My whole life I’ve been told that if you fall asleep in the bath then you’ll drown, or something. But is this true? I’m a grown ass adult I think I’d just wake up if my head fell under water
My whole life I’ve been told that if you fall asleep in the bath then you’ll drown, or something. But is this true? I’m a grown ass adult I think I’d just wake up if my head fell under water
Yes, a person can drown in as little as 2 inches of water.
But do you drown instantly? Surely as soon as you got water in your throat you’d wake up and start coughing or something
The cautionary stories came about with the era of bored housewives who drank heavily and took pretty heavy prescription drugs…
But they were also wealthy so rather than say OD or suicide they “fell asleep” in the bath.
And I’m sure more than a few murders got wrote off as the same thing. A housewife that habitually passes out deeply could just got tossed in the tub.
Because like you said, no sober person is staying asleep till they drown.
But people hear the cover story and believe it, so they warn people about something that just won’t happen
Very interesting take. I think you might be onto something. Similar to the concept of ‘fan death’ in Korea. I’ve heard it’s often the go-to cause of death when the real cause of death is considered embarrassing or shameful
Nowadays you “died doing a tiktok challenge” and then your parents launch a legal case against tiktok and advocate for the Online Safety Act to lend credence to their story
Possibly, but you might just pass out and drown. Theres also something called Dry Drowning where you get enough water in your lungs that you slowly suffocate, even when not in the water any more. Its about minimizing risks. Sleeping in the tub increases your risk of drowning.
Okay thats fair enough. Does inhaling water generally make people pass out?
Lack of oxygen does
Paradoxically it’s only build up of CO2 or foriegn matter, including water that will wake someone up. Hypoxia makes it more likely to pass out and drown.
Yup, that’s one reason nitrous oxide is so dangerous. You can suffocate without even realizing.
I guess if you get some water in your lungs it might make sense that you struggle to get enough oxygen. I guess it depends on how deep of an inhale you take before you notice and start to wake up
I’m sure the sleeping in the bath problem would be a sudden awakening when you take your first gulp of water…but a person who’s had a lot to drink may not wake up
Yeah thats why I’m so sceptical of this whole thing. Like, wouldn’t you just wake up before drowning?
Yes. Your body would panic immediately.
Dry drowning… That shit is low key terrifying
Or less. All it has to do is cover your mouth and nose.