Drowning Deaths
As people get ready for summer fun, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning of drowning deaths in inflatable pools and reminding parents and caregivers to take critical steps that will help protect children from drowning hazards.
There are about 280 drowning deaths of children younger than five each year in swimming pools, and an estimated 2,100 children were treated in hospital emergency rooms for pool submersion injuries in 2005 - mostly in residential pools, the federal agency reports.
The agency says there were 17 drowning deaths involving inflatable pools in 2005, up from nine in 2004 and 10 in 2003, and also cautioned about barriers necessary to help protect children from the dangers of pools. Any size pool, from a small inflatable unit to larger pools, presents a danger of drowning, the CPSC said in a press release.
To reduce the risk of drowning, the agency recommends "layers of protection," such as a fence with self-closing, self-latching gates completely surrounding pools, to prevent unsupervised access by young children. If the house forms a side of the barrier, the CPSC suggests use of alarms on doors leading to the pool area or a power safety cover over the pool.
It is important to always be prepared for an emergency by having rescue equipment and a phone near the pool, and all parents should learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), according to the agency.
"Many drowning deaths occur when young children are not expected to be near the pool area." In description of a CPSC study, almost 70 percent of the victims were last seen in the house or nearby on a porch or in the yard before the incident.
"Drowning can occur in the few minutes it takes to answer the phone. About 77 percent of the victims had been missing for 5 minutes or less when they were found. Precious time is often wasted looking for missing children anywhere but in the pool." >Since every second counts, always look for a missing child in the pool first, the agency says.
"Parents may think that if their child falls in the water, they will hear lots of splashing and screaming, and that they will be able to come to the rescue. Many times, however, children slip under the water silently."
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