A CONCEPTUAL STUDY OF DROWNING AND ITS MEDICOLEGAL ASPECTS

Drowning is a mode of asphyxial death due to aspiration of water or other fluid into respiratory tract. For death it is not necessary that the whole body is submerged in the liquid, it is sufficient if the face and nostrils are sub- merged in the liquid. Drowning in India is mostly suicidal attempted by non swimmer. Acidental drowning oc- curs commonly. Drowningis a major cause of accidental death worldwide, with the highest rates among children. About 1, 50, 000 person die from drowning each year around the world. In 2015 approximate 3,60,000 deaths from drowning have recorded. It is 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury related death, accounting for 7% of all injury related death. Medico-legal aspect of drowning is very important to know whether death was caused by drowning, whether drowning is ante-mortem or post-mortem etc.