The importance of water safety

Drownings are listed as one of the foremost causes of unnatural death among children in South Africa. Many of these drownings could have been prevented through basic water safety education.

There are an estimated 2 000 fatal drownings in South Africa each year. Coastal drowning incidents mostly involve those aged 10 to 18 years, while inland the greatest number of incidents involves children between the ages of 2 and 8. For every child who dies from drowning, five are left with permanent brain damage as a result of the prolonged lack of oxygen which occurs during a near drowning. It takes only four minutes without oxygen for irreversible brain damage to occur.

Statistics reveal that:

60% of all drownings occur among children aged 1 to 4 years;
70% of all pool drownings occur in fully fenced pools;
90% of drownings occur while the child is under supervision; and
most drowning events are totally silent.

Because a small child can easily drown in only a few hundred millilitres of water, parents and childminders should be aware of the many water hazards in and around the home. Fish-ponds, water features, toilets, pets’ water bowls, boreholes and open drains are all potential threats.

Although teaching your child to swim is the most important safety measure, layering pool safety elements is as important as tending the security of your home.

Swimming pool safety:

A high-quality subsurface pool alarm will trigger a siren when your child enters the pool. The siren should be installed both indoors and around the pool area.
A pool fence that is approved by the SABS and is at least 1,5 metres high, should surround your pool. No climbing apparatus such as trees, jungle gyms or furniture should be near the pool fence. The gate should be lockable and could also be fitted with an alarm.
A properly fitted net should never sag below the pool’s surface under your child’s weight. Pool blankets or solid pool covers are hazards, as they often collect pools of water, or a child could suffocate under these.
Make sure that poolside rescue devices are within easy reach. These include rescue hooks that can be used by a non-swimmer in the event of a child falling into the pool, avoiding a double drowning tragedy of victim and would-be rescuer.
Children should never swim alone, and they should walk around the pool, rather than run, to prevent slipping. Pushing friends into the water or jumping on them might seem like fun, but these pranks can result in serious injuries.
Keep food and refreshments for after swimming — eating while swimming could result in choking.
Anyone responsible for looking after your children — including yourself — should learn to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Diving

Be cautious before deciding to dive into the water. Diving injuries can cause head injury, permanent spinal cord damage, paralysis, or death. You should only dive in areas that are known to be safe, such as the deep end of a supervised pool. A “No Diving” sign means the water isn’t safe for a head-first entry. Even if you plan to jump in feet first, check the water’s depth and make sure there are no hidden rocks or other hazards. Open bodies of water can be cloudy and hazards may be hard to see.

Open water

Many of us head for big bodies of water for the holidays. Swimming in a river, lake, or ocean differs from swimming in a pool in that you need more energy to handle the currents and other changing conditions in the open water. Most main beaches have signs indicating where it is safest to swim, and these areas are often monitored by lifeguards, making them your best choice. Always swim with a partner as even experienced swimmers can become tired or get muscle cramps.

If you do get swept away by a current, swim parallel to the beach, rather than fighting the current, until the current stops pulling you, at which time you can swim back to the shore.

The information contained in this article is of a general nature and is intended for informational purposes only.