Drowning

Drowning is death as caused by suffocation when a liquid causes interruption of the body's absorption of oxygen from the air leading to asphyxia. The primary cause of death is hypoxia and acidosis leading to cardiac arrest.

Near drowning is the survival of a drowning event involving unconsciousness or water inhalation and can lead to serious secondary complications, including death, after the event. Cases of near drowning are often given attention by medical professionals. Secondary drowning is death due to chemical or biological changes in the lungs after a near drowning incident.

Water cure

Water cure is a form of water torture in which the victim is forced to drink large quantities of water in a short time, resulting in gastric distension, water intoxication, and possibly death.

Often the victim has the mouth forced or wedged open, the nose closed with pincers and a funnel or strip of cloth forced down the throat. The victim has to drink all the water (or other liquids such as bile or urine) poured into the funnel to avoid drowning. The stomach fills until near bursting, and is sometimes beaten until the victim vomits and the torture begins again.

Dry drowning

Dry drowning is when a person's lungs become unable to extract oxygen from the air, due primarily to:

• Muscular paralysis
• Puncture wound to the torso (affecting ability of diaphragm *to create respiratory movement)
• Changes to the oxygen-absorbing tissues
• Persistence of laryngospasm when immersed in fluid
• Breathing any gas other than Oxygen that does not kill the patient on its own for too long. (e.g. Helium)

The person may effectively drown without any sort of fluid. In cases of dry drowning in which the victim was immersed, very little fluid is aspirated into the lungs. The laryngospasm reflex essentially causes asphyxiation and neurogenic pulmonary oedema.

Dry drowning can occur clinically, or due to illness or accident, or be deliberately (and repeatedly) induced in torture (waterboarding). It can be traumatizing, and it can be deadly.

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