Rip Currents are one of the leading causes for deaths related to swimming in the ocean at the beach.
How to prevent drowning
The main reasons someone could drown
even with a life jacket on are:
A) Mouth immersions : these represent the situation in which your mouth is open and water is forcefully entering in your stomach & your LUNGS. It is very common for people to have this happen to them while out at sea or ocean / river because the currents are more powerful and while gasping for air, you could be getting water in your lungs.
B) Unconsciousness: If the person wearing a life jacket, sustains head injury and is incapacitated it could prove fatal to him/her. Say you hit your head and black out for a minute or so, on dry land. What happens next? Maybe you suffer from some mild form of a concussion. In water? Deadly.
C) Impairment: if you get trapped underwater it’s highly possible that you drown even with a life jacket on, because you’ll have minimum access to air if none. In 20–30 seconds that can be fatal. Most people resist 45 secs underwater IF CALM & NOT PANICKED. Try that while being stuck and trying to release yourself from under a rock that trapped your canoe or a branch that got you stuck just below the water surface. You have moments before you lose what little air you have in your lungs.
Always be aware of the course you’re charting on water, have a tool with you, like a multipurpose knife, keep your life jacket safely strapped on, and always be mindful of waves, currents.
www.quora.com/How-could-you-drown-with-a-life-jacket-on
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