Breath-holding games are killing swimmers

As more adults and kids head to swimming pools to beat the scorching heat, health officials are warning about accidental drownings from underwater breath-holding games and exercises. Whether as horseplay or part of swim training, “dangerous underwater breath-holding behaviours” can lead to healthy swimmers losing consciousness underwater and drowning, warns a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“When we think of people drowning, what usually comes to mind are people who don’t know how to swim,” said Dr Peter Wernicki, medical advisor to the United States Lifesaving Association.

Breath-holding contests are a common cause of this type of drowning, health officials said in the CDC’s May 22 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Swimmers try to hold their breath for as long as possible, usually remaining motionless. But other swimmers drown as a result of training drills aimed at improving their fitness, according to the report from Christopher Boyd, of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and colleagues.

“Kids hyperventilate — they take 10 quick breaths — because they think they can get more air into their lungs,” Wernicki said. “But by doing that, you blow off all of your carbon dioxide, and that’s the gas that actually makes you want to breathe, when levels in your bloodstream become elevated.”