Summer swimming: A pleasure and a danger

When the temperature goes up, there’s no better way to cool off quickly than to take a dip in a shimmering pool or glistening lake.

Summer and water go together, but unfortunately, so do summer and a sharp increase in the number of water-related deaths and injuries.

Drowning is the sixth leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States, numbering about 3,500 each year.

Eighty percent of drowning fatalities are male.

The rate is high among the 15 to 24 age group, but people of all ages fall victim to drowning, from infants to those over 85.

One in five drowning victims, however, is a child age 14 or younger, making drowning the second leading cause of injury-related death in this age group, particularly children ages 1 to 4.

It is possible for a young child to drown in as little as 1 inch of water, losing consciousness after two minutes of submersion. And for every child who dies from drowning, another four near-drowning victims are taken to the hospital. Survivors of near drowning can suffer debilitating and long-term neurological disabilities, in the most severe cases a permanent vegetative state.

Learn to swim

“The number one factor in staying safe in and around water is learning to swim,” said Janet Anzellotti, R.N., nursing supervisor with VNA Northwest, “but with young children constant supervision is essential, no matter how shallow the water or what level their swimming skills are.”

Data from the U .S. Consumer Product Safety Commission indicates that from 2001 to 2009, 40 percent of drowning deaths among children under age 2 occurred while the child was being supervised and 40 percent happened in a shallow wading pool.

“Often parents think they’re monitoring their children, but even a momentary distraction, such as going in the house to get something to drink or getting too involved with a laptop, can be deadly,” she continued. “It can take less than five minutes for a child to drown.”

Actually, children have drowned in pools where a number of adults were present. At pool parties, where both children and adults are guests, parents can be lulled into a false sense of safety, assuming that some adult will see a child in trouble in the water.

Even at a pool or lake where a lifeguard is on duty, it’s the parents’ responsibility to closely monitor their child. The lifeguard is not a babysitter and has many swimmers to watch over.

A particular danger is posed now by the new “portable” pools, fairly large, from 12 to 30 feet across, either inflatable or having a rigid frame.

Most owners of in-ground pools or permanent above-ground pools install secure fencing with a self-closing, self-locking gate.

“This is not the case with portable pools, which are very inexpensive and quick and easy to set up,” Anzellotti said. “Buyers of these pools may not consider them a great hazard, but they are.

They are too large to easily empty after each use and fencing would cost far more than the portable pool itself.”

In fact, a child drowns in a portable pool about every five days, according to a study by Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.

Consider your pet

Many dogs enjoy the water, but not all dogs are natural swimmers and face dangers that their owners would do well to keep in mind.

The weight of a sopping wet coat can drag a dog down,  and the slippery, muddy bank of a lake or pond can make it impossible for him to get out. And note that drinking lake or pool water can make your pet sick.

A dog can’t tell you when he’s too tired to go on, so a life jacket is as good an idea for your dog as it is for you and your child.

Be aware also of sharp rocks or shells that can cut his paws, strong currents and very cold water.

Remember, too, that puppies and older dogs tire very quickly.

Headquartered in Bantam, VNA Northwest (www.vnanw.org) provides home health care and hospice services to residents of 19 communities in northwestern Connecticut.

Writer Cyd Emmons is a communications consultant to not-for-profit organizations.