There’s no guarantee that a life jacket could save an unconscious individual from drowning. Wearing a life jacket may boost a swimmer’s chances of survival, but only to a point. It’s not too far-fetched to believe that such a blow could cause someone to lose consciousness. Any fallen swimmer could easily hit their head on their watercraft or a hard rock on their way down into the water. Sadly, the potential for experiencing head trauma and subsequent unconsciousness is not a possibility that you can ignore. Depending on the nature of their fall, facing head down in the water could be the most likely scenario. If someone accidentally takes a serious blow to the head, they can become incapacitated and lose their ability to keep their head above water.Įven if they have a life jacket on, it will matter little if their head is face-down and their breathing pathways are blocked. However, it’s important to note that unconsciousness can be a danger in and of itself. Cannot Protect Against Unconsciousness in the WaterĪs aforementioned, flush drowning may result in unconsciousness due to the inability to get oxygen into the lungs. Any wrong move that throws them into the whitewater could prove fatal. This is the underlying reason why whitewater paddlers have to take such extreme precautions to avoid capsizing. They’re merely designed to keep the person afloat, not shield them from the constant force of the waves. Under these circumstances, water inevitably finds a way to obstruct the mouth and nose, no matter how experienced the swimmer may be.Įven though life jackets do offer buoyancy, they’re not meant to combat serious complications like these.

The trend above can be attributed to the constant impact of the waves, spray, and general disorientation that prevents the breathing airways from functioning correctly. Researchers confirmed this general trend in a recent study where drowning fatalities were monitored in the Rocky Mountain Region, as shown in the table below ( source): Classification The tougher the water conditions, the greater the danger of flush drowning.

This repeated submersion eventually causes the fallen swimmer to lose consciousness and perish due to a lack of oxygen ( source).

If these conditions are severe enough, there’s a real possibility that fallen swimmers can succumb to flush drowning.Īs a quick reference, flush drowning describes a situation in which a fallen swimmer is moving downstream and continually being dunked underwater. Those that take an involuntary plunge into whitewater conditions are at the mercy of the waves or currents. Life jackets may be able to keep a person near the water’s surface, but they cannot fully protect against the rough side of Mother Nature. Rough Water Conditions Can Force Water Down Breathing Airways There are still several dangers that can affect even those that choose to wear a life jacket, which we will discuss below. Putting on a life jacket certainly helps to reduce drowning risk, but it doesn’t render it a non-factor. Unfortunately, many people are under the false notion that wearing a life jacket eliminates the possibility of drowning.

Will a life jacket keep you afloat