Prepping for Water Safety

Hosted each May by a national coalition of water safety advocates (the American Red Cross, the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, the National Recreation and Park Association, the World Waterpark Association, and the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance), Water Safety Month is here!

With temperatures rising, there is no doubt that peak swimming season is about to be upon us. The campaign’s primary goal is to prevent drowning by reminding Americans how to be safer in, on, and around water. Join us in sharing the coalition’s important safety information to commemorate this year’s Water Safety Month.

Data on Water Injuries

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 12,000 drownings in the United States every year. Of these, 4,000 are fatal and 8,000 are nonfatal (it is important to note that cases of nonfatal drowning can result in serious injuries like brain damage or permanent disability).   Here are some additional facts on drownings and other water-related injuries from the CDC:

• Children between the ages of 1 and 4 die from drowning more than from any other cause.
• Drowning is the second leading cause of death (after car accidents) for children aged 5 to 14 years old.
• Most drownings in children 1 to 4 occur in swimming pools. It is also important to remember that drowning can happen even in situations where you do not expect children to be near water, like when they gain unsupervised access to pools.
• Nearly 80% of individuals who die from drowning are males.
• People with certain conditions, like a seizure disorder such as epilepsy, face higher risks for fatal and nonfatal drowning than the general population. Certain heart conditions are also associated with higher drowning risks.
• Not being able to swim or being a weak swimmer increases the risk of drowning.
• Drowning can happen in bathtubs, pools, lakes, oceans – even in buckets of water.
• Life jackets can prevent cases of fatal drowning. Of 658 total boating-related deaths in 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that 83% of people were not wearing life jackets.
• Drinking alcohol is also a major risk factor in cases of fatal and nonfatal drowning. For adolescents and adults, alcohol use is involved in up to 70% of deaths associated with water recreation, nearly 1 in 4 emergency department visits for drowning, and approximately 1 in 5 reported boating deaths.
• Certain medications increase a person’s risk of drowning.
• Places with heightened drowning risks by age group are pools with missing or ineffective fencing, bathtubs (for children under 1), home swimming pools (for children 1 to 4), natural water and swimming pools (for children ages 5 to 14-years-old), and in natural water like lakes, rivers, and oceans (for individuals age 15 and above).

Ways to Brush Up on Water Safety

Water safety is important for several reasons, but one of the most pressing ones is that things can turn deadly in just a moment. Being prepared and knowing what kinds of dangers to watch out for are some of the best protective measures a person can take. Preventable deaths happen every day, so learn what you can do to promote water safety for you and your loved ones. Check out the following recommendations from the American Red Cross:

• Know your limitations, which include swimming level, physical fitness, and medical conditions.
• Never swim alone! Swim in areas where lifeguards or water watchers are present.
• Wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket appropriate for your weight and size and water activity. Always wear a life jacket while boating, regardless of your swimming skills.
• Always swim sober.
• Understand the dangers of hyperventilation and hypoxic blackout. Hyperventilation is breathing that is excessively rapid and deep, often described as “over-breathing”. A hypoxic blackout is the loss of consciousness underwater due to a lack of oxygen, often resulting from breath holding or hyperventilation.
• Know how to call for help.
• Understand and adjust to the unique risks of the water environment you are in, which includes factors such as river current, ocean rip currents, shallow or unclear water, water temperature, and underwater hazards, like vegetation and animals.
• Make sure you are prepared for any water environment that you may encounter by learning how to perform these five swimming skills: being able to enter water that is over your head and then return to the surface, float or tread in water for at least one minute, turn over and turn around in water, swim at least 25 yards, and exit the water.
• Know CPR and first aid.
• Pay especially close attention to children or weaker swimmers who you are supervising or are near water. Know the signs of drowning (such as being silent, having a head low in the water with their mouth at water level, and having glassy or empty eyes) and know the ways to safely assist them, like: ”reach or throw, don’t go!”

To learn more ways to prevent drowning and access useful water safety resources from the American Red Cross and a consortium of other national agencies, please visit: https://www.watersafetyusa.org/water-competency.html. If you or a loved one sustained a preventable water-related injury and you have a legal question or concern, someone at our firm can help. Contact a representative online now.

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Contact the Philadelphia personal injury attorneys at Galfand Berger LLP today. Call us at 800-222-USWA (8792) or fill out our online form for a free consultation. Located in Philadelphia, Bethlehem, Lancaster, and Reading, we serve clients throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Allentown and Harrisburg.