POOL SAFETY
Hot summer days make swimming pools more enticing than ever, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the No. 1 cause of unintentional death for children ages 1-4. Today we look what to do to prevent a tragedy in the pool. POOL PRECAUTIONS AND FENCING
Never allow kids who cannot swim well to use flotation devices or life jackets in pools without supervision.
Life jackets are not a substitute for supervision.
Flotation devices can deflate and kids can forget to put them back on when returning to the poll after a break.
The California Health and Safety Code requires fences around residential pools to have a minimum height of 5 feet. Fences also:
Cannot have space greater than 2 inches between the ground and the bottom of the fence.
Canot have gaps larger than 4 inches in the fencing material.
Must have an outside surface free of potential handholds or footholds that could enable a child 4 or younger to climb over.
Must have gates that open away from the pool and be self-closing and self-latching, with the latch no lower than 5 feet from the ground.
DEADLY SECONDS
Research on pool drowning involving young children shows the victims usually have been left unattended for less than five minutes before the accident. Most children who survive are discovered within two minutes after submersion (92%), and most children who die are found after 10 minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation may save lives or reduce damage.
Time Action
0:00 Child falls in.
0:05 Larynx closes involuntarily, preventing water and oxygen from entering the lungs.
0:10 Blood cells take oxygen from the lungs and while depositing carbon dioxide.
0:30 Lungs begin to ache because of carbon dioxide buildup.
0:45 Consciousness begins shrinking, heart thumping.
0:60 Blood loses oxygen, child turns blue.
1:20 Water seeps into lungs. 2:00 Larynx spasms allow water to fill the lungs, causing the alveoli to stiffen and collapse. Lung cell surfactant is washed off.
3:00 Heart still pumps but child loses consciousness.
5:00 Heart begins beating slowly and abnormally, blood acidity increases, brain begins to suffer from lack of oxygen.
Survival chances are strong if child is removed from water.
10:00 Brain and other organs begin to suffer from lack of oxygen.
Survival chances are strong if CPR is begun before this point.
CPR BASICS
Parents, sitters and caretakers of children should learn this basic lifesaving technique: It’s best to take lessons on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation correctly. For classes, contact the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross. The American Heart Association says if you are not trained in CPR, then provide hands-only CPR. That means 100-120 uninterrupted chest compressions a minute until paramedics arrive.
SUPERVISING KIDS
Never take supervision for granted, even if your youngster has had swimming classes.
Assign an adult to watch the pool for accidents.
YARD PREPARATION
Pool owners can reduce kids’ risk of drowning by installing layers of protection around and on the pool. These protective layers are not a substitute for always watching a fast-moving child.
Door and window alarms
Alarm sounds when opened or child passes through. Alarm should sound for at least 30 seconds. Drawback is that pets set off the alarm.
A video spotlight cam (such as a Ring) can send an alert to your phone if motion is detected.
Automatically closing doors.
Pet doors need to have locking capability.
Do not leave a window open more than 4 inches.