I guess like myself, many parents have never heard of dry drowning until the tragic death of 10-year old Johnny Jackson on June 1, 2008. The little boy went swimming, had some difficulties but was able to walk home and talk to his loved ones. However, he went to sleep and never woke up. Unfortunately, Johnny died from drowning hours after he was out of the pool.

Statistics in the USA indicate that approximately 10 – 15 percent of all drowning cases are due to dry drowning.

What is Dry Drowning?

The very term seems like an oxymoron, how can drowning be dry one may well wonder. Dry drowning occurs when water causes constriction or spasm of the air passage thereby preventing oxygen from reaching the lungs.

Sadly, like in Jackson?s case death can result hours after the intake of water into the lungs.

How to Protect a Child

From this tragedy, lives of other precious children can be saved as more people are now aware of this deadly, almost silent killer. Children can get water into their lungs even when having a bath, so care must be taken not to leave young children in the bathtub without supervision.

When children have been in water, any of these symptoms can be a sign of something serious such as dry drowning:

• Extreme tiredness
• Difficulty breathing
• Changes in behavior pattern
• Chest pains or persistent cough
• Change in the color of the skin, and
• Sweaty skin

According to the experts, all these symptoms are an indication that the brain is being starved of oxygen. To prevent the tragic results of dry drowning, anyone who has had difficulty in water should be monitored closely to identify any of the above signs.

It is important for parents to know that a small amount of water can lead to dry drowning.

Luckily, if caught early, dry drowning can be treated. This is done by supplying oxygen to the lungs via a breathing tube.

I find myself being a little bit scared every time my three year old (almost 4 year old) is playing in water. He loves water and splashes around in the bath forever. Even though I?m a bit more fearful, I certainly won?t stop him from learning to swim, which he is dying to do, but I will definitely be even more vigilant.

My heart goes out to Cassandra Jackson on the loss of her son, and hope that this tragedy will save many lives as more parents have been informed about a very real danger few of us even knew existed.