Boy Drowns Hours After Leaving Pool

10-Year-Old Autistic Youth An Apparent Victim Of "Secondary Drowning"

(CBS/AP)  A 10-year-old South Carolina boy died several hours after he swallowed water in a swimming pool at his apartment complex.

Jon Jon Jackson's stunned and grieving mother is still trying to comprehend how her son could have drowned, according to The Post and Courier of Charleston.

"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this," Cassandra Jackson told the newspaper. "It's really bizarre."

Jon Jon was autistic, but this played no role in his death.

Goose Creek police said Jackson swallowed some water while swimming around noon Sunday. Police said he later complained he was tired and took a nap. When someone checked on him, water was coming out of his nose and he was having trouble breathing.

The boy later died at Trident Hospital. Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad said the boy's lungs were filled with water and he died of asphyxiation. Rhoad said there was nothing suspicious about the death, and no way adults at the pool could have known what was happening.

The Post and Courier said so-called secondary drowning can occur up to 72 hours later and without any warning signs, according to medical experts.

Jon Jon's mother urged other parents to watch their children closely.

"Please check them when they get out of the pool. Just watch them like a hawk," she told the newspaper. "It tears me up inside. It's a heck of a sacrifice, but if this will help someone else, then it's all worth it."

[meinnv]

Secondary Drowning is not a dry drowning, per se. It only takes 4 ounces of water in the lungs to cause it. Water, regardless of its salt content, will damage the inside surface of the lung, collapse the alveoli and cause pulmonary edema with a reduced ability to exchange air.

Pulmonary edema, or the accumulation of fluid in the lungs, can later result in cardiac arrest, as oxygen is prevented from getting into the blood stream and eventually stops the heart from beating.

This may cause death up to 72 hours after a near drowning incident. This is called secondary drowning. Inhaling certain poisonous vapors or gases will have a similar effect.

The reason people do not hear about it, is because usually anyone who has ingested water is taken to a hospital or a doctor to rule it out or treat it. Deaths from secondary drowning are rare, but Pulmonary Edema is quite prevalent. Hospitals treat it everyday.

That is why anyone who has ingested water, even tiny amounts should be taken for medical evaluation or treatment. There are no real symptoms to look for.

If your child or ANYONE has ingested water, please take them to the hospital or a doctor.

[grand-pat]

As a grandparent, a former scout leader, and certified water safety instructor who spent many summers of my young adulthood either instructing or life guarding during swimming outings, the question is; Why Had I never heard of this dry drowning before? We need methods developed where lifeguards and parents can check for symptoms when a child or anyone has been swimming or bathing where this is a risk. There needs to be warnings posted at every swimming pool about dry drowning and how to determine its symptoms.

The next question is what else haven''t we been told?

[uffdaron]

I don''t understand how one can have enough water in the lungs to kill and still be able to breathe? I have done plenty of swimming and Scuba and must confess I never heard of this. Even in the first aid and lifeguard training I took years ago, this was not mentioned. Scary

[last121868]

and unfortunately MyOpinion1 not only supported it but also made the comment that the child should not have been born.
So I stand corrected 2 people who have posted their ignorance here today.


lady althea~ what?!?! do you actually read AND comprehend ANYTHING?? my goodness, honey. i will try and explain this in terms that you might understand...as i posted before, davicar2 made the completely ignorant remark - as usual...not you dear- that is, not until your last post. you may want to think about taking a chill pill or two.
once again, my condolences to the family of this young man.

[missybelle-2009]

and unfortunately MyOpinion1 not only supported it but also made the comment that the child should not have been born.
So I stand corrected 2 people who have posted their ignorance here today.


Posted by LadyAlthea at 02:13 PM : Jun 05, 2008

Wow, reading comprehension isn''t your strong suit, eh? I think MyOpinion1 was talking about DaVicar2, not the child in this article. Hysteria will only get you mocked, my dear, because you clearly aren''t paying attention.

[meinnv]

Secondary drowning--

Water, regardless of its salt content, will damage the inside surface of the lung, collapse the alveoli and cause pulmonary edema with a reduced ability to exchange air. This may cause death up to 72 hours after a near drowning incident. This is called secondary drowning. Inhaling certain poisonous vapors or gases will have a similar effect.

[meinnv]

Pulmonary edema, or the accumulation of fluid in the lungs, can later result in cardiac arrest, as oxygen is prevented from getting into the blood stream and eventually stops the heart from beating.

The above can happen at anytime to anyone. It is not age or situation specific. Having spent time in the healthcare field, I saw numerous people admitted for observation to rule out Pulmonary Edema. There are also lab tests to test for it as well.

"Anyone who has been submerged and has aspirated should seek medical attention."--that is taken from an ABC news article. And, it is good advice.

[meinnv]

My mother currently works in the healthcare industry, and at one time I did too. Once the child went to sleep, or anyone goes to sleep, we do not know what is going on with them, and if they are sleeping they can not communicate with us as to what is going on.

This is why you do not swim alone, and you monitor everyone; if anyone goes underwater or has swallowed water, you should take them to an ER to make sure their lungs are clear.

Hopefully the information I provided will help someone.

My condolences to the family.

[meinnv]

It is very rare, but I too have heard about secondary drowning. Indeed it is rare. But it is not unusual for someone to have survived a "near-drowning" to go home and die because of the water in the lungs. Secondary drowning is death due to chemical or biological changes in the lungs after a near drowning incident. Some people have been know to "aspirate" their own vomit while sleeping and die of that.

You can "swallow" water into your lungs if you are trying to breath and swallow at the same time. At the neck there are two tubes--one for your airway and one for your digestive track.

The flap covering either one is the "epliglottis". It is normally pointed upward, but during swallowing, elevation of the hyoid bone draws the larynx upward; as a result, the epiglottis folds down to a more horizontal position. In this manner it prevents food from going into the trachea and instead directs it to the esophagus, which is more posterior.

However, if he was breathing while swallowing the water, it is possible to have inhaled some of the water as well. Rhoad said there was nothing suspicious about the death, and no way adults at the pool could have known what was happening. This is true since we can not see into the lungs without an x-ray or ultrasound.

[ladyalthea]

and unfortunately MyOpinion1 not only supported it but also made the comment that the child should not have been born.
So I stand corrected 2 people who have posted their ignorance here today.

[last121868]

Bottom line here is that you have a retar who probably couldnt dress or feed himself, and certainly couldnt decide between breathing and swallowing...

HE NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUT INTO A SWIMMING POOL!

Posted by DaVicar2 at 12:29 PM

ladyalthea~ it was davicar2 who made that completely ignorant remark - as usual.

My sympathies to Cassandra Jackson and her family.

[ladyalthea]

And to further udnerstand what happened you really should read the article that ABC news has on it...they include more detail and exactly how Jonny died from secondary drowning.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Story?id=5001282&page=1

[nothappyatall]

If the water is in the lungs he didnt SWALLOW it, he inhaled it.

Oh well!

[ladyalthea]

Really MyOpinion1, I have to wonder how old you are and if you truly have an understanding about life at all.
This child may have been autistic, but that FAR from makes him retarded. He may be an extremely inteligent person. You obviously are not intelligent enough to know that there are literally 36 different levels of autisim and of those there are different degrees to which a person may be affected. AND to that I would like to add that this article which I see on my screen in black and white, states that his medical condition had not played a role in his secondary drowning.

My heart (which MyOpinion1 appears to not have) goes out to the family and friends of this child who has left this world all to early!

[notso9]

ElizabethK07:
Thank you for your kind words. It''s nice to get positive feedback on these postings.

[elizabethk07]

Thank you, notso9. I had never heard of this before and didn''t really understand what the article was describing. Your posting was very insightful.

[barbaraf4]

"Get off the mother''s back people, she''s going through enough stress as it is." Posted by Hwy71So
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have not said a single negative word about this child''s mother. I also have not said a single negative word about this child. He is autistic. That is a statement, NOT an accusation.

[godofredo29]

"Please check them when they get out of the pool. Just watch them like a hawk," she told the newspaper. "It tears me up inside. It''s a heck of a sacrifice, but if this will help someone else, then it''s all worth it."

Clearly she''s in shock.

[ov442]

holy cow! poor family! good lord, i had never heard of this till now. incredible.

[notso9]

Don''t let my postng be misconstrued as nit picking and analyzing. I just posted from an article I read to help some others understand that it is not new or newly fabricated information. I am truly saddened for the family in their loss, and hope that others might can learn from this and recognize the symptoms in their own children.