Pool suction-drain injury

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Pool suction drain injury, also known as suction entrapment, occurs when the drain of a wading pool, swimming pool, hot tub, or fountain sucks in a swimmer's jewelry, torso, limbs, hair or buttocks. Evisceration, also known as disembowelment, could happen in case of buttock entrapment.

Contents

A standard 8 inches (20 cm) main drain can develop up to 350 pounds (160 kg) of force, which could hold a person underwater in tight grip until the suction is released. This can drown the entrapped person, despite the rescue efforts of multiple adults. [1]

One way to make drains safer is to install shut-off valves and dome-shape drains that are less likely to create a suction effect with the human body, as required in the United States by the 2007 Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. [2]

Notable cases

United States

Egypt

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References

  1. Dumas, Bob (October 2003). "Troubled Waters". Pool and Spa News. Los Angeles: Hanley Wood LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15.
  2. 1 2 "'She Died in My Arms': A Mother's Mission for Safe Pools". ABC News. July 23, 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  3. "$30.9 MILLION FOR GIRL DISEMBOWELED IN POOL DRAIN MAKER: COVER WAS INSTALLED WRONG". Associated Press. January 15, 1997. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  4. "Girl dies 9 months after horrific pool injury". NBC News. March 21, 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  5. Bever, Lindsey (2021-10-26). "How a child survived eight terrifying minutes trapped underwater" . Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on Jan 22, 2021.
  6. Mikolay, Anne (June 8, 2020). "The Unbelievable Story of Salma Bashir". Atlantic Highlands Herald. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  7. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/girl-whose-insides-were-sucked-from-body-while-sitting-on-pool-suction-defies-medical-odds/ar-AAY7qFO#:~:text=After%20raising%20%24300%2C000%20and%20waiting,large%20intestines%20and%20gall%20bladder. Archived 2023-05-06 at the Wayback Machine