With the weather heating up and the Memorial Day weekend just around the corner, more of us will be spending time outdoors enjoying picnics, barbecues and visits to the lake. To keep your family safe at the lake during National Water Safety Month, here are seven quick lake safety tips to remember:
- Never Swim Alone – It’s a best practice for swimmers of all ages, including adults.
- Children Should Always Be Supervised – even if they’re strong swimmers.
- Always Wear A Life Jacket – Even the most experienced swimmers cannot stop an under to from pulling them under a rock or underwater cliff. Life jackets keep you afloat.
- Always Check The Water By Dipping A Foot Or Hand In – If the dock is lit or a boat is nearby it’s possible electricity could be in the water. Electric shock drowning, also known as ESD, happens to many every year and that’s something you can’t get out of once you’re in the water.
- Enter The Water Feet-First – Serious injuries, including paralysis, can occur from diving head first into unknown water and hitting the bottom.
- Don’t Drink The Water – Untreated freshwater lakes can contain some particularly nasty microbes, including the deadly “brain-eating” amoeba Naegleria fowleri. More than just drinking avoid the water getting into your system through your nose. Every year, numerous Americans get one of these killers lodged deep in their sinuses by plunging into a water hole without plugging their noses first. The amoeba infects the brain by working its way up from the nasal passages and there’s not a lot doctors can do about it.
- Avoid Boat Exhaust Area When Swimming – If you’re swimming around a boat, stay away from the motor exhaust. Carbon monoxide fumes can kill.
