Essay On Drowning In Salt Water

Lab 2 For my conclusion I will write about the differences between people drowning in freshwater compared to people drowning in saltwater. When someone drowns it means that their lungs (respiratory system) has been blocked from receiving oxygen by a liquid. Majority of the time it is water that people drown in. “Drowning is the third most common cause of accidental death worldwide, accounting for 7% of all injury related deaths” (MedicineNet). Water is the most common way that people drown, but the two types of water that is common to Earth in masses are freshwater and saltwater. Both can drown you but in completely difference ways. Drowning in saltwater is not as dangerous as it counterpart due to how easily you can recover from it. When you breathe in saltwater it goes in the lungs and sits there. Because the salt concentration of saltwater is really high compared to the cells in the lungs the water does not pass through and into the cells. The water is hypertonic so for the body to reach equilibrium with saltwater, water from the blood cells are sent out into the lungs to balance everything out. When the blood stream is drained of water “the blood in the
“Even if you avoid drowning in it, you can die hours later just from breathing it in” (Chemistry.about.com). The reason for this is because the water is hypotonic. Saltwater could not enter into the lung cells because it was hypertonic to them, but since freshwater is hypotonic it can. When freshwater enters the lungs it instantly starts trying to equalize all the cells there. The lung cells can either fatten up or burst which causes significant damage to your health and can kill you. “Because capillaries in your lungs are exposed to the fresh water, water enters the bloodstream” (Chemistry.about.com). Freshwater is also hypotonic to red blood cells so it fattens and pops them as