How Does a Dry Drowning Happen?
General Overview A dry drowning is a term that refers to the inability of a person’s lungs to extract oxygen from the air due to various reasons, including muscular paralysis, overdose of free water (i.e., drinking too much water, which causes excess fluid to enter the lung’s cells), breathing a gas other than oxygen for too long and a puncture wound to the torso. The term also refers to a type of “drowning” death that does not involve immersion in water or any other type of fluid. It can occur due to an illness or accident, and can even be induced through torture by repeated immersions of a person in water or any type of liquid. In cases of dry drowning when the victim has indeed been in water, very little fluid is found in the lungs during the autopsy. How It Happens Dry drowning is typically a result of a laryngospasm, which occurs due to an involuntary contraction of the laryngeal cords. The cords contract when they detect the entrance of water or some other type of liquid, which r
