Faculty of Science
International guidelines to prevent drowning
Mon, 17 May 2010 11:14:00 BST
A British cold water survival expert has helped draw up international guidelines to prevent drowning, released to coincide with early summer in the northern hemisphere when the number of fatalities always rises.
More people take to the water at this time of the year thanks a rise in air temperature, but the water temperature remains low.
An international task force of 18 experts from 12 countries included Professor Mike Tipton at the University of Portsmouth's department of sports science.
Professor Tipton said: “This is an important international collaboration which is potentially life-saving. Drowning is a major cause of death from injury for all ages and of the hundreds who drown in British waters each year many lives could have been saved if safety advice had been followed.”
According to the World Health Organisation, drowning is the second-leading cause of death from injury for children in the UK. Worldwide, more than a quarter of all unintentional deaths from injury among children are due to drowning.
The number of near-drownings is nearly five times higher and can cause long-term disabilities including brain damage, memory problems, learning disabilities or permanent loss of basic functioning. Professor Tipton said: “With some reasonably straightforward precautions many tragedies can be averted and people can enjoy the water at reduced risk.
“Rivers, beaches or lakes represent obvious threats, but children can drown in just a few centimetres of water so everyone needs this information. Losing a child a week to this risk in the UK is devastatingly sad as well as a great loss of potential.”
The guidelines are:
Keep yourself safe
- Learn swimming and water safety survival skills
- Always swim with others
- Obey all safety signs and warning flags
- Never go in the water after drinking alcohol
- Know how and when to use a life jacket
- Swim in areas with lifeguards
- Know the water and weather conditions before getting in the water
- Always enter shallow and unknown water feet first
Keep children and others safe
- Help and encourage others, especially children, to learn swimming and water safety survival skills
- Swim in areas with lifeguards
- Set water safety rules
- Always provide close and constant attention to children you are supervising in or near water
- Know how and when to use life jackets, especially with children and weak swimmers
- Learn first aid and CPR
- Learn safe ways of rescuing others without putting yourself in danger
- Obey all safety signs and warning flags
According to the latest figures from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, 435 people accidentally drowned in the UK in 2005. Of those, 234 drowned in inland waters. The majority of victims fell into water and were unable to help themselves. Almost half of the children who drowned were swimming or playing in the water, with the remainder falling in or being swept away. These children were either unaware of the risk of being in or near the water, or did not have the skills to save themselves.
Dr Linda Quan, task force co-chair and emergency medicine physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital in the US, said: “Water safety must be addressed with all families. Open water is a high risk area for drowning and we must remain vigilant in providing education and creating awareness of this ongoing issue.”
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