Close your eyes. Imagine you’re on the beach, and someone is drowning just offshore. What does that look like? Chances are you think that the person is probably flailing their arms or crying for help. But that’s actually not what drowning looks like at all. “People don’t just scream and start yelling,” Wyatt Werneth, a spokesperson for the American Lifeguard Association tells SELF.
If it seems like you are hearing about more drowning deaths, it’s not your imagination—they’ve been going up, after years of decline. About 4,500 people died annually from 2020 to 2022 in the US, about 500 more drownings per year compared with 2019. Part of the problem is that about 40 million American adults don’t know how to swim and there’s a lifeguard shortage. More than half of adults in the US have never had a swimming lesson, often because they lack the access or financial resources to learn about water safety.
Understanding what drowning really looks like, though, can make the difference between life and death for folks taking to the water to cool off. We spoke with experts about what you need to know to spot someone who’s struggling and how to stay safe before you hit the water.
1. They are unable to call for help.
Drowning is usually silent. Rick Jander learned this firsthand when he was in Florida in 2023. The Michigan native was enjoying a family vacation when a young woman ran up to him asking for help because her father and brother were drowning. Jander reacted instantly; he grabbed a flotation device and headed for the water. Having grown up around the ocean, Jander knew the current had likely carried both people away from where their family lost sight of them. He spotted the son about 80 yards away from where they thought he might be. “He couldn’t even yell,” Jander tells SELF. “He did not make any noises.” Jander was able to help save the son, but unfortunately the father didn’t survive.
When someone aspirates water it can cause what’s known as a laryngospasm, which is basically the throat involuntarily closing. It’s a bit like when you drink something and it goes in your airway and you start coughing, says Werneth. “Your voice box starts spasming and it’ll actually lock down.”
Because it blocks the airways, laryngospasm can cause the person to become unconscious—and things get worse from there. “What’ll happen over a three to five minute period is that the voice box will relax,” Werneth says. “And then once it opens, water starts flushing in, and that’s when the victim will then start to sink.”
2. Their head is low with their mouth at the water level.
When a person is drowning, their head is usually lower in the water than you might expect, and tilted back as they try to breathe, Werneth says. Their eyes may also be glassy or closed, and their hair might hang limp over their forehead or eyes, or even cover their face entirely because they are incapable of pushing it out of the way. Their mouth could sink below the surface and they could be hyperventilating or gasping for air as their head bobs up and down at the waterline.
3. They look like they are climbing an invisible ladder.
A person who is drowning might seem as if they are trying to roll on their back or making arm movements like they’re on an invisible ladder—as though they are literally trying to climb their way up to the top of the surface. This is often accompanied by minimal or no leg movement even though the person is frantically trying to keep their face above water, Werneth says.
What to do if you see someone drowning
So you’ve recognized someone might be drowning—now what? Unless you are trained to do so or have the right equipment, you need to use caution if you’re trying to help. Werneth says an improper response can make a situation even more dangerous, so it’s important to know what to do.
Try to reach out or throw them a flotation device.
If the person is conscious, see if you can extend something they can grab onto, like a boat oar or stick, or throw them a life jacket or anything else that’s buoyant.
Call for help, either from a lifeguard or 911.
If you can’t reach them, there may be dangerous conditions or the person may panic and pull you down with them if you enter the water. Your best and safest bet is to call for expert assistance, either by alerting a lifeguard, dialing 911, and/or finding a bystander who has the proper training and equipment like a flotation device.
Administer CPR if necessary.
Once they are out of the water, tilt their head back, lift their chin, and see if they are breathing. You can turn them on their side to expel water, and if they aren’t breathing, start chest compressions until help arrives. (Here’s how to do CPR and performing it can double or triple the chances the person will survive, according to the American Heart Association.)
How to stay safe when you’re swimming.
The most important thing? “Go to the beach prepared,” says Werneth. He suggests: