Swimming Safety Guide

Summer is in full swing and while you're enjoying the pleasures of the warm weather, it's important to be prepared to keep yourself and your loved ones out of harm's way. The American Red Cross in Greater New York has several simple tips that could save your life if you're swimming at the beach, the lake, or a neighborhood pool.

General Swimming Safety Tips

• Learn to swim and swim well. One of the best things anyone can do to stay safe in and around the water is learn to swim. No one should ever swim alone.
• Never swim alone—always swim with a buddy.
• Always choose a supervised area in which to swim, whether at a pool, the beach, the ocean, a lake or a river. A trained lifeguard is the best safety factor. Even good swimmers can have an unexpected medical emergency in the water.
• Never drink alcohol and swim. Alcohol impairs your judgment, balance and coordination and reduces your body's ability to stay warm.  
• Never chew gum or eat while you swim - you could easily choke.
• Know your swimming limits and stay within them. Don't try to keep up with a stronger swimmer or encourage others to keep up with you. Keep an eye on children and weaker swimmers – if they appear tired, encourage them to rest out of the water.
• Use common sense about swimming after eating.  It may not be necessary to wait an entire hour after eating to swim safely. But after a large meal, let digestion get started before doing any strenuous activity such as swimming.
• Watch out for the dangerous "too's” – too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun, too much strenuous activity.
• Stay out of the water when overheated – you could easily tire. Let your body cool itself down first. Drink lots of liquids before jumping into the water.
• Watch the weather.  Stop swimming or boating as soon as you see lightning or hear thunder. Wait at least twenty minutes after the last sound of thunder and flash of lightning before re-entering the water.
• Pack a “safety” bag for a day at the beach or lake. Include water-proof sunscreen, SPF 15 or higher, water shoes to keep feet safe from the heat and objects on land and in the water and plenty of water. All containers should be plastic to prevent injuries from breaking glass. The properly packed safety bag will help ensure that everyone comes home safe and sound.

How to Keep Children Safe Around Water

• Always supervise children in or near water—pool, stream, lake, tub, toilet, bucket of water—no matter how shallow the water. A child can drown in just inches of water. Even children who have taken swimming lessons must be supervised.
• Don't rely on flotation devices and inflatable toys to replace parental supervision. These devices can deflate or slip out from beneath a child, leaving that child in danger.
• Always have children use approved life vests.
• Stay within an arm's length of any infant or toddler who is in or around water. 
• Keep a cell phone with you at the beach; keep a cordless phone or install a phone by the pool so you can call 9-1-1 in an emergency.
• Go over pool rules and general swimming instructions with children before you leave for the pool or the beach. Once you arrive, children may be too excited to listen closely.
• Have children use the buddy system and explain how it works.
• Don't allow running or rough play around the water.
• Encourage children to "Stop, watch and walk into the water."
• Teach children to swim at an early age.
• Learn American Red Cross Infant/Child CPR and insist that babysitters, grandparents, and others who care for your child also know CPR.

Pool Safety

Did you know?

• A child can drown in a pool in the time it takes to answer the phone.
• A young child can drown in just inches of water.
• More than 300 children under the age of 5 drown in residential swimming pools each year.
• Drowning is the leading cause of injury death for children 1 to 2 years old.
• Drowning is second leading cause of accidental death for Americans ages 5 to 44.

Supervision combined with barriers and safety devices are the keys to pool safety.

Pool Supervision for Children

• Never leave a child unattended in or near the pool area for any reason, even for a moment. Don't run inside to answer a phone or the doorbell. If you must leave the pool area, take the child with you, and make sure the pool gate is securely latched.
• Always keep your eyes on children in and around water.
• Designate a child watcher when you attend a party or have friends or family over.
• Check the pool first if a child is missing. Go to the edge of the pool and scan the entire pool, bottom and surface, as well as the surrounding pool area.
• Attend a Red Cross CPR class. Make sure anyone watching young children around a pool—babysitter, grandparents and you—learn CPR and are able to rescue a child if necessary.
• Keep children away from pool filters. The suction force could injure them or prevent them from surfacing.
• Post and enforce pool rules:  "No running," "No roughhousing,” "No dunking" and "Never swim alone."
• Encourage neighbors to follow pool safety guidelines, including keeping their back gates and doors locked, and their pool gates securely closed and latched.
• Never dive into an above-ground pool and check the water depth before plunging into an in-ground pool. Keep clear of the area near a diving board.

Pool Barriers and Safety Devices

• Childproof your pool. Install one fence around your backyard and another fence (at least 4-feet-tall) around the pool. Most young children who drown in pools wander out of the house and fall into the pool.
• Use gates that self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than your children's reach.
• Use a power safety cover that meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). This should not be used in place of a fence between your house and pool.
• Lock any door leading to the pool area.  
• Install alarms on access doors.
• Keep rescue equipment by the pool, including a shepherd's hook, rope, and personal flotation devices (PFDs), and know how to use it. 
• Keep a cell phone or cordless phone by the pool so you can call 911 in case of emergency.
• Never leave furniture near a fence that would enable a child to climb over the fence and into the pool area.
• Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren't tempted to reach for them.
• Keep CD players, radios and other electrical devices away from pools or nearby wet surfaces.

Ocean Swimming Safety

• Check surf conditions before you enter the water. See if a warning flag is up or ask a lifeguard about water conditions, beach conditions or any potential hazards. If there is rough surf, stay out of the water.
• Keep within the flags that designate where you can swim. Swim only where there is a lifeguard on duty.
• Know local weather conditions and prepare for electrical storms. Water is a conductor of electricity, so stop swimming as soon as you see lightning or hear thunder. 
• Know how to handle ocean currents.
  • Be aware of undertows, drift and rip currents.
  • Don't try to swim against a current if caught in one. Try to gradually swim out of the current by swimming across it.
  • If a current carries you parallel to shore, try to swim toward shore while moving along with the current.
  • If you are being carried away from shore, swim out of the current, not against it, by moving parallel to the shore.
• Use caution with surf boards, boogie boards, tubes, etc. When using these items, stay in designated areas and be aware of other swimmers.
• Stay away from piers, pilings and diving platforms.
• Look out for marine life—you may get stung.
  • If you do get stung by a jellyfish or a sea anemone, soak the injured part in salt water and apply a baking soda paste as soon as possible.
  • Do not rub the wound or apply ammonia or fresh water.
  • If an allergic reaction occurs, call 9-1-1 immediately.
• Wear foot protection. Your feet can get burned from the sand or cut from glass in the sand.
• Stay out of the water when overheated—you could easily tire.

Lake and River Swimming Safety

• Select a clean, well maintained area with a clean bathhouse, restrooms and a litter-free environment.
• Select an area with good water quality and safe natural conditions. Murky water, hidden underwater objects, unexpected drop-offs, and aquatic plant life are hazards. Water pollution can cause health problems for swimmers. Strong tides, big waves, and currents can turn an event that began as fun into tragedy.
• Make sure the water is deep enough before entering head-first. A feet-first entry is much safer than diving.
• Be sure rafts and docks are in good condition with no loose boards or exposed nails. Never swim under raft or dock and always look before jumping off to be sure no one is in the way.
• Avoid drainage ditches for water run-off. After heavy rains, they can quickly change into raging rivers that can take a human life; even the strongest swimmers are no match for the power of the water.

Swimming at a Water Park

• Be sure the area is well supervised by lifeguards before you or others in your group enter the water.
• Read all posted signs. Follow the rules and directions given by lifeguards. Ask questions if you are not sure about a correct procedure.
• Be aware that when you go from one attraction to another, the water depth may be different and the attraction may be used in a different way.
• Get in the correct position before starting down a water slide—face up and feet first.
• Get in the correct position before starting down a water slide—face up and feet first. On speed slides, be sure legs are crossed to prevent injuries.
• Wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket if you cannot swim. Some facilities provide life jackets at no charge.
• Practice good hygiene. Shower before you get to a water part (or a pool). Change diapers in a diaper changing room. If somebody is ill with diarrhea, don't go into the water—that person could transmit the disease to others.  Have toddlers wear swim diapers.
• Learn to swim. The best thing adults and children can do to stay safe in and around the water is to learn to swim