We are all very aware of the multitudes of residents flocking to the public swimming pools and regardless of your age or ability to swim, cautionary steps need to be taken.

So whether it’s a chill-day around the pool or a fishing trip to the river, here are the dos and don’ts.

According to the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa, drowning is the third leading cause of accidental deaths. Approximately, half of drowning accidents occur in and around buckets, bathtubs and swimming pools. The majority of drowning victims fall between the age groups of 5 years and younger, or 15 to 25 years.

While it is deemed as common sense to not leave an infant alone around a body of water, older children are not necessarily risk-free.

Statistics have shown that drowning incidents among older children or adults are often a result of head and spinal injuries or high alcohol consumption.

The status quo surrounding these facts remains the same.

As far as pool parties go, adult supervision is crucial. Large crowds around a swimming pool can easily lead to injury as a result of horseplay.

For adults, it’s easy to remember that dunking each other in close proximity to pool edges, diving into the shallow-end or running around the pool is unsafe. To children at play, however, these dangers are an afterthought. Remember to remind your children of the dangers these actions pose.

Sitting on the pool step with a cold beverage in hand is a nice way to start off your Saturday but swimming while intoxicated can be life-threatening, especially in the ocean.

What to do when someone drowns:

According to Netcare 911, the following procedures need to be taken when tending to a drowning casualty:

• Get the victim out of the water as soon as possible, but do not become a victim yourself. Make sure it is safe for you to enter the water first.

• Handle the victim with care. Many submersion incidents are associated with neck injuries, so keep movement to the back and neck to a minimum.

• Assess to see if the victim is awake by asking, “Hello, can you hear me?”

• Check for breathing by looking at the chest for no longer than 10 seconds. If the victim is not breathing or not breathing normally (i.e. gasping), call for immediate medical assistance.

• Call, or have someone call, a recognised medical emergency service provider as soon as possible. Whoever calls for the ambulance must give the dispatcher an accurate location of the incident and a contact number at the scene. Never hang up on the operator and always return to the rescuer to inform them that you have called for help.

• If the victim is not breathing, immediately start CPR, beginning with chest compressions. Keep doing CPR at a ratio of 30 chest compressions, and then 2 breaths.
CPR is vital, even if it is an amateur administering it. Keep on doing it until someone who is trained in advanced life support arrives and can take over.

• All parents should learn how to administer child CPR as it differs from adult CPR. All people can benefit from CPR training – it is not a difficult skill to learn.

• Having multiple layers of safety, such as a certified safety net, a fence with locked gate, a child-minder and a surface alarm around the pool and spa areas at home or around other open bodies of water, can prevent accidents and drowning.

Know your local emergency response units’ contact details:

Keep a list of emergency response units in a visible location and make sure that your child knows where the list is. It is a nifty idea to include the following numbers, the local fire department, the ambulance service being used by your network provider (in case of medical aid), your provincial ambulance services, should you not have medical aid, your family doctor, and your local police station.

• To those families who are heading to the coast for the coming festive season, familiarise yourself with the local hospitals or their National Sea Rescue Institutions.

(Did you know? www.mobserver.co.za has a list of all your local emergency response numbers on our website! To view them, click on the link below.)

https://www.citizen.co.za/middelburg-observer/community-toolbox/emergency-numbers/#more-810

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