Drowning Prevention

I’m one of the most paranoid people I know around water. It’s why even though it’s a chilly January in Southern California my 4 year old just returned from her weekly swimming lesson. When she’s out there splashing with her teacher I’m inside the building watching her every move. I do all this because of the memory of a little boy. He was 2 years old and had fair blond hair and sweet round cheeks. I took care of him in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) after his parents found him at the bottom of a pool. A team of doctors, nurses and paramedics all tried to save him without success. He stayed in the PICU until all his family could come and say goodbye. My patient unfortunately was not unique. In California, Arizona, Florida and Texas drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury and death in toddlers age 1-2 years of age. The following recommendations are taken from the American Academy of Pediatric (AAP) policy statement on drowning prevention. For full recommendations visit their website http://www.aap.org/.

1. Don’t ever leave your child alone or in the care of another young child while in bathtubs, pools, spas, or wading pools or near irrigation ditches or other open standing water. Dump water from wading pools when you are done! Other neighboring kids can wander over from next door!

2. Don’t rely on infant bath seats or supporting rings in bathtubs. Children can flip easily!!

3. Remove all water from containers, such as pails and 5-gallon buckets, immediately after use. Yes! Kids can drown in buckets! Little curious ones stick their heads in to see what’s in there and then fall in.

4. To prevent drowning in toilets, young children should not be left alone in the bathroom, and unsupervised access to the bathroom should be prevented.

5. Whenever infants and toddlers are in or around water, be it at their own home, the home of a neighbor, a party, or elsewhere, a supervising adult should be within an arm’s length providing "touch supervision."

6. The attention of the supervising adult should be focused on the child, and the adult should not be engaged in other distracting activities, such as talking on the telephone, socializing, or tending to household chores. I know of one child that nearly drowned in a Jacuzzi filled with other adults. No one saw her when she slipped in behind another person and got trapped.

7. If a home has a residential swimming pool, it should be surrounded by a fence that prevents direct access to the pool from the house. Rigid, motorized pool covers, pool alarms, and other protective devices, which may offer some protection if used appropriately and consistently, are not a substitute for 4-sided fencing. Make sure the gate is self latching. It doesn’t help to have a fence and a gate if it’s not closed. One child I knew nearly drowned because her sibling opened the gate and left it open by accident.

8. Sign your child up for swimming lessons! AAP recommends waiting for formal swimming lessons until after their fourth birthday. However, because some children develop skills more quickly than others, not all children will be ready to learn to swim at exactly the same age. The decision must be individualized.

9. Learn CPR and keep a telephone and equipment approved by the US Coast Guard (e.g., life preservers, life jackets, shepherd’s crook) at poolside. To find where you can take CPR classes contact your local American Red Cross center.

10. Teach your child never to dive or jump in unknown water. Find out the depth of the water first.

Sheila Cason MD, FAAP