10-year-old Johnny Jackson
GOOSE CREEK, S.C. -- A South Carolina boy died this week after a day spent swimming at the pool.
The incident happened on Sunday, when a woman took her son swimming for the first time. Everything seemed fine as they walked home from the pool, but an hour later, 10-year-old Johnny Jackson was dead. Officials are calling the death a ‘dry drowning.’
Jackson and his sister went swimming, and after having a bit of trouble in the water, the family went home. “He was talking, he was walking,” said the boy’s mother, Cassandra Jackson. “He walked home from the pool. It was an hour later that he passed away.”
The mother and her best friend found Johnny dead in his room after he went to take a nap. The cause of the death was later ruled to be a mostly unheard of form of drowning. "No one really knows for sure what the mechanism of ‘dry drowning’ is,” said Dr. Randy Cordle.
A South Carolina boy died this week after a day spent swimming at the pool. Officials are calling the death a ‘dry drowning.’
The coroner believes that Johnny ingested some pool water during his swim. While he was sleeping, the water filled his lungs. Even though it might sound like a freak accident, doctors say it is more common than some may think.
"Drowning in general is not uncommon, especially around this time of year. About 10-15 percent of those cases in all ages come out to be dry drowning … so it's not terribly uncommon,” said Cordle.
Doctors say the warning signs usually follow a struggle in the water or a near-drowning experience. The warning signs include:
•Difficulty breathing
•Sudden mood swings
•Extreme tiredness
These signs might be difficult to identify in younger children. Doctors say if your child chokes while swimming or has a near-drowning experience, you should take them to the hospital to have them checked out. Then you should monitor them closely for the following 24 hours for any additional symptoms.