakes, with lack of supervision being a major factor, often occurring even when adults are present but distracted. Key risk factors include age (1-year-olds), gender (males higher risk), and lack of supervision, with prevention focused on constant watching, water access restriction, and water safety training.
Drowning Is a Leading Cause of Death for Children in the United States. Every year in the United States, an estimated 4,000 die from unintentional drowning. That is an average of 11 drowning deaths per day.
That's an average of 14.8 deaths each year (1.4 deaths per 100 000 population 0–17 years). During 2016–17 alone, 19 children drowned, up from 9 drowning deaths in 2015–16. In 2015, Queensland had the highest number and rate of child drownings of any Australian state or territory.
Worldwide drowning is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death. Globally, the highest drowning rates are among children 1–4 years, followed by children 5–9 years.
It is important not to overstate the risks. The overall age-adjusted death rate from drowning is about 1.3 per 100,000, compared to about 13 deaths per 100,000 for deaths related to motor vehicle accidents.
Drownings happen quickly and often they are silent. They are 100% preventable, but to prevent these tragedies, community members must follow simple water safety steps. Fire departments can play a key role in getting pool and swimming safety messages out to their communities.
The leading cause is cardiovascular disease at 31.59% of all deaths.
43% occurred in coastal locations (154), including 82 drowning deaths (23%) at. 34% at inland waterway locations (122), including 99 drowning deaths (28%) at. 10% occurred in swimming pools (35 deaths), 68% of those deaths were in backyard.
Symptoms may include persistent coughing, difficulty breathing, chest pain, extreme fatigue, or changes in behavior. If your child experiences any of these symptoms after a near-drowning incident or even after playing in water, seek medical attention immediately.
You can prevent drowning
Lifeguards keep you safe on patrolled beaches.
Beaches patrolled by lifeguards are the safest to swim. Look for the red and yellow flags. If you don't see any red or yellow flags, there aren't any lifeguards on duty. This means you should avoid swimming at these beaches.
Swimming pools are the most common site for a drowning to occur among children 1-4yrs. About three-quarters of pool submersion deaths occur at a home. The majority of infant (less than 1) drowning deaths happen in bathtubs or large buckets.
Australia's top three causes of death consistently include Dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), Ischaemic Heart Disease, and Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases (like COPD), though their exact ranking can shift, with dementia often leading for women and heart disease for men, but the overall gap narrowing significantly, according to recent ABS data.
An average person can last between one and three minutes before falling unconscious and around ten minutes before dying. In an unusual case with the best conditions, a person was resuscitated after 65 minutes underwater.
Of the children who survive nonfatal drowning, many suffer from long-term consequences such as neurological impairment, like motor and cognitive disorders, e.g., spasticity and dystonia or vegetative states of consciousness [5,10,13]. However, drowning is preventable [1,9,10].
In the United States:
More children ages 1–4 die from drowning than any other cause of death. 1. For children ages 5–14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle crashes.
With so-called dry drowning, water is inhaled through the nose and mouth causing the vocal cords to spasm and shut, preventing air from entering the lungs. It is called "dry drowning" because the victim's lungs do not have water in them.
Children who swallow or inhale small amounts of water and cough it out usually don't need medical attention. To be safe, monitor your child for 4-6 hours after an incident for signs of breathing difficulty. If your child is struggling to breathe or breathing faster, you need to bring them in,” Dr. Fernandez said.
What are the Stages of Drowning?
Here's how to prevent them. Each year, the number of accidental drownings spikes in July, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On average, 285 people fatally drown and many more non-fatal drowning incidents occur in Australia each year. Males and those aged 25 – 34 years record the highest numbers for drowning overall.
Age-standardized death rates due to unintentional drowning vary across countries from 9.9 deaths/100,000 population in Guyana to 0.4 deaths/100,000 population in Antigua and Barbuda. Countries with the highest level of unintentional drowning mortality are: Guyana (9.9 deaths per 100,000 population)
In the United States in 2021, the death rate was highest among those aged 85 and over, with about 17,190.5 men and 14,914.5 women per 100,000 of the population passing away.
cancer. dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. advanced lung, heart, kidney and liver disease. stroke and other neurological diseases, including motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis.
Injury and Violence Cause Most Deaths
The three leading causes of death for Americans in their 20s are tied to risky behavior and are largely preventable: accidents (unintentional injuries), homicide, and suicide.