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Sticking to good water safety practises is crucial for preventing drownings and other water-related injuries. Understanding the risks associated with different water environments and activites, and learning how to mitigate them, can save lives and ensure enjoyable water activities.
By following the guidelines and being aware of the risks, you can help protect yourself and others from water-related dangers. Prioritizing supervision, swimming skills, the use of life jackets, CPR training, and awareness of different water environments can significantly reduce the risk of water-related incidents.
Key Water Safety Tips
Supervise Children
Always supervise children closely when they are in or near water. Never leave them unattended, even for a moment. Designate a responsible adult to watch over bathers and swimmers.
Swimming Skills
Ensure everyone in the family knows how to swim. Enroll in swimming lessons if necessary. Basic swimming skills can significantly reduce the risk of drowning.
Life Jackets
Use life jackets, especially for young children and weak swimmers. Ensure they are properly fitted and approved by safety standards. Life jackets are essential for boating and water sports.
Learn CPR
Being trained in CPR can save lives in emergencies. Quick action is crucial in drowning situations. Local community centers and organizations often offer CPR training courses.
Learn proper water rescue routines
In addition to basic CPR, it is a good idea to learn proper water rescue procedures. This is especially important in conditions where the rescuer may be at risk of drowning too if procedures are not adhered to.
Water Awareness
Understand the specific dangers of different water environments, such as pools, lakes, rivers, and oceans. Be aware of currents, waves, and weather conditions. Avoid swimming in unfamiliar areas without proper knowledge of potential hazards.
Safety Tips for Various Water Environments
Pools
- Install barriers: Fences with self-latching gates can prevent unsupervised access to pools.
- Use pool covers and alarms: These provide additional layers of safety.
- Always supervise swimmers: Even strong swimmers can face unexpected difficulties.
Natural Bodies of Water
- Currents and tides: Be cautious of strong currents and changing tides, which can be dangerous even for experienced swimmers.
- Swim with a buddy: Avoid swimming alone to ensure help is available in case of an emergency.
- Wear life jackets: Essential for non-swimmers and when engaging in water activities such as waterskiing and jetski riding.
Boating Safety
- Wear life jackets: Everyone in the boat should wear a life jacket at all times.
- Follow boating regulations: Adhere to local boating laws and guidelines to ensure safety.
- Boat maintenance: Make sure the boat and any equipment, e.g. the motor, is in good condition.
Emergency Preparedness
Emergency Contacts
Keep a list of emergency contacts handy, including local emergency services, poison control, and nearby friends or family who can assist in an emergency. It can be a good idea to create one or more water proof laminated sheets with this information. Do not rely on always having access to your own phone; it is advisable to store emergency numbers somewhere else too in case you lose your phone or can´t access the information in it.
First Aid Kit
Have a well-stocked first aid kit accessible. Include items such as bandages, antiseptic wipes, and emergency contact information.
Learn more about drowning
Learn how to spot if someone is drowning
In many cases, a person drowning will not behave in the manner we are used to seeing in the movies, i.e. a person flaying their arms around, visibly panicking and loudly screaming “Help me, I´m drowning!” Instead, a person struggling not to drown will often go undetected unless you know which signals to look for.
Here are a few examples of things that are good to know:
- It is common for a person who is drowning to not be able to shoot or even speak. In many cases, their mouth is sinking below water, they push themselves up just enough to gasp for air, and then they sink down again.
- It is common for a person who is drowning to not trash or wave. Instead, their arms are often out to the side or in front of them, as they desperately try to “paddle” themselves up to the surface to gasp for air.
- Always react if a person seems to have difficulty keeping their head above the water, even if they do come up for gasps of air.
- A person being upright in the water while pressing their arms against their sides is a warning sign.
Learn about dry drowning and secondary drowning
Dry drowning and secondary drowning are not medical terms, but they are used in everyday English to denote two rare complications that can occur after a drowning incident. Both are more common in children than in adults.
Dry-drowning occurs when breathing in water causes the vocal cords to spasm and close up. This closes the airways and makes it hard or impossible to breathe. Thus, the person can be out of the water, but unable to breathe. When dry-drowning occurs, it is usually something that happens soon after the inhalation of water.
Secondary drowning is a bit more tricky to spot, because the first symptoms might not be present until several hours after the incident. Secondary drowning is the result of water getting into the lungs. If the water irritates the lung lining, fluid can begin to build up, resulting in pulmonary edema. This is a gradual process and you are not likely to notice any symptoms in the person right after the incident. Instead, it is common for symptoms to gradually worsen over 24 hours of more. Examples of symptoms of secondary drowning are trouble breathing, coughing, chest pain, irritability, and becoming very tired. They brain is getting oxygen, but not enough.
When a person has been in a seemingly mild drowning incident, but may have inhaled water, it is important to keep an eye on that person for 24 hours and make sure they receive medical care if any symptoms occur. For more serious drowning incidents, medical attention should be sought right away.