There was a really tragic story last week about a 4-year-old in Texas who died from a rare condition called “secondary drowning.”
It’s where you inhale water and don’t cough it up. Then it creates an infection, which causes more fluid to build up. But it can take 24 hours to see any symptoms. The kid in Texas went swimming almost a WEEK before he died.
But there’s a silver lining to the story, because it could have happened AGAIN to a kid in Colorado.
A guy named Garon Vega went swimming with his 2-year-old son Gio last week. Then he saw the story about the kid in Texas and realized Gio had the same symptoms. So he immediately got him to a hospital, and it saved his life.
It turned out the same thing was happening. And his doctors say Gio probably wouldn’t have made it through the night if Garon hadn’t brought him in.
If YOU have kids, here’s what to look for. The symptoms of “secondary drowning” include coughing, trouble breathing, chest pain, vomiting, and fatigue. A lot of stories about the kid in Texas called it “dry drowning,” but that’s actually a little different . . .
With “dry drowning,” the water doesn’t actually get in your lungs. Instead, it causes your vocal chords to spasm and closes off your airway. So it looks more like choking, and usually happens right after they get out of the water. (WPLG / Parents.com)
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