I know that you’re not supposed to swim up to a drowning person because they can easily end up drowning you in their panicky state. But what if you find yourself suddenly up against that panicky, grabby, flailing person? How should you best handle it?
I’m thinking it could suddenly happen when you’re swimming in an area with other people. It just so happens the person next to you starts to panic and latches onto you before you even know what’s going on. Like two people walking in shallow water and they step off an unseen dropoff which causes one of them to panic and grasp the other person.
IANALifeguard, but I understand you are supposed to swim down, towards the bottom, assuming you are a strong enough swimmer to do so. When they let go of you, swim away from them underwater so that you surface far enough away that they can’t grab you.
I think the main answers are all in that other thread:
Try and approach them from behind in the first place so you can hold them under the arms and swim backwards to shore with them, before they even get the opportunity to grab you. Try and talk to them before you’re in grabbing range: tell them to calm down and let you take them to shore. If those don’t work and they do grab you it sounded like there’s two options:
Swim downwards; they’ll let go of you to try and get to the surface again.
If nothing’s working and there’s a danger of them drowning you both, use force; push them away hard or hit them until they let go.
It’s been a while since lifeguarding class, but as I recall, if a panicky swimmer gets in your way:
Swim down; usually they will let go at this point
If they don’t, attempt to move their arms and get behind them
If that doesn’t work, open handed heel strike to the nose, as hard as you can. That usually shocks the person long enough to get away.
For most types of rescue, you’re trying to get behind the person, often with a flotation device between yourself and the lucky customer. So by design, you’re trying to avoid their arms, but if they’re really flailing and kicking a lot, the above may be necessary.
Fortunately, I never had to employ those maneuvers in the few rescues I performed in my brief lifeguard career.
One I can actually answer! After many years as lifeguard, a few saves, Water Safety Director in my late teens, taught lifesaving, all many years ago. The best answer is , don’t get yourself into that situation. The rule is Reach, Throw, Row, Go. If you get grabbed, the victim is panicking, Quick breath, Tuck chin (avoid choking), Palms upward, move arms out and push up to overhead, (generating down thrust). If held face to face - push away from victims hips (groin if you need to) spin victim 180 and get his head up, into a back float. Control victim from chin, avoid bites! If held from behind around the neck - one thumb up under his elbow to push you head free, the other hand locks down on a wrist to initiate a hammerlock, once behind victim, keep control and get his head out of water to a back float. We all practice this a bunch of times till it becomes rote, see its been over 30 years and I bet I still could do it without thinking. The overall rule for lifeguards is don’t turn it into a double drowning!
I was an aquatics instructor at a Boy Scout summer camp in the early '80s. We had a similar litany, but it was Reach, Throw, Row, or Go With Assistance (such as a float, a board or a lifesaving ring), in order of preferred rescue methods, from most safe to least. We also had buttons supplied by some safe-boating trade group that showed a friendly cartoon shark and the slogan, “Don’t drown… it could spoil your whole day!”
I agree: approach from behind, and if grabbed, try to drop below the surface, because no drowning person is going to want to follow you down.
Stupid question time: Can the other person drown you if you are wearing a flotation vest? Is everything we’ve discussed here predicated on the assumption that the rescuer is wearing one? Do they (the vests) impede your ability to swim? What is SOP if you have access to one and you have the choice to use it or not? What if you have access to two vests?
Dunno - never had training on that. I imagine it would make it more difficult for the panicky drowner to drown you, but he could conceivably knock you out or simply hold you under even if you were wearing a PFD (personal flotation device). Over and over again we were told that panicky drowners could have adrenaline-fueled freakish strength, and even a much smaller person could pull you under.
No. Definitely not.
Yes, but they certainly don’t render it impossible. They’ll slow you down, though, and speed is of the essence.
I was trained to take one along, if available - that’s the “Go With Assistance” - not wearing it but pulling it along with a strap in your teeth so you could use your hands and feet just for swimming, and then using it as a means of keeping the drowner afloat, if possible.
Leave one behind and use just one, as described above.
Reach from the side i.e. without even getting into the water - safest because you can’t drown if you’re not in the water, but you need to make sure you don’t get pulled in. If you have a stick or something to extend your reach that can help.
Throw either a rope for them to catch and pull them in or throw a flotation device and get them to hold it then encourage them to kick to swim in. Still safe as you’re still not in the water, but may be more difficult depending on how far away they are and if they are calm enough to catch and follow instructions. Sealed empty water/soda bottles can be a useful makeshift flotation aid. Clothing can be a useful (if short) makeshift rope.
Row - take a boat (of any kind, rowing not compulsory) - again staying out of the water, not quite as safe as staying on the side.
Go - get in and swim to them - dangerous and the absolute last resort. It can be made a bit safer by taking something like a rope or clothing to get them to hang on to so they aren’t clinging directly to you, or taking a float to them, then encouraging them to swim themselves in holding it, keeping a safe distance yourself.
I took lifesaving classes as a teenager we were told over and over again “Don’t make one death two.”
Also, in lifeguard certification class (Red Cross), you learn techniques for anchoring yourself on the side so you don’t lose your balance and get pullled in. Basically, lay down.
All good techniques. Lifeguards learn and practice ways of manipulating bodies in the water (for another example, there is a set way to flip over someone who is floating facedown and may have a spinal injury). The one I remember is, if the drowning person tries to get you in a headlock, turn your head to the side and push up on their arms to slip out from underneath. We practiced this.
ETA: Of course, you get turns to practice the techniques and then have them practiced on you. Worst part of class… getting manhandled and strapped onto a backboard, then almost pulled out of the deep end, dropped and slid back in (immobilized), pulled out, and then dropped on the side by 2 of my classmates.
Brilliant advice! Yes, give them another fluid to suck into their lungs and choke on…as if someone who is in a state of sheer panic is going to notice the moderate pain that comes with a busted nose.
All it takes to drown is to have your mouth and nose in water. A panicked swimmer pushing down on your head or shoulders can be sufficient.
The correct technique to deal with a panicked (but not drowning) swimmer is to stay out of reach and talk them back to a state of reason. The way to deal with a drowning swimmer, as stated by several upthread, is to toss them a line, toss a floatation device, venture out on a boat, or swim out with floatation device in hand. Swimming out without a floatation device, even if you are a strong and confident swimmer, is just asking for trouble; things can go from good to bad very quickly in open water even for an experienced rescue swimmer. You always approach a panicked swimmer or diver from behind, and if they do grab at you or leap atop you, you duck down, grab their legs, and spin them around so you come up behind them. (This is quite easy to do, as the panicked swimmer will have no leverage to prevent this.) However, getting in the water with a panicked swimmer and especially within grabbing range is last resort; it is usually far better to let the swimmer tire out first and then approach or toss a float.
