Falling into a bucket of air conditioner wastewater, a 19-month-old baby turned purple and stopped breathing.

On May 21, the Pediatric Center - Bach Mai Hospital informed that it had just received the case of a 19-month-old girl who drowned after falling into a bucket of air-conditioning wastewater at the end of her house.

The patient's parents said that the child weighed about 12kg, was 90cm tall, and loved playing in water. The accident happened on the day when the family had guests, when no one was paying attention, the child went alone to the area with the water bucket. The water bucket was about 40-45cm high, 40cm wide at the mouth, and contained about 10-15cm of water.

The bucket of water the patient fell into (Photo: Family provided).

When the family could not find the baby, they ran out to look for him and discovered that he had fallen into a bucket of water, was purple and had stopped breathing. The father quickly held the baby upside down and shook him.

Immediately afterwards, the family performed CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. After about 5-7 minutes, the child vomited water and food and began breathing again, although still in a coma.

The family quickly took the child to the district hospital for emergency care. There, the child was intubated and given an oxygen bag to support his breathing and transferred to the Pediatric Center, Bach Mai Hospital.

Thanks to timely first aid, the baby is now out of danger (Photo: Nguyen Ha).

Specialist II Doctor Pham Cong Khac, Pediatric Center said that chest X-ray images showed signs of lung damage due to aspiration. The child was sedated, put on a ventilator, and actively resuscitated, and was no longer in critical condition.

According to Dr. Khac, the patient was very lucky because a family member was a medical worker, so he was able to provide timely first aid. This was an important factor in saving the child's life.

"In any case of respiratory arrest due to choking on water, it is necessary to immediately remove the victim from the danger zone, clear the airway, then perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions for the child," Dr. Khac recommends.

Accordingly, the child should be placed on a hard, flat, and stable surface. Keep the child's head tilted back and lift the chin to clear the airway. Next, perform 5 mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, then perform a cycle of 30 chest compressions followed by 2 mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Continue alternating chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until the child responds and begins breathing, and take the child to the emergency room immediately.

Note, when performing external chest compressions, do not press too hard on the chest to avoid damaging the ribs and lungs.

Dr. Khac warns that drowning accidents can happen to children in any situation if adults are negligent. The risk of drowning is not only in ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, but even water containers in the house such as basins, buckets, mini swimming pools, aquariums, etc. also pose risks to children.

Therefore, parents should never let children play alone near water, and should cover and store water containers high. Children should be supervised by adults when swimming. Do not leave water containers exposed, as children can fall into them, which is very dangerous.

When discovering a child drowning, absolutely do not turn the child upside down or carry the child on your shoulder and run around. This action can easily slow down the first aid process and cause further injury to the child. Instead, first aid should be performed by chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as instructed above.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/nga-vao-xo-chua-nuoc-thai-dieu-hoa-be-19-thang-tim-tai-ngung-tho-20250521154751809.htm