Thursday, July 20, 2023, 2:10 p.m.
Already in the height of summer it is likely that almost everyone has already stepped on a beach or swimming pool. The suffocating heat of the heat waves that the entire country is suffering, especially the Region of Murcia and the southern part of the peninsula, forces people to look for cool places next to the water where they can take a bath and combat the high temperatures. However, these days of enjoyment and fun can become a real risk if the appropriate and safe measures are not taken, especially in the case of children, who may suffer an accident.
Unfortunately, every year some fatal event happens that ends the life of a child due to the dangers they face on beaches and swimming pools. So that they can enjoy themselves safely in the water, there are numerous elements that help them float and move and that everyone uses: sleeves, floats, vests… but we must take into account the very dangers that these can pose, since they can give an apparent sense of security that can be false.
This is the case of the use of sleeves in children who cannot swim, as can be seen in the video shared on Twitter by the user Alberto García-Salido (@Nopanaden), a pediatric intensive care doctor who wanted to demonstrate what can happen to a child who falls into the water with the sleeves on. As shown, when entering the water with arms raised, the cuffs come off easily and the child falls without any protection, thus being in the water without assistance. If the child wears the sleeves for comfort, but knows how to swim, the problem will not be greater as a general rule, since he will be able to defend himself and float.
On the other hand, in the case of children who do not know how to swim, this event can be fatal, since they will not be able to stay on the surface on their own. For them it is more advisable to use vests or belts, devices that do not detach so easily from the child’s body, but allow the child to jump or fall into the water without detaching and getting the child to return to the surface after submerging. To avoid serious accidents, it is important to know the appropriate safety elements for each person.
#kids #swim #shouldnt #wear #armbands