From TeenHealthCentre.com

General Health
Water Safety Tips
By THC
Oct 29, 2004, 11:33

Swimming:

Here are some tips to help you swim safely:

  • Know your own swimming ability.

  • Always swim with a buddy.

  • Know your buddy’s swimming ability.

  • Familiarize yourself with the area you are swimming in. You can do this by talking to local people in the area.

  • Ask about sandbars, currents, hidden rocks, depth of water and such.

  • When at a pool, follow the owner or operator’s rules-they know the pool better than you do.

Diving:

  • NEVER dive in an above ground pool- they are not deep enough for safe diving.

  • Don’t dive in an unfamiliar lake, river or pool.

  • Don’t dive in murky or cloudy water - you never know what could be lurking down there!!

  • The Canadian Red Cross Society indicates that 95% of diving accidents occur because of shallow water dives.

  • Statistically, the person most likely to receive a spinal cord injury as result of diving is:

    • Male, age 17-22

    • Athletic

    • No formal diving training

    • First time visitor to the area

    • First dive into the water

    • Under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Currents:

If you get caught in a current while swimming, don’t fight it. Instead swim perpendicular or diagonally to get out of it. Don’t try to swim against the current; you’ll only tire yourself out.

If you are carried by a current in a river, float on your back, feet first to avoid crashing into a rock headfirst.

If you are standing in waves and the undertow is strong enough to knock you over, get out of the waves.

Boating or Jet Skiing:

  • Take a boating course.

  • Have the boat stocked with required and recommended items. E.g.. First Aid kit and manual, life jackets (enough for each person), flares, food supply, a rope for towing and a radio to listen to the weather report.

  • Plan your boating venture and make sure to tell someone your route and how long you plan to be gone.

  • Pay attention to weather forecasts.

  • Familiarize yourself with the surroundings of the lake, river etc. What’s the depth? Are there sandbars or hidden rocks?

  • NEVER drink alcohol or use drugs while boating or swimming!

  • Remember, the laws that apply to drinking and driving and the very same laws that apply to boating and jet skiing.


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