Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler? • Hacker News Board

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#71

Post by simias » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:13 PM UTC

mnw21cam wrote: post #61

SmellTheGlove wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it does. Lifeguards will tell you it's part of their training. It may be non-PC, but the statistics say that when you're watching the water, African-American children are more likely to drown. I don't know if it's specifically African American children, or black children (of any origin) in general. I've heard it's socioeconomic - potentially less likely to be able to swim, but I'm not sure honestly. If you're wa…

One of the things I was taught mumble years ago was that black people tend to have more dense fast twitch muscle, while white people tend to have less dense slow twitch muscle. Hence, white people float more easily, and black people dominate the 100m sprint. We did an experiment where we would cannonball the swimming pool and see who floated. Admittedly, the amount of air you have in your lungs affects your buoyancy…

As I replied in a sibling comment regardless of whether those biological traits have a real impact or not I don't think it's particularly relevant in this context.

Maybe nature will prevent a black person from reaching Michael Phelps-levels of swimming proficiency but I don't think it would prevent anybody from learning natation 101.

I don't think I'll ever win the 100m sprint at the olympics but I can definitely run 100m and probably faster than the average black person too.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#72

Post by overcast » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:15 PM UTC

kyrra wrote: post #14

nerdponx wrote: post #2

This is approaching Star Trek levels of medicine. Congratulations to the team who discovered and pull this off, and of course my heart goes out to the family and their child. Drowning is very serious and very scary. Edit: somewhat unrelated since this girl fell into an unattended pool, but it's important to know the signs of drowning, which are not what you see in movies: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-spot-signs…

Useful site to see what drowning looks like. http://spotthedrowningchild.com

I swear, there is a website for EVERYTHING.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#73

Post by quotha » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:16 PM UTC

slr555 wrote: post #48

Drowning is from a medical standpoint more complex than the simple notion I grew up with which was in essence "water fills your lungs so you can't breathe air". In fact drowning does not require filling the lungs completely. Even a volume of a few milliliters/Kilogram of body weight is enough to cause drowning. Additionally, drowning can cause serious damage to the lungs themselves even if the patient survives initia…

Have you heard of dry drowning? It can happen after exposure to water: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_drowning

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#74

Post by tokenizerrr » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:17 PM UTC

SmellTheGlove wrote: post #52

gambiting wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it matter in any way? Is it even a fact worth observing?

Yes, it does. Lifeguards will tell you it's part of their training. It may be non-PC, but the statistics say that when you're watching the water, African-American children are more likely to drown. I don't know if it's specifically African American children, or black children (of any origin) in general. I've heard it's socioeconomic - potentially less likely to be able to swim, but I'm not sure honestly. If you're wa…

Not just African Americans I'm sure. People from Suriname etc as well. It's okay to just say black.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#75

Post by rayiner » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:21 PM UTC

Sleeep wrote: post #65

nerdponx wrote: post #2

This is approaching Star Trek levels of medicine. Congratulations to the team who discovered and pull this off, and of course my heart goes out to the family and their child. Drowning is very serious and very scary. Edit: somewhat unrelated since this girl fell into an unattended pool, but it's important to know the signs of drowning, which are not what you see in movies: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-spot-signs…

Also be aware of "dry drowning," it's incredibly rare but worth knowing it exists and it's symptoms if you or anyone you are caring for has a near drowning episode. http://www.parents.com/kids/safety/outdoor/dry-drowning/ " Any child pulled from the pool needs medical attention ," says Dr. Berchelmann. "At the very least, call the pediatrician."

https://dockatevaccineblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/18/dry-drow....

Our daughter was coughing after swimming in a river a few weeks ago, and my mother in law found the dry drowning stuff on the internet. I was like "dry drowning doesn't exist," but we called a nursing hotline which told us to go to the ER. The doctor checked out the kid, then asked us for the number of the nursing hotline so she could yell at them for sending parents to the ER over a condition that doesn't exist.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#76

Post by Jare » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:22 PM UTC

madilonts wrote: post #55

astalwick wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> However, don't forget that when a baby is left unsupervised and is submerged in a pool for 15 minutes, it's called neglect. Whoa there, slow down. Kids are quick. One moment, your three kids are happily watching Finding Dory on the tv, while you're making dinner. The next, only two are: the third has quietly wandered off. Unless you know the particulars, be very careful about tossing around words like 'neglect'.

Yeah, I realized that would be a controversial statement, and modified it to be a little less so. However, I have a 2 and a 3 year-old. And I would consider it my fault if they wandered into a freezing pool.

Of course, most of us would do that to ourselves. But calling it "neglect" to someone else is a different thing.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#77

Post by dpark » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:22 PM UTC

madilonts wrote: post #55

astalwick wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> However, don't forget that when a baby is left unsupervised and is submerged in a pool for 15 minutes, it's called neglect. Whoa there, slow down. Kids are quick. One moment, your three kids are happily watching Finding Dory on the tv, while you're making dinner. The next, only two are: the third has quietly wandered off. Unless you know the particulars, be very careful about tossing around words like 'neglect'.

Yeah, I realized that would be a controversial statement, and modified it to be a little less so. However, I have a 2 and a 3 year-old. And I would consider it my fault if they wandered into a freezing pool.

"Your fault" and "neglect" are very different things. Accidents happen and accusing someone of neglect every time there's an accident is ridiculous.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#78

Post by mholmes680 » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:24 PM UTC

Sleeep wrote: post #65

nerdponx wrote: post #2

This is approaching Star Trek levels of medicine. Congratulations to the team who discovered and pull this off, and of course my heart goes out to the family and their child. Drowning is very serious and very scary. Edit: somewhat unrelated since this girl fell into an unattended pool, but it's important to know the signs of drowning, which are not what you see in movies: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-spot-signs…

Also be aware of "dry drowning," it's incredibly rare but worth knowing it exists and it's symptoms if you or anyone you are caring for has a near drowning episode. http://www.parents.com/kids/safety/outdoor/dry-drowning/ " Any child pulled from the pool needs medical attention ," says Dr. Berchelmann. "At the very least, call the pediatrician."

since i first heard of dry drowning earlier this summer, i haven't been able to enjoy a pool with my 1 and 2 year olds. It's taken the place of SIDS for me.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#79

Post by melling » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:27 PM UTC

toxican wrote: post #17

melling wrote: post #3

No, not really. You're making a hyperbolic statement. I've been watching Star Trek for 40 years. We're definitely still in the Dark Ages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMaGnpVaSGQ

Just to be pedantic, isn't referring to where we're at now as "the dark ages" equally hyperoblic?

It's a quote from the Star Trek movie clip. We are starting to believe that we have "Star Trek" like medicine, but we're no where near what they did in the movies/series.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#80

Post by bluesroo » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:29 PM UTC

timcamber wrote: post #26

This is amazing. Does anyone think the cold temperature of the water (5C) had anything to do with the feasibility of recovery? I don't necessarily have a reason to think it would be beneficial or not, just a thought that crossed my mind. I don't think it was mentioned in the article.

I remember reading this story from a couple years ago: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/03/union_cou...

Apparently if a child is very young, the water is extremely cold, and everyone involved is extremely lucky then crazy stuff can happen. (Un?)Fortunately this isn't something that happens often enough that we can get a lot of data on how the body can recover from stuff like this.