A man performs CPR in a class from the Ozarks Red Cross. Note that his elbows are straight, not bent like they are on TV. This allows for more force as you lean over the victim.

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Although I’ve never had to perform CPR on a drowning victim, I’ve done it on others. And I can tell you, it’s a little more complicated and messy than what you what you see on TV. There, the victims almost always make it. Just a little light chest pressing, maybe a push or two on the stomach, then, when all hope seems lost, the person suddenly spits out a gob of water, and that’s that.

In real life, for one thing, you’ve really got to press hard on the chest—much harder than any live actor is going to stand for. For another, it’s not only water that comes up. About eighty percent of near-drowning victims vomit at some point during the resuscitation. Bet you’re not going to see that on the next version of Baywatch.

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