Summertime drowning prevention and safety precautions

In recognition of World Drowning Prevention Day, South Shore University Hospital invited the community for an educational event to promote swimming safety and drowning prevention.

A demonstration also took place by a pool and the waterfront, allowing individuals to learn about how safety techniques can change depending on the body of water.

Dr. Jerry Rubano took the time to explain just how common drowning is to the Long Island area.

“Drowning is actually one of the leading causes of preventable and accidental death in children. Suffolk County actually leads the state in the number of drownings per year,” Rubano said. “And so what we wanted to talk about was protecting yourself and your loved ones when you’re either enjoying the beach or the pool.”

For Rubano, one of the No. 1 issues he sees is the perception of drownings as loud and noticeable.

“Truthfully, most drownings are actually silent. And typically, what happens, primarily at pools, which is one of the most commonplace for drownings, is that people are not intentionally not paying attention, but because there’s not a lot of commotion, there’s no one person who’s specifically assigned to watching the pool and watching the people who are in the water. And since these drownings are silent, often people don’t realize that it’s happened until it’s too late,” he explained.

To address this common issue, Rubano had a few suggestions to promote swimming safety. “One is, we actually have them and we’re happy to give them out to people and offer them to people, is what we call a water watcher’s ID. What that is, is basically you wear an ID around your neck with a lanyard, and while you’re wearing that ID, you’re in charge of the pool. And that person who’s in charge and wearing the water watcher’s ID, their job is to focus on the pool. They’re not eating, they’re not drinking, they’re not on their phone. And we recommend that this person rotate out about every 30 minutes or so.”

Another suggestion he has is to wear swimwear that contrasts with the pool liner to allow clear visibility of the swimmers in the pool. Keeping pool gates locked is another way to promote safety for Rubano, so children cannot access a pool when nobody is watching it.

For ocean swimming, safety procedures can vary, but also can be similar. 

“You want someone to know that you’re in the water. You want to also know the strength of yourself or whoever you’re with as a swimmer. If you’re not a strong swimmer, going on in a bit rougher current is not a great idea. But importantly, you also do want to wear those bright colors and you want people who are around and know you’re there,” Rubano shared.

In emergency scenarios where even a partial drowning has occurred, knowing when and how to act is equally as important as a full drowning.

“More commonly we see near-drownings, so someone was stuck under the water and someone pulled them out, they didn’t have their heart stop or stop breathing from it. And so, then the question is often asked, ‘So who do you have to bring into the hospital to get checked out?’ Our answers are pretty simple. You know, if someone had a change in their skin color, you know, they look a little bit blue, that means that they weren’t getting some oxygen for a while. They should probably be checked out,” he explained.

However, even if the individual did not change color, they still could be at risk.

“For people who look well, that’s often the challenging one. So, if someone feels like they swallowed a lot of water or they’re nauseous or they’re throwing up, typically that patient’s at risk for having aspirated or had some of that fluid go into their lungs and they should be seen,” Rubano said.

The demonstration took place, and these pieces of advice were tested, including bathing suit color contrasts for keeping an eye on swimmers. South Shore University Hospital hopes the event goes a long way to preventing drowning on Long Island’s pools and beaches.