Pay attention to these things | Have a healthy summer vacation, a good time to play in the water
Spending a hot summer by the water or the sea is undoubtedly a pleasant choice that people yearn for. When the scorching sun shines on the earth, the hustle and bustle of the city seems to be engulfed by the heat wave, while the world by the water becomes a cool paradise.
There is a Chinese saying: "Don't deceive the mountains, don't deceive the water." The seemingly peaceful rivers, lakes and seas may actually be hiding various dangers, some of which may even threaten people's lives.
The water conditions in rivers, lakes and seas are complex, rapids, undercurrents and whirlpools may exist at any time, and the water depth and underwater conditions are unknown, so drowning often occurs in these places. In addition, if you are not fully prepared before entering the water, your muscles are prone to spasms when the water temperature is low, which can lead to drowning.
Be careful not to swim in unfamiliar waters without safety facilities or rescue personnel.
You should stretch your muscles for 5-10 minutes before going swimming. The process of launching should be slow, and wet the body while launching, so that the body can adapt to the temperature difference before and after entering the water and prevent the occurrence of muscle spasm. People with basic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes are not recommended to engage in water activities.
The swimming time should not be too long to prevent muscle cramps caused by excessive physical exertion. Before swimming and when resting on shore, you should drink appropriate salt-containing beverages to replenish water and electrolytes in the body in time.
When drowning occurs, people usually panic and even struggle blindly, which will reduce the probability of survival. If drowning occurs, the most important thing is to learn to calm yourself down first.
If there are floating objects around you, you must hold on to them and use them to float to the surface. If there are people around you, call for help immediately.
If there is no one around, try to relax your whole body as much as possible, try to get into a backstroke position, tilt your head back so that your mouth and nose are above the water to breathe, paddle your hands and legs regularly, don't panic, conserve your energy, and wait for rescue.
When a muscle cramp occurs, if there are people around, you should immediately explain the cramp to them. If you can hold on, swim to the shore as soon as possible. If there is no one around or you are unable to move, you can adjust to a backstroke position, use your hands to bend the toes of the cramping leg toward the instep, and then slowly swim back to the shore after the cramp is relieved.
If you are entangled by underwater objects, do not panic and avoid kicking to prevent the water plants from getting tighter. If there are people around, ask them for help; if there is no one around, take a deep breath, dive into the water, slowly untie or tear off the water plants, and leave the water as soon as possible.
You can make full use of the rescue equipment and supplies around you, call for help as soon as possible, and non-professionals should not go into the water rashly.
After the drowning person is rescued to the shore, you should immediately determine his vital signs. You can pat the drowning person's shoulders and shout loudly. If the drowning person is still breathing and conscious, you can cover him with a towel to keep him warm, and observe whether he has other discomforts, and then send him to the hospital for further examination.
The core cause of drowning is lack of oxygen after choking on water. The golden time for rescue is only 4 minutes. Therefore, when an unconscious drowning person is rescued to shore, the most critical treatment measure is to restore his breathing as soon as possible.
Author: Fei Jun and Liu Chunguang, Department of Emergency Medicine, Army Specialty Medical Center
Reviewer: Zhu Yimin, expert of the National Health Science Popularization Expert Database, chairman of the Science Popularization Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and director of the Hunan Emergency Medicine Research Institute