DROWNING FACT SHEET

Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths to children ages 14 and under. A temporary lapse in supervision is a common factor in most drowning and near drowning. Child drowning can happen in a matter of seconds - in the time it takes to answer the phone. There is often no splashing to warn of trouble. Children can drown in small quantities of water and are at risk in their own homes from wading pools, bathtubs, buckets, diaper pails, and toilets as well as swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs.

Deaths and Injuries

• A swimming pool is 14 times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved in the death of a child age 4 and under.
  
• Each year, approximately 1,150 children ages 14 and under/ more than half are preschoolers (ages 0-4).
  
• Each year, an estimated 5,00 children ages 14 and under are hospitalized due to near drowning.
  
• Of children surviving near drowning, 5 - 20 percent suffer severe and permanent disability.
  

Where Drowning Happens

• Approximately 50 percent of preschooler drowning occurs in residential swimming pools.
  
• Each year, more than 2,000 preschool near drowning occur in residential pools.
  
• Of preschooler pool drowning, 65 percent occur in the child's home pool and 33 percent at the homes of friends, neighbors or relatives.
  
• Each year, 350 drownings (for all ages) happen in bathtubs.
  
• Each year, approximately 40 children drown in five gallon buckets.
  
• In ten states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington - surpasses all other causes of death to children ages 14 and under.
  

How and When Drownings Happen

• Of all preschoolers who drown, 70 percent are in the care of one of both parents at the time of the drowning.
  
• Of all preschoolers who drown, 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less.
  
• Two-Thirds of all drowinings happen between May and August.
  
• Of all drownings, 40 percent occur on Saturdays and Sundays.
  

Who is at Risk

• Of all age groups, children ages 1-4 have the highest drowning death rate.
  

Costs

• Health care costs per near drowning victim typically range from $75,000 for initial emergency room treatment to $180,000 a year for long term care.
  
• The annual economic costs of residential pool drownings and near drownings of young children are estimated to be $450 million to $650 million.
  

Prevention

• While there is no substitute for adult supervision, safeguards and barriers around pools and hot tubs provide additional protection for children.
  
• Estimates predict that the widespread use of pool fencing would prevent 50-90 percent of pediatric pool drownings and near drownings.
  

DROWNING PREVENTION TIPS

Prevent Childhood Drowning

Parents whose children have drowned say the day of the tragedy started out just like any other day. No matter how the drowning happened or where it happened -- pool, spa, or any other body of water - one thing was the same, the seconds that claimed their child's life slid by silently, without warning, and can never be brought back.

It is a fact that drowning is the leading cause of injury death of children under five years of age in 18 states.

Facts About Drowning

• Children drown during routine household activities, with adults present and providing normal levels of supervision.
  
• Most children who drowned or nearly drowned were last seen in the house or away from the pool or spa.
  

Action Step: Protection

Use layers of barrier protection between the child and water to warn and impede. Pool and spa owners can take practical steps to make their pool and spa less dangerous by installing "layer of protection."

These include:

• Alarms on doors and windows leading to the water, installed about five feet above ground level so that a child cannot reach them.
  
• A non-climbable, five-foot fence that separates the pool/ spa from the residence should be installed. Openings should be no more than four inches wide so children cannot squeeze through the spaces.
  
• Self-closing and Self-latching gates and doors leading to the pool/spa with latches above a child's reach. Gates should open outward.
  
• Pool safety covers (power operated are the safest and easiest to use).
  

POOL SAFETY TIPS

Action Step: Supervision

Water with its rippling, shimmering appeal is a magnet for children. Children under the age of five have no fear of water and no concept of death. They associate water with play not with danger. Adults must establish and communicate responsibility for child safety.

• Assign an adult "water watcher" to supervise the pool/spa area or any other body of water, especially during social gatherings.
  
• Assign a second adult to maintain constant visual contact with children in the pool/ spa area or any body of water that might attract a child. Don't assume someone else is watching a child.
  
• Never leave a child alone near a pool/spa, bathtub, toilet, water filled bucket, pond or a standing body of water in which a child's nose and mouth may be submersed.
  
• Don't rely on swimming lessons, life preservers, or any other equipment to make a child "water safe".
  
• Don't allow children to play in the pool/spa area.
  
• Look in the pool area first if a child is missing.
  
• Communicate pool safety measures with the baby-sitter and train the sitter in CPR.
  

Action Step: Preparation

• Insist anyone over 14 years of age have current CPR in infant/child safety.
  
• Communicate pool safety measures with the baby-sitter and train the sitter on infant/child CPR.
  
• Learn how to swim and learn rescue techniques.
  
• Mount rescue equipment by the pool such as a lifesaving ring, shepherd's hook, and a CPR sign.
  

WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A CHILD IN A POOL

• Yell for Help and get the child out of the pool and onto the pool deck.
  
• If someone is with you, have him or her call 9-1-1. Determine if the child is breathing: tilt the head back; if you don't hear or feel breathing or see the chest rising, begin CPR immediately. Continue CPR until emergency help arrives.
  
• If you are alone and the child is not breathing, start CPR immediately. After one minute, call 9-1-1. Return to the child and continue CPR until help arrives.

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