Tips to avoid Summer water hazards

Summer is near and with the African sun beating down on us, the first thing us Durbanites and other South Africans do is head to the beach and pools.

ER24 has shared some safety tips and advice to beachgoers and swimmers to stay safe during the summer season.

Safety tips around pools:

• Secure your pool area with appropriate barriers, which means barriers that can’t be pushed down or bypassed by little children.
• Never leave children unsupervised near water.
  Stay within an arm’s length from little children as they submerge very quickly – especially if the water is murky.
• Make sure children don’t play rough in the pool and jump on top of one another.
• It is important that adults who supervise must be able to swim as well.
• Remember that anyone, including people who can swim, are at risk of drowning.
• Avoid taking risks and being overconfident.
  

  “One of the biggest dangers are when the children get in trouble and family members jump in to assist but they can’t swim either and we end up with mass casualties. This happens at beaches and dams quite often,” said ER24

Safety tips around beaches:

• Swim where there are lifeguards on duty and only during lifeguard patrolling hours. It will usually be from 10am to 6pm. Don’t swim before or after that. You can still visit the beach at that time but stay out of the water until lifeguards arrive.
• Make sure you are visible to lifeguards in the water. Don’t swim outside the designated swimming area, which is demarcated by the flags. This area has been chosen by the lifeguards who assess the currents and ensure it is outside the surf zones.
• Swimmers need to watch out for surfers and surfers need to watch out for swimmers.
• Don’t drink alcohol on the beach. This is illegal and extremely dangerous. Alcohol dulls your senses, which in turn makes it difficult to swim or respond if you get into difficulty. You don’t realise that you may be hypothermic and that your limbs don’t work as well as they should. By dulling your senses, alcohol may inhibit your ability to sense when your children are in danger.
• Never swim alone.
• Learn basic CPR.
• If performing CPR, ensure the person is removed from the water, awake and breathing. Shout for help.

“The public needs to be educated around children and water. Baths, buckets of water and any form of water can be dangerous. It is vital that you learn first aid and CPR. You never know when you may need to assist someone in need. Educate yourself and ensure your child’s safety,” said ER24.

ER24 urges everyone to be safe around any body of water.