Five Minutes Later

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire officials have reported that a 10-month old baby boy is in a critical condition after a drowning accident in a swimming pool.

The little boy was discovered floating by his father and promptly performed CPR before the emergency unit took over resuscitating the child who was not breathing and had no pulse.

The baby, who was taken to Methodist Hospital had his pulse revived and is currently on a ventilator, fighting for his life.

The parents reportedly told the authorities that the baby was only briefly out of their sight right before they found him in the water. There was no evidence of foul play.

According to the Metropolitan Fire Captain Christian Pebbles, drowning prevention is a duty that is 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Drowning is in fact, the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children aged 1 to 14 years old in a report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, in a state like California where the climate is often hot, drowning is the leading cause of child death, injury and disability.

Most children under 1 year old drown in drown in bathtubs, buckets, or toilets but children ages 1 to 4 years drown in residential swimming pools. Most of the children who drowned were also out of their parents’ sight for less than 5 minutes.

Should the child survive the drowning accident, it can still cause debilitating injuries such as long-term disabilities which include memory problems, learning disabilities, and permanent loss of basic functioning.

Letting your child out of your sight briefly, even for less than 5 minutes is enough to put your child’s life at risk especially if you’re anywhere near bodies of water.

While putting barriers or fences around pools will help decrease the chances of a drowning accident (as well as liability for owners of swimming pools), the presence of parents or adult supervision is still the primary way to prevent drowning accidents.

Drowning incidents in Orange County

During summertime, most people, adult and children alike, go to the beaches, water parks or pools to escape the heat. It is also during this time that most water accidents happen.

In Orange County, there had been about 16 drowning incidents reported. Drowning accidents may still increase as summer comes to its full swing.

In Mission Viejo, a 33-year-old man drowned. Two bystanders were able to pull him out of the water but the man died at the hospital two hours later.

In another incident, authorities responded to an emergency call in a home near Eastshore Street and Woodspring in Irvine. A 3-year-old boy nearly drowned while his mother, who was looking after him, was briefly distracted.

Also in another similar incident, paramedics again responded to a call in Mission Viejo. A 2-year-old girl was found underwater in a pool. The girl was pulled out of the water just in time. The girl’s mother was watching her but was briefly distracted when the incident happened.

In both of the near drowning accidents, children were monitored by adults who were distracted. To avoid similar incidents, it is advisable to designate at least one person to look after the children at all times and without any distractions.

Drowning takes seconds to transpire. Just when you thought that your children are safe, they are not.

However, when a drowning or near drowning incident is caused by the negligent act of another, the victim or their loved ones can sue the party at fault for damages. A personal injury lawyer could help them start a claim against the negligent party.

Factors That Contribute to Drowning Incidents

Drowning incidents also account for some of the fatalities in children and adults alike. Especially during summer or hot season, people tend to frequent pools and other recreation water areas.

Don’t let your fun time turn into a nightmare. Drowning can be caused by a lot of things. It is also worth to note that fatalities do not differ with people who know how to swim and those who cannot. If you want to prevent or minimize the risk of drowning while enjoying water sports and water recreations, these tips could just help save you and your family members from water related injuries as well as drowning or near drowning accidents.

First, do not consume too much alcohol. Alcohol disrupts your analytical thinking and slows your reaction time. If you are engaging in any water sports, be sure to have proper equipment. Do not overload your water vessels. Also, do not swim alone. Always make sure that somebody can see you. Even great swimmers get into accidents.

Some factors that may cause drowning regardless of whether you are a great swimmer or not are brought about by natural conditions such as water currents, bottom surface gradient and stability. These are the main reasons why, even if you are a great swimmer, you always need to make sure that somebody can see you or knows where you are while engaging in sports or fun activities in bodies of water.

It is well and good if all you get is a cold, a bump on the head, some scrapes and bruises in the skin. However, you may not be so lucky and end up near drowning or drowning ever. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Keep the above tips in mind and stay enjoying the waters longer.