Scary Warning From Mom of Kid's "Secondary Drowning" Incident

"When we got the results back my heart sank", a mom of a young boy wrote.

A mom on Facebook wrote a scary warning to other parents about something that can happen after their kid goes into the pool. It is called Secondary Drowning and it happens 24 - 48 hours after a child goes into a pool and can result in death.

What is secondary drowning?

Sometimes it is also called dry drowning. It is a complication after a kid either ingests too much water for too long and it into their lungs or had a close call with drowning. It is important to note that this is very rare, but the parents on Facebook thought it was very important information.

IMPORTANT: Every kid swallows a few gulps of water here or there in the swimming pool. This is not going to cause secondary drowning.

Kids swallow water all the time and that is not something that is going to cause an aspiration event. When I get concerned is when there is a submersion event for longer than 30 seconds", said Dr. Kristin Stukus from the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.

Here is what to look for 24 - 48 hours after an incident in the pool:

- coughing

- vomiting

- fever

- lethargy

- difficulty breathing

- chest pain

- irritability

- trouble speaking

One mom on Facebook, Bethanni Ann Murphy, took to social media to warn other parents of this and tell the story of their son. You can take a look at her Facebook post below.

Knox had aspirated pool water into his lung and it was so apparent on the X-ray. Because we caught it so early, we are one of the lucky ones. We were able to immediately start antibiotics that most likely saved his life. By 48 hours a child can need to be on a ventilator, and longer than that the results can be even worse.