Evening Star Newspaper, August 3, 1930, Page 83

‘Startling New Facts About Drowning Sewimming Fatalities " Now Total Nine Thousand a Year and Account for a Tenth of AN Acci- dental Deaths in the United States. The old method, now generally super- seded by the Schaefer, was to grab the victim by the waist and drain the water from the lungs. EN THOUSAND Americans will. be drowned this Summer. Almost half of these will be under 20 years old. And of that half, 80 per cent will be boys. % In the st 10 years many more 70,000 peopxl’: have been drowned in the United States, which is more by many thousands than the number of U. S. soldiers killed or died of | wounds in the World War. Since it is right now, when the s~ becomes hottest and the weather sultriest, that water takes its heaviest toll among those who have gone to it for relief, it is a good time to con- sider some new facts about drowning revealed fn figures compiled by actuaries of the Travel- ers’ Insurance Co. : - Isolated stories in the daily papers do not fmpress on us the real horror of the facts. PFor instance, note the marked ‘and steady increase in the number of persons drowned in the United States each year since 1920, based om reeords of such deaths in the registration area: 1920 ... 5,901 1921 1,747 1922 6,962 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 More drownings occur between the' ages of 16 to 19 than in any other age group, the de- tailed figures fcr 1927, as reported by the United States mortality statistics, showing that of a total of 7,246 deaths by drowning in 913 per cent of the country’s population, 1,111 iu- cluded victims between the ages of 15 and' 19, inclusive, or ‘more than 15 per cent of the total. During the same year, 29 per cent of the drowning victims were under the age of 14, while more than half were under the age of 24, and 38 per cent were between the ages of 10 and 24. ROWNINGS are responsible for more than 10 per cent of all the accidental deaths in this country, which for last year were estimated as totaling 97,000 persons. Drownings also cause, at the present rate, more than one-half of one per cent of the deaths from all causes in this country, as is indicated by the United States mortality statistics for the years 1924-23 inclusive rownings in each of these five years were responsible for more than one-half of one per c-°t of all the deaths reported in the registra:’on area of this country. Because of th> extensive use of the 25 mul- lion automobil>s now registered in this country, and the millions of miles that are traveled in THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHING TON, D. C, AUGUST 3, 1930. The Old Swimmin’ Hole. . . . is a pleasant poetic fancy, but the cold statistics of life insurance actuaries show that too many young men drown there. them by so large a percentage of the public the yewr round, little surprise follows the mounting toll of automobile fatalities. Yet for the yeaw 1927, which is the latest period for which detailed figures on both drownings and automcbile fatalities are available upon a com- parative basis by States, the number of deaths due to drownings was more than a third of the automobile fatalities in 42 States. A tabulation of deaths by drowning and in automobile accidents, as drawn up by actuaries of the Travelers, for 1927 shows: That in all but four of the 42 States tabu- lated the drownings which occurred in sections classified as rural far outnumbered those which happened in urban districts, which include cities showing a population of 10,000 and over. The number of drownings reported in rural sections for 1927 was almost twice the death toll indicated in urban communities. . According to the record of vital statistics for New York in 1929, nearly 56 per cent of the number of drownings which occurred outside New York City happened in the months of June, July and August, while 49 per cent of such deaths within New York City occurred in the same months. The number of deaths by drowning within New York City was 437 for the whole year, while in the remainder of the State it was 530. During the observance of July Fourth in 1928, a list of accidental fatalities compiled for that day by one of the country's press associations showed that 11 persons were killed by fireworks, while 54 were killed in accidents connected with motor vehicles, and 106 ‘were drowned. Obviously, it is not true that more persons were bathing or were in boats or canoes that day than were going about the country in motor vehicles. That goes to show that, although there is constant and proper emphasis placed upon the dangers of the road, there is lack of sufficient organized effort to reduce the hazards of the water. Notwithstanding the efforts of various organizations to teach the boys and girls to swim, too many of them have not learned an art which is at once a pleasure and a protection. Unless many more people begin to learn the truth about the way tragedies happen in the water, more and more will the record of deaths by drowning mount, because the use of the motor vehicle has cnabled whole families by the scores of hundreds of thousands to reach wayside streams and shores and lakes that were inaccessible not so many years ago. Ready means of transportation and the gen- eral all-round improvement of highways beckon father, mother and children to week end parties far away from the maddening crowd and the stuffy confines of city life, while shortened hours of labor allow the extra time for relaxa- tion, swimming prominently included. PERHAPS the most outstanding evidence of the quickening of interest in the art of swimming is to be found in the changing modes of wearing apparel (or lack of it) which have been adopted by the well-dressed women at watering places. Not so long ago it was not regarded proper for a woman to be seen bathing unless she was fully and heavily clothed. The freedom of youth in this respect has even stimulated their elders, and the enthusiasm with which this modern idea of dress-as-you- please has been taken up is to be noted in the ever-increasing crowds at seashores. It may be of interest to observe the trend of drowning fatalities among both sexes since 1920. From that year, inclusive of 1927, the popula- tion of the United States increased more than 11 per cent. The number of deaths by drown- ings involving males increased more than 46 per cent during the same period, while deaths of females increased by more than 52 per cent. However, by far a greater number of males are drowned each year than there are of the op- posite sex, the division for 1920 showing 4,330 male deaths, as against 595 involving females, in the registration area of the United States, and in 1927 deaths by drowning included 6,340 boys and men and 906 girls and women. Deaths by drowning must be classed as pre- ventable in most instances. A record of their almost daily occurrence, as reported in the press during the Summer months, points conclusively to such an indication. Too many non-swim- mers or beginners venture into water that is too decp, a good rule worthy of consideration being that non-swimmers and beginners should never wade in water deeper than the middle of the chest, unless the condition of the bottom is known well. MANY drownings each year are due to ignorance of the elementary principles of swimming and of proper methods of resuscita- tion. One authority on deaths by drowning has said that an inventory of persons taking excur- sions on steamers, those who hit wilderness waterways in canoes, or who go rowing on lakes out from Summer resorts, reveals the surprising fact that not more than one in 50 could take care of himself if the boat capsized. This same authority believes that at least 25 per cent of all young men and boys more than 12 years of age do not know how to swim. Loss of wind accounts for the drowning of many persons, even - of good swimmers. A warning is to be sounded against swimming in deep water if the person has not passed & test of endurance, which in some countries requires 30 minutes of continuous swimming. Many persons, because of their evident pleasure in getting away from a city’s heat to the compara- tive coolness of the shore and lake, remain in the water too long, so that they suffer from chills and ecramps. Persons suffering from cramps in the water become seized with an almost insane fear, and start thrashing the water, whereas it should be remembered that the use of neither arms nor legs is necessary to float. A fact not often realized is that the human body weighs but slightly more than the volume of water dis- placed by it, and if a person in distress in the water would only remain calm and collected, - bhis head will stay above water. Pear is the greatcst obstacle which must be overcome by the non-swimmer and the be- ginner. Because children seldom have any fear, less instilled in them by their elders, it is generally easy for them to learn to swim, even at the younger ages. At one playground pool, in the course of a Summer, nearly 400 children between the ages of four and 13 were taught how to take care of themselves in the water. It is said that infants of the South Sea Islands crawl into the water and learn to swim like a dog. It goes without saying that many lives would be saved if the Schaefer prone-pressure method of artificial respiration were more generally understood by swimmers. Many persons who have been submerged for brief periods are not actually dead when removed from water, al- thcugh the apparent indications of life, such as breathing and pulse, are absent. A definite statement cannot be made with regard to the length of time the body may be deprived of air by submetsion before death actually occurs, but it is likely that in the case of a healthy person the vital organs might be restored by proper treatment after a submersion of from 12 to 15 minutes. Such a period has 5 The Latest Research Proves False the Old Idea That Drowning People Come to the Surface T'hree Times Before Dying. Girl college students practicing the Schaefer method of alternate pressure and relaxation. been exceeded in at least two cases vouched for by the American Red Cross. The treatment of an apparent drowned per- son should begin the moment the body is re- moved from the water. Rescurers should not be influenced by the appearance of death, as the treatment can do no harm, and if the victim has been under the water only a few minutes, his life may be saved. Rolling the victim on a barrel or the use of similar methods to emit water that may have been swallowed are not' recommended in place of the Schaefer prone-pressure method of arti- ficial respiration. If the patient’s mouth can be opened easily, it is advisable to feel in it and the throat quickly'to remove any objects lodged there, but if' the mouth is tightly closed, no attention need be paid to this matter until later. If the body is clothed, it is not necessary to stop to loosen the clothing. Rather proceed at once with the artificial respiration, as every second of delay is serious. EBPFINITE instructions on the prone-pressure method may be given as follows: Lay the patient face downward, with one arm extended forward beyond the head. The other arm should be bent at the elbow, and the head turned to one side so that the cheek will rest on the forearm or hand and the mouth and nose will be entirely free for breathing. Kneel astride the patient’s thighs with your knees just below his hip bones. Place the palms of your hands on the small of his back, with your fingers resting on his ribs—the little finger of each hand.just touching the lowest rib. - Then, with arms held firm and straight (do not bend the arms at the elbows), slowly swing your body forward (sudden and violent appli- cation may cause internal injuries), so that your weight bears upon the patient’s back—thus forcing the air out of his lungs. The operator’s shoulders should be directly over the heels of his hands at the end -of the forward swing. Time this movement to consume from two to three seconds. Then swing quickly back into your original kneeling position, thereby remov- ing the pressure and allowing fresh air to enter the lungs. After an interval of two seconds, repeat the entire operation—tifis allowing four or five seconds for a complete cycle of respiration. The movements can be timed by your own natural breathing. The treatment should be continued without interruption until the patient breathes naturally (if necessary, for four hours or longer), or until it becomes certain that further efforts are useless. s If an assistant is present he should loosen any tight clothing about the patient's neck, chest or waist as soon as the resuscitation treatment has started. Keep the patient as warm-as possible. Never give any liquids what- ever by the mouth, until the patient has fully regained consciousness. (Copyright, 1930.)