Danger of Drowning 

Source of pictures: pixabay.com

One day in July, the scorching sunlight was cast on the earth. When you looked up, there was a burning sensation on your face and pea-size sweat dripping down. People went out with sun creams. David’s family decided to go swimming at the weekend.

After putting on his swimsuit, David went to the pool in haste. He jumped into the water and dived like a fish. The cold water instantly drove away the irritability brought by the summer heat. His mother was standing at the pool and shouting at him, "David, wait for us. Don't swim to the deep water area alone!" She had changed on her swimsuit as well.

At this time, David got out of the water, waved to his mother, and said, "I am here! Don't worry. I'm doing well!" Then his mother jumped into the water, and swam toward him. Suddenly, he felt his left foot was cramped and had no strength. After struggling for a while, his body sank into the water. As he stayed in the deep water area, the sudden feeling of falling terrified him. He wanted to shout for help, only to be choked with a few mouthfuls of water. At this time, there was a big hand in front of him. Lifted up by an upward force, he could finally breathe the fresh air again. He turned around and found it was his dad. He coughed a little bit and said, "That was close! I thought I would sink to the bottom."

His mother also swam to the shore. After pulling him ashore, she was worried and said, "I just told you not to swim in the deep water area alone again and again. If you drown in the deep water area, it will be very dangerous." He wanted to answer, but he was stopped with cough. His mother patted his back and continued, "When people are submerged under water, water may enter the lungs. At this time, the vocal cords may go into severe spasm, which will temporarily prevent water from entering the lungs, but also hinders breathing. In this case, the lungs cannot transport oxygen to the blood, causing hypoxia. Moreover, water entering the lungs can also cause injuries, especially the water contaminated by bacteria, algae, sand, dirt, chemicals and vomit. So drowning is very dangerous."

"What's more," Dad put a blanket on him, and continued, "In severe cases, a person's skin will turn to blue when he is saved after drowning. This is called cyanopathy caused by low oxygen concentration. In a better scenario, people will cough and retch as you do. However, the human body also has a protective mechanism. It can buffer the damage to some extent. In other words, cold water can provoke swimming reflex. It helps us to survive in cold water for a longer time."

David finally recovered and asked while shivering, "Dad, what is swimming reflection?" His dad explained patiently, "Swimming reflection will slow heartbeat and let blood flow from the hands, feet and digestive tract to heart and brain to protect these vital organs."

He nodded and said, "I see. I will never swim alone in the deep water area."

Author: Lu An