9 month old slipped underwater in the bath

[redstripeyelephant]

DH was bathing 9mo and 3yo this evening. He says he just popped to the bedroom to grab a towel, when he came back 9mo was underwater on her back flailing

First I heard was him shouting and both kids crying upstairs so I ran up. Baby was crying but otherwise seemed ok, I fed her and she calmed down.

Once she had settled and got pyjamas on etc she seemed fine, smiling and went to bed as normal, but I keep stressing and going in to check on her. Will she be ok? Are there any signs I should look out for that something isn't right?

I remember reading about something called 'dry drowning' on here a while back and now I am stressing myself out about it

I am sure she will be fine. Very frightening for you and shows how quickly this can happen.
What did your DH say- I'd've given him a rocket for leaving them alone in the bath!

ps, if worried at all, ring GP/NHS DIRECT

I'm sure she'll be fine, but do google dry drowning and see what the symptoms are- I had a similar thing happen (although I was in the bathroom at the time) and one of the things IIRC was the breathing- so I checked on DD for few hours to see she didn't breath too fast/ noisily.

And do give your DH a huge telling off for leaving a 9mo in a bath alone - it's a big no no, even for a moment.

Oh what a shock for you

Don't start googling, you'll scare yourself silly. If she was flailing she was fully conscious and I'm sure she will be absolutely fine.

If you are really worried, the phenomenon you are thinking of causes laboured breathing up to several hours after the immersion. For your own peace of mind, check on her every couple of hours.

But she will be FINE.

x-post with winnybella

If you DO google, you are looking for 'secondary drowning'. Not 'dry drowning'.

I am not sure she will be fine.

What the fuck was your dh thinking?

I think you should call NHS direct and/or go to A&E. I don't mean to panic you, but that's what I would do.

Do you know what signs to look out for?

He was so shaken up about it I didn't have the heart to have a go at him. He says he still feels sick just thinking about it and I know he'll certainly never do it again.

I tried to google things like 'what to do if child slips underwater' but just found lots of news stories about babies drowning in the bath so I had to stop, it just doesn't bear thinking about what could have happened.

Phone NHS direct and get proper medical advice.

• Difficulty in breathing.

  • Experience pain in the chest while breathing.
    There you go. I guess things you would need to watch out for in a 9mo would be colour of the skin, coughing, laboured or fast breathing.

  • Sudden change in mood of children after the incidence of water intake.

  • Confusion is witnessed in children.

  • Dry drowning affects the child with abnormally lack of energy, tiredness and increased agitation.

  • Change in skin color like pale, blue or grayish.

  • Difficulty in deciphering, unable to express feeling or say anything correctly.

  • Don?t ignore child?s sweaty skin, cough, cry or rubbing eye after the incidence.

  • Shallow breathing also indicates that child at risk

  • Try to count breathing pulse for fifteen seconds and multiply it with four. If it is over twenty respiration per minute, is a red flag for dry drowning.

Sorry, post went a bit weird- there you go...etc is me

thanks for the advice, I decided to call NHS Direct and they said as she's not showing any signs of breathing difficulties/vomiting etc it's non-urgent, but someone will call back within 8-10 hours But at least it's put my mind at rest! I'll check on her every couple of hours in the night just to make sure though.

thanks winnybella, x-posted there! That's a great list of things to look out for, more than I've been able to find.