Fun and safety in the water

As people head to pools, beaches and ponds this summer, the excitement also brings risks. But swimming lessons, a bright swimsuit, attention and provisions can improve safety. "The number one part of water safety is prevention," said Jerry McNamee, senior program director for Findlay YMCA. "All drowning deaths are preventable, actually, for youth. If we can get them to be safe around water and not fearful, but respectful." Swimming lessons, which are offered by the Findlay YMCA, are critical. But even those who know how to swim can get into trouble. So everyone, adults as well as kids, needs to take precautions. Children under age 7 should be within arm's reach of a parent at all times, he said. "When you're out at a river, a pool or any kind of pond or any body of water, what you want to be reminding yourself is, for adults, put your phone down: phone down, eyes up," McNamee said. "Make sure that somebody at any time is watching the water … watching for any kind of signs of distress." One sign of distress is when someone appears to be trying to climb an "invisible ladder," he said. "Typically when you swim you are parallel to the bottom of the pool but as you start to tire, your legs drop. And if you start to get more tired, but you're still swimming, it starts to look less like a swim stroke and it starts to look more like an invisible ladder," McNamee said. "Once we start to see somebody's body start to go this way if they're swimming laps or something, if they are starting to get perpendicular to the bottom of the pool or just at an angle to the pool, that's our first sign that somebody is distressed." Don't swim alone. Don't swim at night, he said. A brightly-colored swimsuit, to make it easier to see one underwater, is recommended. Bright yellow, orange or red are easy to see and are recommended. Patterns can also help a swimsuit stand out. Green, purple and blue are more difficult to see when one is underwater, so they are not recommended in a swimsuit, McNamee said. For teenagers, the key is to listen to the lifeguards and follow all posted rules. "Don't dive in shallow ends," he said. "It only takes once. You might dive into an area that you've done a hundred times. It only takes once to mess up and then paralyzation" or other injury can occur. "Throw, don't go" If someone appears to be drowning, the general rule – except for a small child – is to throw or extend to them something that floats. Unless one has lifeguard training, it is dangerous to try to reach the person. "If they grab you, they might take you down with them," McNamee said. "The only thing worse than one victim is two." "The 'throw, don't go' speech is, anything that can float, you want to be able to throw to somebody so they can grab something," he said. Examples include Styrofoam coolers, pool noodles, rescue tubes or rescue buoys. Rescue buoys have a rope attached. So one can keep hold of the rope, throw the buoy to the distressed person and try to pull them back to safety. Another tool is a shepherd's crook, which is essentially a long pole with a curved top. Some can be extended to reach 10 to 30 feet. "They are great to have, but you need to practice with them, make sure they are in good condition and you know what to do if you are in that situation," McNamee said. "In a pinch, at home, pool noodles are great," he said. Inflatables Water wings, which wrap around a small child's arms, are not recommended. "Anything that is inflated can become deflated," he said. "So even if you're on a pool raft or like one of those things that you lay out on, that is not something that is considered safe," McNamee said. "If a hole gets in that and you're in a deep area – all of a sudden – you're in an area you don't know." "We want stuff that is solid, so Coast-Guard-approved life jackets tend to have compressed Styrofoam," he said. "That's what keeps you afloat, so there is no chance that those become deflated." Natural water bodies McNamee said people must wear Coast Guard-approved life jackets when in natural bodies of water, including on a boat. "Natural bodies of water are dark water; you can't see the bottom," he said. "So once somebody goes under water, it's a different type of operation to find them. It's really hard." "And make sure (the life jacket) fits well, that the weight of the child matches the weight (capacity) of the life jacket," he said. "Follow the directions on your life jackets." The YMCA offers water safety presentations tailored for various groups, from children to adults.