Drowning is completely preventable. There are approximately 1.2 million people that die each year. More than half of these are children; more than 200,000 of those children will die at their own homes, or the homes of family and friends. We can all prevent drowning by making sure that our children learn to swim and by taking a CPR Course. If they cannot, then we need to provide our children with additional life-saving equipment such as a life-vest. We can also prevent drowning by being vigilant while people are in water.
Drowning is caused when liquid enters the lungs and prevents us from taking in the air that we need. Everyone is at risk! Even for those of us that know how to swim. We should never swim alone because of the risk of drowning. There is no one out there that is exempt.
Our focus should always be on water! If friends, telephone, or anything else is distracting us, then get rid of the distraction. Politely tell whoever it is that they are distracting you, offer to have them assist you. Also, if you are the one in charge, stay away from alcohol and recreational drugs. Since both of these can have an effect on your awareness abilities.
If we are being vigilant either at work or at home, we can recognize the signs immediately. There are a few extremely noticeable signs; the person that waves their hands above their heads and the ones that yell for “Help!” Then there are the ones that bob up and down. They are bouncing off the bottom of where you are. They just aren’t able to get above water. I think this is one of the harder ones to recognize. This one can be especially hard since some of our kids like to play the “bobbing” game.
Once we have recognized the signs, react! Ask if the person is okay. If they say yes, watch them, they may not be okay in a few seconds. If it’s a child that is intentionally pretending that they are drowning, ask them to stop. Believe it or not, they will! If they don’t respond, jump in and get them! It is always better to rescue the person that doesn’t need rescuing than not to rescue the person that does. When you pull the person out of water, make sure that they are alright. They have probably swallowed quite a bit of water. The best way is to just observe and let them cough the water out. It is the body’s natural reaction.
Above all, make sure that you are checking the water on a regular basis. This works both at work and home. When at home, check the pool before the kids enter and when they leave. When at work, check the pool when you enter and when you leave. Make sure that there is nothing at the bottom of the pool. When in doubt, check it out! Constantly keep your eyes on water! At home, you know how many you started out with. Count them regularly. Getting up and walking around the pool, checking it out will also help. When at work, use what you have learned. Check the outlines of your water, working in, just make sure you are watching!