As some of us are about to do first-aid refresher training, I thought I might circulate this technical report (shared with me by my friend, Vaughan Mason - paramedic and first aid instructor):
www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(19)30117-6/pdf
My attention was drawn in particular to the paragraph about "evacuation". It says:
Any patient who is asymptomatic (other than a mild cough) and displays normal lung auscultation [sounds] may be considered for release from the scene. Ideally, another individual should be with them for the next 4 to 6 h to monitor for symptom development or the patient should be advised to seek medical assistance if symptoms develop.
This reminded me of an incident I witnessed a couple of years ago when a kayaker had a scary and genuinely life-threatening experience at Wicklow Head and was concerned about "secondary drowning" and how rapidly or otherwise it could develop. This report disapproves of the terms "dry" and "secondary" drowning, but indicates that the period of concern is 6 hours.
