How to prevent drowning

Here are some tips and advice from ER24 on how to prevent drowning and what to do in case someone is drowning:

• A child should never be allowed to swim or left around water without adult supervision.
• Children should wear a life jacket if they cannot swim.
• Keep your pool covered with an approved cover when not in use.
• At the ocean, swim in the designated areas and don’t swim too far out.
• When participating in water sports, such as boating, tubing or rafting, always wear a life jacket.
• Never dive or jump into unfamiliar or shallow water.
• If you’re at the beach and you see someone drowning, alert a lifeguard immediately.
  If you decide to save the person yourself, ensure you wear a floatation device.
• If a person is saved from drowning, CPR should be initiated if there is no pulse or breathing, until the victim starts to breath.
• Call for an ambulance rather than taking the victim to the hospital yourself.
• In case of a near drowning, medical attention should still be given, in case secondary drowning occurred, where water may find its way to the lungs.