Drowning occurs quickly and silently. In most cases, when someone is drowning no crying or voices of distress are heard. Drowning can occur within seconds and usually occurs in the absence of supervision or during a brief inattention period.
Drowning is the leading cause of death among children during the summer.
Infants and young children are drawn to play in the water and may drown, even in 10 cm (4 inches) deep water. This is due to the fact that their heads are heavy in relation to their body weight, thus they may roll over into a bucket of water, a bathtub, or a basin.
Children who survive drowning without having suffered any neurological disabilities are the ones who were taken out of water within two minutes. 2 minutes after the drowing, loss of consciousness occurs, and after 4-6 minutes irreversible brain damage is caused.
Data
- Since 2008, 137 Israeli children have died due to drowning.
- 60% of drowning cases occurred in June - July - August.
- 40% of the children drowned in the sea.
- About a third of the drowning cases that resulted in death were of children aged 0-4. In 41% of the cases, the child drowned within his home.
- 51% of drowning victims were from the Jewish population and 40% were from the Arab population (the rest were tourists, migrant workers or unknown people).
Rules for the drowning prevention
- Always supervise, whatever the age!
- Children who cannot swim or who are younger than 5 - must be closely and actively watched by an adult.
- Close and active supervision is defined as supervising the child by his side in the water, within touching distance of him while keeping eye contact with him, while avoiding any other activity (such as conversations, reading or talking on the phone).
- During duties social pastime with families and other adults, it is possible to adopt "water keepers" rotational duties, in 15 minutes "shifts" - every time another adult will be in charge of fully supervising the children, away from other adults.
- As for children who have learned swimming and swim - They should be inspected whenever they are in the water.
- Users of buoys and sea ring buoys, but not as a substitutes for active supervision.
- Children should be taught to swim beginning at age 4, depending on the capabilities of the child.
- Swim at the beach and pool with the presence of a lifeguard, and take heed of his instructions.
- At home - Make sure to drain the water from every vessel (bucket, bathtub, basin and an inflatable pool) when not in use, and prevent access to water reservoirs that cannot be emptied (such as private pools, natural water reservoirs, water wells).
Information courtesy of the "
BeTerem" organization for the safety of children.
