10 Tips for Waterfront Health and Safety

Forget the historic sites, colorful sunsets, and gourmet meals. Most children prefer swimming and water sports on family vacations. But the recreational water health and safety conditions you find at home don't travel with you, especially overseas. You become the lifeguard for your children, and the person to evaluate health issues and the safety of water sports.

Here is what you should do:

1. Consciously think safety at each waterfront facility.

If life guards are present, are they attentive? Are older children roughhousing? Are waves too high? Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation. (Check with your local hospital, Red Cross or "Y" for classes). In rural areas paramedics may be hours away. Drowning and falling while climbing on slippery rocks are the leading causes of death and serious injuries in many national parks.

2. Have small children wear appropriate-sized personal flotation devices when playing near the water.

Wearing them only in the water and on boats does not suffice. About half of young children who drown or near-drown were not supposed to be in the water. They wander away from picnics or ball games, or fall off docks or rocks. Air-filled and foam toys are not flotation devices.

3. Appoint a diligent child watcher.

More than 80% of children who drown are under some form of supervision; about half of them were supervised by parents. In some cases parents were only a few yards away, distracted by taking pictures, admiring views, or cell phone conversations.

4. Don't think that toddlers who can swim will do so if they accidentally fall into the water.

They swim when you stand next to them, but panic when no one is around. While there is nothing wrong with teaching infants to swim, three years is the age to start meaningful swimming lessons. Use qualified swim instructors.

5. Judge the water for cleanliness.

Recreational water is for swimming, not swallowing. Even at well-maintained swimming facilities, swimmers placing their heads underwater tend to have more intestinal illnesses than swimmers who do not, and waders have fewer illnesses than swimmers. Factors increasing risk of illness include: crowding, babies in diapers, and no chlorination (lakes and rivers), for example. For more information, visit http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming.

6. Judge the water for safety.

Never dive before checking the water's depth. Stated depths may pertain only to where it is marked, not a few feet away. And depths may be less than marked if pools are not fully filled. Check with responsible people about waves, undertows, biting sea animals and submerged rocks and trees. In fast moving rivers, drownings result from getting legs caught between rocks. The force of the water can push children under and hold them under.

Wear appropriate footwear at beaches, including in the water. Sand obscures sharp objects and water may contain sea animals that can afflict uncomfortable injuries.

7. Take additional precautions in the tropics.

Teach children not to touch potentially dangerous objects on the beach or in the water. Coral wounds and jellyfish stings are annoying, and may need treatments that may not be available locally. Never swim in fresh water in the tropics Many tropical lakes and rivers contain small snails that transmit a parasite that causes schistosomiasis. These snails are generally not found in chlorinated water or in the ocean.

8. Know appropriate ages for children to participate in water sports.

Be skeptical about resort programs that teach scuba diving in the morning and then take you for dives after lunch. PADI (the Professional Association of Diving Instructors) recommends children should be 14 years of age to participate in most programs but does offer junior programs for younger children. See their website: http://www.padi.com/padi/en/kd/bubblemaker.aspx.

9. Judge the safety of waterfront activities.

Teenagers are often tempted by exciting activities, parasailing and jet skis, for example. Often such activities are poorly supervised and are located in areas where there are no medical services. Many insurance policies specifically exclude reimbursements for the costs of medical care resulting from such accidents.

10. Keep an eye on the weather. Listen to reports.

In mountainous areas, thunderstorms may not be visible until they reach you. Also, on clear days, storms may dump rain far upstream causing rivers to suddenly rise and flow more rapidly.