ARCHIVED - With the abundance of swimming pools in Camposol, Regional Health advice is timely

Health director advises extreme caution to prevent accidents on beaches and swimming pools

It is recommended not to leave children alone in the water this summer and not to overestimate the physical capacity of older people.

The bathing season lasts five months a year for health control purposes, but in summer more leisure activities and sports are carried out in the water, which increases the risk of drowning and serious injuries, such as head injuries, "which we want to avoid with these tips,” highlighted the Director General of Public Health and Addictions, José Jesús Guillén.

Every year more than 400 people die in Spain as a result of drowning. In the case of children, most take place in swimming pools, while the elderly suffer more from this type of accident in the sea, so extreme caution must be exercised.

For this reason, it is necessary to focus on the necessary vigilance of minors and the accompaniment of the elderly at sea, where sea currents can exert unexpected force, and especially care for people of any age who present some type of existing condition that makes special control of the bathing area necessary.

Children, never left alone

The pool where the child is going to swim must have the appropriate security measures (lifeguard, perimeter fence, etc.), so that the little ones cannot have free access. They should also never be left alone.

Minors must be supervised at all times when they are in the water or playing near it. If the child does not know how to swim or does not swim well, it is necessary to put on a flotation life jacket when bathing or practicing a water sport. Merely using inflatable floats is not recommended.

On the beach it is mandatory to respect safety regulations, so children must be taught the meaning of the flags and never swim if it is red. With minors, it is better to always bathe on supervised beaches, never in areas where it is not recommended and always respecting the instructions of the lifeguards and the danger signs through the code of coloured flags.

Elderly

More than 35% of people who die by drowning are people over 65 years of age, so it is advisable to follow some simple recommendations, such as respecting the flags and the instructions of the lifeguards.

It is important not to overestimate fitness and swimming ability. In the sea, if an older person is tired or has difficulty returning to shore, they should swim on their backs moving their legs only until they are close to shore. The elderly are recommended to always enter the water accompanied, not to leave the shore and never bathe in areas where it is prohibited. It is also advisable to get out of the water immediately if you are tired or feel cold.

Alcohol consumption before bathing decreases the ability to react to danger and can lead to behaviour that can put health at risk. Likewise, bathing at night on the beach is very dangerous, since if a mishap occurs, it may go unnoticed.

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