Living Well: How to Stay Safe in the Water

Swimming in the gulf, lakes and pools almost seems synonymous with summertime. Water is ubiquitous in Florida and it’s not difficult to find swimming hotspots in Pinellas County. Experts agree that swimming offers an excellent way to stay fit and live well.

Yet it's not without risks.

Swimming Safety for Children

SafeKids USA reports that drowning is the second leading cause of childhood deaths.

Learning to swim at an early age is the best prevention, according to experts. Kelley Poole, Marketing Director at St. Pete Beach Recreation, first began her love affair with water when she was seven months old. Nearly 27 years later, she advocates swim classes to help improve swimmers at every level.

"Children as young as six months can be enrolled in local swim safety classes," Kelley Pool said. "While they may not actually learn to swim, they will learn how to respond, to roll onto their backs if they fall in, and to start becoming comfortable with what to do around water," she said.

Safety Tips for Children

• Learn to swim and to swim better. 
• Swim with a buddy, especially while you're building your skills.
• Use areas supervised by a lifeguard.
• Obey all rules and posted signs.
• Remember to rehydrate constantly and to watch your energy level. Being tired, cold and/or exposed to sun can alter your judgment.
• Wear sun protective clothing and swim suits use a physical sun block such as titanium oxide.

"We have mandatory swim breaks every 15-20 minutes," Poole said. "You may not feel hot in the water, but the sun exposure and all that exercise can be drain your energy," she said. She offered a few other tips that could benefit adults as well:

• Information equates to safety. Familiarize yourself with the deep and shallow areas, currents, depth changes, obstructions and where the entry and exit points are located.
• Pay attention to local weather conditions and forecasts. Stop swimming at the first indication of thunder or lightning in the area.
• Use a feet-first approach to enter water. If diving, be certain the area is clear of hazards. If you're not, don't take a chance. "Too many accidents and injuries occur from head first entry," Poole said.

Wear a Life Jacket

Water safety requires some preparation and an understanding of safety and personal limitations. It is advisable for children or inexperienced swimmers to wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal floatation device (PFD).

Don’t Drink and Swim

Avoid mixing alcohol with swimming. Alcohol impairs your judgment, balance, and coordination. It also affects your swimming and diving skills, and reduces your ability to stay warm. It’s important to know how to prevent, recognize and respond to emergencies in water.

Safety Tips for:

Pools:

• To keep children safe around water, ensure adult supervision at all times.
• Take a CPR course. Insist that babysitters, grandparents, and caregivers get certified. You can log on to the American Red Cross for course information.
• Laminate and post CPR instructions near your pool.
• Enclose the pool with a self-locking, self-closing fence.
• Do not leave furniture on the outside of the fence that might entice children to climb over.
• Have basic lifesaving equipment: pole, rope, personal flotation devices and a life ring.
• Pack away toys, when not in use. They may entice children to wander into the pool area without supervision.
• Prior to pool use, remove your pool cover.
• Ensure the pool area is not slippery to guard against falls.
• Be vigilant about watching children around water. The American Red Cross recommends keeping them within an arm's length. It’s also wise to discouraging eating while in the water. These other tips may be helpful to children and adults:

Lakes and rivers:

• Brush up on your swimming skills.
• Select supervised areas with trained lifeguards.
• Do not swim alone.
• If you cannot see the bottom, avoid a head first entry.
• Avoid stagnant water.
• Look before you leap: ensure that rafts and docks are sturdy and in good condition. Never swim under a raft or dock, and before jumping off, ensure no one is in the way, or submerged.

Ocean:

• Learn to swim and aim improve your skills.
• Stay within the designated swimming area and within sight of a lifeguard.
• Never swim alone.
• Check the surf conditions before you enter the water. Check to see if a warning flag is up or check with a lifeguard for water conditions, beach conditions, or any potential hazards.
• Stay away from piers, pilings, and diving platforms.
• Keep a lookout for marine life.
• Don’t try to swim against a current if you get caught. Swim gradually out of the current, by swimming across it, and do not panic. 

Health Benefits from Swimming

While not a weight-bearing exercise, I enjoy water walking. It offers a good way to add resistance exercise into my routine. What I love is the low-impact on bones and muscles, the improved flexibility and musle tone it builds, and the ability to be outside and cool- even in the midst of summer.

Check out this list of swimming lessons and water aerobics. 

• www.stpete.org/recreation/aquatics.asp
• http://stpete.usf.edu/waterfront/swimming.htm
• www.stpeteymca.org
• www.tampabayturners.com

For more information on public health and swimming, log on to:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Healthy Swimming/Recreational Water
• United States Environmental Protection Agency: Before You Go to the Beach Brochure