Drowning is a leading cause of death for children.
In the United States:
- More children ages 1–4 die from drowning than any other cause of death.
- For children ages 5–14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle crashes.1
While children are at highest risk, anyone can drown.
Every year in the United States there are an estimated:
- 4,000* fatal unintentional drownings—that is an average of 11 drowning deaths per day.
- 8,000† nonfatal drownings—that is an average of 22 nonfatal drownings per day.
Nonfatal drowning can result in long-term health problems and costly hospital stays.
- For every child under age 18 who dies from drowning, another 7 receive emergency department care for nonfatal drowning.1
- Nearly40% of drownings treated in emergency departments require hospitalization or transfer for further care (compared with 10% for all unintentional injuries).1
- Drowning injuries can cause brain damage and other serious outcomes, including long-term disability.3-5
What is drowning?
Drowning is the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid. Drowning is not always fatal.
Fatal drowning happens when the drowning results in death.
Nonfatal drowning happens when a person survives a drowning incident. Nonfatal drowning has a range of outcomes, from no injuries to very serious injuries such as brain damage or permanent disability.
