What Is 'Dry Drowning?' 4-Year-Old Girl Nearly Dies After Swallowing Pool Water

A four-year-old Florida girl nearly died in a freak accident after swallowing pool water. Elianna Grace was recently hospitalized for a case of "dry drowning" after an incident while playing in her grandparent's pool with a "pool noodle."

According to Elianna's mother Lacey Grace, her daughter's game in the pool turned out to be really dangerous. Lacey is now urging parents to be careful when their children are playing in the pool.

"Elianna was playing with a pool noodle and someone would swim by and someone would spray her back when she wasn't looking," Lacey said. "She just happened to put her mouth on the noodle when someone else was picking it up to spray her and didn't realize she was on the other end and pretty forcefully put the water down her mouth."

The incident took place on April 14 but Elianna did not show any sign of bad health until four days after. The toddler appeared to be slowly suffering from "dry drowning" or "secondary drowning," the mother said.

Elianna had fever and "started shaking real bad, her skin was purple, her heart was racing, her oxygen level was dropping," Lacey said. She was taken to the urgent care from where she was admitted to the emergency room, where doctors found that her lungs were swollen and infected.

"You know your kid better than anybody else," Lacey said. "So I knew something was wrong. I just didn't realize it was going to be that bad."​

Elianna reportedly fought for her life for days before she recently showed signs of recovery.

According to a GoFundMe page set up for the medical cost of the child, Elianna Elianna was diagnosed with chemical pneumonitis, aspiration pneumonia and perihilar edema. By early Tuesday, the account had raised more than $2,000 toward its $15,000 goal.

"If your child swallows/inhales a bunch of water, and something seems off at all, I encourage you to immediately get help. I wonder if I would have taken her Monday, would she be better off?? And I wonder if I waited longer what would have happened. It’s so scary," Lacey said warning parents about "dry drowning."

What is "dry drowning"?

Dry drowning occurs when someone takes in a small amount of water through the nose and/or mouth. This causes a spasm in the airway, causing it to close up. When the water gets into the lungs and causes inflammation or swelling, it leads to secondary drowning. In some cases, signs of distress do not show immediately after leaving the water. Symptoms include coughing, rapid shallow breathing, nostril flaring, sleepiness, vomiting, nausea and change in behavior. To avoid an incident, supervision is required when a child is in water.