4th of July Pool Safety

How is your family celebrating the 4th of July? Are you hosting the annual BBQ or heading to a friend's house? Preparing for a long weekend is more than a clean house and plenty of hot dogs… with a large group, specific supervision of children is especially important. Please consider that the layers of safety you have in your home may not be in place at a neighbor's or friend's house. Here are a few answers to questions that I have been asked lately. 

• What is Dry Drowning? The questions is "Can My Baby Drink Too Much Water"?  Dry Drowning  - scientifically known as Hyponatremia is an imbalance of substances in the bloodstream that reduces the effectiveness of sodium.  If a child is not taught proper breath control (i.e. - which is what children learn during the very first week of ISR lessons) they can passively breathe in water.  Simply put, hyponatremia occurs when either too much water is taken in or not enough water is excreted.  This disturbs the delicate balance and function of chemical and electrical processes in the body and can lead to a very serious medical problem.  
• What is Secondary Drowning? Click here to learn more about this on the TODAY Show.
• What Does Drowning Look Like? Drowning is not like what it looks like in the movies. It is silent and often times quick.  Children do not scream out for help and often go unnoticed.  This is why it is an absolute must to be the CEO of your child - Constant Eyes On Supervision.  If you see a child go underneath the water that you are not 100% positive knows how to swim - jump in and pull the child out of the water.   In any situation involving a possible drowning contact a physician immediately.  

ANY NEAR-DROWNING INVOLVING EVEN MOMENTARY LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS MUST BE FOLLOWED BY A 48-HOUR PERIOD OF OBSERVATION IN A HOSPITAL.  

Keep your family and friends safe with these water safety tips:

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