7/31/2019 "Save Someone From Drowning" by Jane Heimlich, undated newsletter circa 1994

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r TT j / r > SAVE SOMEONE FROM DROWNING

JCWie JtteilTlllCk) S WITH THE HEIMLICH MANEUVERWhat YOUr DOCtOr J w M l o f .92 in Cincinnati where w* live, 8 year-old

W Q *f- *jV*11 Y O U Michelle Green Was found floating face down inftpublic _ ^ . swimming pool; when pulled fromthe water, she was blue,

lifeless, not breathing. But having been submerged for less than five minutes, she hanot; yet suffered brain damage.

A lifeguard present immediately started mouth* to-mouth (blowing into the mouth),as he bed been taught by the American Red Cross (ARC). Fire fighters, also certified

by theARC,

continued the procedure. Each time rescuers forced air into Michelle'smouth she vomited. *- *Finally, a paramedic performed the Heimlich Maneuver (applying upward pressure on

the diaphragm). Clear water gushed from Michelle's lungsbut too late. Michelle wasbrain damaged and died in coma a week later.

Same CircumstancesDifferent: OutcomeOne year later, in June, another Cincinnati youngster, Natasha Stuckey, was

rescued froma swimming pool; like Michelle, she had been submerged almost fiveminutes.

But this drowning Incident took place at an apartment house pool, With no Red_-Crosa-trained-lifeguards in attendance. The child's rescuer was-a landscape gardener*,:

who performed the Heimlich Maneuver for drowning on Natasha as he had learned it on TVWith th* third Heimlich Maneuver, water gushed fromher mouth. Natasha immediate

ly started breathing and recovered fully.Whv Red Cross Instructions Are Killing Children .

According to the ARC1992 Guidelines, *Initial treatment of the near-drowningvictim consists of rescue breathing with the mouth-to mouth technique.,.a HeimlichManeuver should be used only if the rescuer suspects that foreign matter is obstructingthe airway or if the victim does not respond appropriately to mouth-to-mouth ventilation.* _ _ __

"(But I ntheARC guidelines "appropriate response"1'"is no t"defined|" "so Michelle's

rescuers persisted in trying to blow air into the child's water-filled lungs, which ladto brain damage and death.)

"Blowing air into the mouth when the airway is blocked by fluid Is useless andonly pushes water deeper into the lungs,** says Dr. Heimlich. "That method wastesvaluable time and results in loss of oxygen," he adds, "causing brain damage and

death."Seems common sense, doesn't it? You can't get air into the lungs until you get

the water out! And yet the ARC states in its First Aid and Safety Handbook, "It's notimportant whether or not the lungs fill up with water."

V"*" Furthermore, most drowning victims Vomit each time a rescuer blows into their^*oitthmr*-*tA*$evtlng the rescuet to th* risk o r ^ f ^Water blocks the airway and so air being breathed into the mouth is forced Into thestomach, distending it.

Studies Attest to Danger of ARC Instructions For DrowningA ten-year study of pediatrie drownings in Seattle's public swimming pools has

Shown that blowing air into the mouth of drowning victims causes death. There, Almosthalf the children rescued by lifeguards die because the life-guards are trained to use mouth-to-mouth instead of the Heim

lich Maneuver.Edward A. Patrick, M.D., Ph.D., a leading authority on

outcome analysis, performed a study of drowning victims basedon reports from several states, when the Heimlich Maneuverwas used 877L survived. By contrast, only 28* of drowningvictims survived when given mouth-to-mouth.

SoU: It la daoidadly out ofeharattar for no to writ*

about mf husband** work. Butdtonning It tht third anitceoiaan accidental daabh amon*children, and with th* awlm-wins aaaaea uptm n, I mat,*v*xy em of you to llUn thissfdnpi* and *f*etiva Mthod toaava adronnint child.

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7/31/2019 "Save Someone From Drowning" by Jane Heimlich, undated newsletter circa 1994

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*" it if ii > iiii.nmifin.iii.ji 111 THI. M ^ p j iTpi ^ w i w i t f i , ; ; t r n < l *1 1

^

Vhv tho He im ll ch Wa nm iv cr fotr Drowning Saves Liyea; .j

When the neimlich Haneuver Is performed, on .a dr ow ni ng per son V\ water'bloeiitig the

irvy gushes out, allowing air to enter the lungs* According to numerous sr^po^rtfi fr

fir at aid experts* the person baglns t breathe almost ijnuediAtelyr ^ n a ^ /^ n aost: ca.s

recovers fully- ;.'. .. , '..'"'.., .%,:.: ."" ""' ',;.:> ''.

You perform the Heimllch Maneuver for drowni&g the ---isane way es^er;. poking;, alm

everyone is familiar with the procedure. Even children who heye sett the, maneuverdemonstrated on a TV sitcom have savd lives. '.-. y

Houth-to-mouth, taught as part of CPR (an extremely, cojBplicated procedure that can perform properly), carries the added risk of contagion er the.rescuer,

~AR