HOW TO RESTORE PERSONS APPARENTLY DROWNED.
Every boy should know how to swim, and it should be a part of every boy's early education. But even good swimmers are exposed to the danger of drowning; and to show what to do for an apparently drowned person is the object of this article. When life is supposed to be extinct, proper exertions will often restore the circulation, and establish breathing. It is estimated that a minute and a half's submersion is sufficient to cause death by drowning, and hence the necessity of rescuing a person from the water as quickly as possible, and using restorative measures promptly, is very great.
As soon as the body is taken from the water, the feet and lower part of the body should be elevated, and the head allowed to hang down, that the water may be allowed to run out of the throat and mouth as much as possible; then the clothing should be removed from the upper part of the body, exposing the chest. The person should then be placed upon his back, with a roll of clothing or something else convenient to form a pillow, upon which the shoulders should rest. Then some one present should take hold of the arms just below the elbow, and slowly raise them above the head, so that the elbows may nearly touch on a line parallel with the body; then as slowly bring down the arms to the side of the chest, pressing the elbows firmly against the ribs. This movement must be repeated many times, alternately extending the arms, and replacing them by the side. The object is to cause expansion and contraction of the chest walls, and thus mechanically causing the entrance of air into and exit from the lungs.
It is advisable, also, to see that the tongue has not fallen back into the mouth, and in case it has done so, to seize it with the thumb and finger, and draw it forward. Dashing cold water in the face may also be tried. The feet and legs should be rubbed dry, and kept warm by wrapping in dry clothing or blankets if they can be obtained.
When the least sign of breathing is seen, the exertion should be actively continued, and pressure made upon the chest wall at short intervals to aid the expulsion of the air in the lungs, and allow fresh air to enter. If ammonia is available, it should be poured on a handkerchief, and held at a little distance from the nose at occasional intervals; and when the breathing is established, if brandy or some other stimulant, as whiskey or alcohol even, can be procured, a small quantity, say half a tea-spoonful in a tea-spoonful or two of water, should be cautiously given, and repeated in fifteen minutes.
After animation is restored, the person should be wrapped up warmly in blankets, and seclusion should be observed.
Efforts such as these are often rewarded with success, and no one recently taken from the water should ever be given up as drowned until they are faithfully tried. It is never safe for a boy to go in swimming alone, for unforeseen accidents may occur, such as cramps, or entanglement in weeds. Some other hidden danger may spring up, as unexpected force of current, or great depth of water, and then it is safer by far to have help within calling distance.
In cities, swimming-schools supply the place which nature affords to the boy in the country. The feeling of security which a knowledge of the art of swimming secures to its possessor compensates for all the danger and trouble one is exposed to in acquiring it.