Drowning first aid: what to do in an emergency

First aid advice for drowning

If someone does get into difficulty while open water swimming, follow these steps:

Step 1. Do not put yourself at risk to save the person from drowning, or you risk drowning yourself.

Step 2. Once the person has been safely rescued from the water or liquid, check if they are breathing.

Tilt their head back - is their chest moving? Can you hear, see or feel them breathing? If the answer is no, they are not breathing.

Step 3. Tell someone to call 999.

If you are on your own, call 999 after you’ve spent one minute giving them rescue breaths and chest compressions. 

Step 4. Give five rescue breaths

Tilt their head back, seal your mouth over their mouth and pinch their nose. Blow five times into the person's mouth.

Step 5. Give 30 chest compressions by pushing firmly in the middle of their chest up and down.

Push the chest hard and fast at a regular rate of 2 pushes per second.

Step 6. If the person starts to show signs of responsiveness - they open their eyes, start breathing normally, make noise or cough - stop compressions and start treating them for hypothermia.

If the person shows no signs of responsiveness, continue giving breaths and chest compressions.

Step 7. When someone has been drowning, their lungs may be full of the liquid they were in.

In this situation, giving rescue breaths is especially important to provide them with oxygen. In this situation, they may become responsive again once the liquid is removed form their lungs.

For more detailed first aid advice explore our skills pages:

First aid advice for when an adult is unresponsive and breathing

First aid advice for when an adult is unresponsive and not breathing

First aid advice for when a child is unresponsive and breathing

First aid advice for when a child is unresponsive and not breathing

First aid advice for when a baby is unresponsive and breathing

First aid advice for when a baby is unresponsive and not breathing

Helpful information

Read more about water safety

Spot the signs of hypothermia

More advice on staying safe in hot weather and heatwaves