# Is drowning a painful way to die? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581 "2004-05-22T23:01:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/1 "2004-05-22T23:01:06Z")
Yeah, I know it’s a hard question to talk about. Tough to get first hand accounts and all that. Basically, I spent most of my life figuring that drowning would really suck. Not just the dying part, but the extreme amount of pain involved in the process. But about 10 yrs ago, a friend of mine who had nearly drowned told me it was acutally fairly painless (more on this in a second). And now I’m reading a fiction book that has a character drown in it, in which the author describes the agonizing pain step by step. Not that it’s a genuine resource, but it peaked my curiosity so here I am, asking the dopers. Now, back to my friend who almost drowned. Here are the details as he described them. He was in a car accident, and ended up upside down (strapped in to his seat via the seatbelt) in a few feet of water. His head was fully submerged. I have no idea if this was fresh water or salt water, but I assume fresh. If it makes a difference at all… He said he had trouble getting out of his seat, and he held his breath as long as he could until his body overrode him and he took a “breath” of water, which he could feel filling his lungs. He said he was surprised that his body was actually able to pull some oxygen out of the water – his mind cleared up briefly, as he described it, like he had a breath of air – but not very much. Just enough for a slight amount of relief before everything started going black. He described it as fairly calm and peaceful, not painful at all. Now when the passenger of the car managed to get him out and he had to heave the water out of his lungs, he said THAT was INCREDIBLY painful. But I’m not concerned about that, I’m curious about the actual drowning process. Is there any empircal evidence regarding the pain involved in drowning? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/2 "2004-05-22T23:03:28Z")
I dont have cites offhand but i have heard most forms of death are actually pretty peaceful, not just drowning. ---
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/3 "2004-05-22T23:08:34Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > I dont have cites offhand but i have heard most forms of death are actually pretty peaceful, not just drowning. Maybe some of them are, but I can think of several ways to go that sound like they just suck: fire heart attack getting shot stabbed psianide poisoning (did I spell that right?) arsenic slow painful debilitating disease I’m sure there’s more. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/4 "2004-05-23T00:10:02Z")
Well in Sanyika Shakurs book “Monster” he says when he was shot he felt the same kind of peace your friend described. cyanide poisoning. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/5 "2004-05-23T00:33:34Z")
The closest I can come to answering the query of the OP is to say that when you’re deep inside a building, and the air pack alarm goes off, you have ~5 minutes to get out. That’s if everything goes well. Partial building collapse, changes in fire conditions, and other factors can make ‘going out the way we came in’ a non-option. Put a few people on your crew, all of their bells or whistles are singing, and all I want is to get them safely outside. The doorway is in sight-maybe 50 yards, and my alarm stops. I’ve got nothing. It’s what we call ‘sucking mask’ because there’s nothing to inhale. Adrenaline replaces oxygen as you crawl towards the opening, and once you’re outside, you rip off your mask and breathe in the air as greedily as a starving man would devour meat. Struggling to stay alive is not peaceful, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/6 "2004-05-23T00:41:57Z")
> [@](#): > > He said he was surprised that his body was actually able to pull some oxygen out of the water – his mind cleared up briefly, as he described it, like he had a breath of air – but not very much. Just enough for a slight amount of relief before everything started going black. My WAG is it wasn’t O2 from the water but 2 effects of breathign water: 1 - he was able to use O2 in the ‘windpipe’ which was unsuable till it was inhaled into the avioli. 2 - By inhaleing he equalized the pressure inside his lungs, this allowed a higher partial pressure of O2 which allowed a higher percentage to be abosrbed. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/7 "2004-05-23T01:11:39Z")
Near-drowning victims pretty much universally describe the experience of drowning as being very, very unpleasant up until the very last stages. At that point, the overwhelming anxiety due to “air hunger” shuts down, as do the muscles involuntary efforts to breath. It is at this near-terminal stage that many encounter a sense of peace. Or so studies have reported. QtM, MD ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/8 "2004-05-23T01:55:55Z")
Don’t know but according to Homer Simpson, getting eating by a crocadile is just like falling asleep…in a giant blender. ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/9 "2004-05-23T02:08:55Z")
My father almost drowned and he described it as being very peaceful and actually quite a pleasant experience. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/10 "2004-05-23T02:54:10Z")
Sebastian Junger devotes the better part of a chapter of the \*Perfect Storm \* to the physiology of drowning. I don’t recall if drowning itself was painful, but I certainly remember that reading that chapter was! ---
**Author:** ![jesuscrust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@jesuscrust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesuscrust)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/11 "2004-05-23T03:16:09Z")
i remember reading that it was one of the least painful. there is only the initial moment of panic before you drown. i can’t find the website though. this has tons of info though: [http://insecurities.org/library/suicide.html](http://insecurities.org/library/suicide.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/12 "2004-05-23T03:57:45Z")
As a kid I almost drowned to the point where I lost consciousness and had to be revived. I clearly remember the experience and there was panic but no pain. As soon as I inhaled water it was all over. If I had to pick a way to croak, other than peacefully dying in my sleep, drowning would probably make my short list. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/13 "2004-05-23T05:04:39Z")
I find myself more than a bit surprised that the thread has gone this long without a citation from [The Master](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_211.html). It doesn’t bear precisely on the topic at hand (and where it does, it reinforces what **Qadgop** has to say), but I thought sure there would be better memories than mine by this time. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/14 "2004-05-23T06:14:30Z")
> [@jesuscrust](#): > > i remember reading that it was one of the least painful. there is only the initial moment of panic before you drown. i can’t find the website though. > this has tons of info though: > [http://insecurities.org/library/suicide.html](http://insecurities.org/library/suicide.html) This is one of the strangest sites I have ever read. > [@weird death site](#): > > ACID BATH > Time: depends on acid > Available: a lot of a very strong acid > Certainty: fairly good > Notes: [from alt.suicide.holiday] > “summer heat got you down? Try the new and improved neighbourhood acid bath. Most metal working plants and some auto-repair shops will have a nice soothing acid bath. This, of course, is for those of you who enjoy extreme pain and don’t want to make a mess for others to clean up. If you don’t leave a note chances are they will never know what happened, aside from the shop / plant being broken into.” ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/15 "2004-05-23T12:05:56Z")
I’ve almost drowned three or four times; it isn’t a very pleasant experience and is a death I would avoid at all costs. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/16 "2004-05-23T12:09:48Z")
Could it be possible that some of these near-drowning victims suffered a form of retrograde amnesia, blocking their memories of the most painful parts of drowning? ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/17 "2004-05-23T15:36:55Z")
I almost drowned as a child. I was about 8 and was at a church camp for older children with my minister father. Campers swam in a river, using the buddy system, with adult supervision. I had taught myself to dog paddle. There was another girl my age there, who was appointed as my buddy; she told me that she too had taught herself to swim. We were walking around in the river, holding hands, when we stepped into a hole where the water was above our heads. The girl would not let go of my hand. I remember struggling to make her let go of me and being very angry that she had lied about being able to swim and being very angry that she wouldn’t let go of me so that I could save us both. I was too concerned with trying to free myself to feel panic or fear. There was no pain. Next thing I knew I was lying on the shore next to my father. Obviously, I had been pulled out of the water, although I have no memory of this. When I came to on shore, I felt nauseated. ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/18 "2004-05-23T16:41:30Z")
Almost everyone on this thread (especially those who have never experienced near-drowning) seems to assume that drowning would be painful. But I don’t get that impression at all. And the stories of those who have dealt with it seem to reinforce my presumption. What, exactly, would cause all this supposed pain? A big breath full of water is all I can think of, but I can’t imagine that hurting all that bad. Someone above said that expelling water from the lungs hurt. That I can understand. Other than that, the only thing associated with drowning is a steady decrease in blood oxygen levels, leading to unconsciousness and culminating in death. It’s asphyxia, suffocation. Someone tell me where the sensation of pain would come in. I can understand how it could cause indescribable anxiety and panic. Mainly because there’s enough consciousness remaining to realize your fate. Panicky, yes. Painful, no. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/19 "2004-05-23T17:00:53Z")
As a child at the shore I once got a lungful of water when I got a faceful of breaking wave instead of air. The water hurt in my lungs. Now, its nowhere near as bad as being burned or eaten alive, but I certainly wouldn’t call it pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581/20 "2004-05-23T18:16:02Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I’ve almost drowned three or four times… Good God, sir, stay away from the pool! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowning-a-painful-way-to-die/246581.md?page=2)