Crotch Hook

The World Health Organization has defined drowning as "the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in liquid." While life jackets are not the most fun and comfortable part of swimming for children, drowning can be avoided if more children wear them. There are styles that allow for comfort as well as safety. They have pink fish, blue fish, sharks and even mermaids. All of these styles are made to make it fun for kids while giving parents peace of mind. There are almost 4,000 drowning deaths in the United States alone. Drowning is the most common in children ages 1-4. (AM FAM PHYSICIAN) According to the WHO there are 370,000 deaths worldwide from drowning, making it the 3rd leading cause of death
of unintentional deaths.(who.int) One of the articles was trying to link sudden cardiac death to drowning. Stating that there was some sort of cardiac anomalie and this is what caused the drowning and not just the lack of swimming knowledge, but the percentage was too small to make a valid point in to drowning and cardiac death being related. (ADC, 2011) Cardiac arrhythmias caused by drowning are mostly from hypoxia; rescue breathing is a top priority in resuscitation. The body cannot go long without oxygen; our organs need oxygen to survive. (AM FAM PHYSICIAN) What can we do? Educate! Teach parents and children alike. Put fences around pools, show parents how to properly use a life jacket. Direct parents where there are swim lessons in their area. The more we educate the better off we are as parents, nurses and a community as a whole. Just putting on a life jacket is not the end all of safety however.
There are measures to ensure that it is done properly. Some come with a crotch strap. Studies have shown that wearing the crotch strap on a life vest, keeps the airway clear of the water compared to not wearing the crotch strap. A study was done using a manikin, with and without a crotch strap, exposed to waves for 3 hours. The time taken to aspirate on sea water doubled while wearing the life jacket with the crotch strap properly in place. This study proved that wearing a life jacket properly with the crotch strap properly in place, improved the performance of the jacket, and more importantly the longevity of the persons airway wearing it.
(ERGONOMICS) Looking in my own town for resources for swim lessons for my children, the Town of Brookline, NH did offer swim lessons, at $60 per child for a 3 week session. Expanding the search to other towns was just as available and roughly the same amount for the same amount of time. The average cost for swim lessons at the Town of Amherst Recreation Department, Baboosic Lake was $55 per child. For my 2 youngest children that would be $110 for 4, 30 minute sessions. At first glance it seems like a decent deal, but as a whole it can be costly when you consider the upfront cost for the average family. Makeasplash.org is a resource that provides assistance in finding swimming classes in your area. According to the US Swim Foundation, if a child learns how to swim, the likelihood of drowning drops 88%! The average cost of a lifejacket can run from $16.99 up to $59.00 at your local department store.. Then you have to think, which one is better? Is the most expensive better? Will it fail if it is lower priced? Will my child be safe? They have begun to reduce the “bulky” life vests and create a less restrictive one for children. These are also still coast Guard approved. Below is a picture of the new and “improved” version of the traditional life vest for children.

Boat safety is not far from taking a dip in the lake. We need to be just as safe and concerned on a boat as we do dipping our toes in a lake or ocean. Boats by law, in Massachusetts, need to carry 1 life vest and a throwable device per passenger and children 12 and under need to be wearing a life vest at all times while on the boat. Passengers actually do not need to be wearing the life vests unless you are under 12, but really should, drowning is just as much as a hazard especially if drinking is involved. (Mass.gov) From a nursing perspective, we may not see many of the victims of drowning as many don’t make it out of the water alive.
Those people that do survive can and most likely will end up in the ICU. We as nurses will explain what the tubes in their child’s throat are and why they are there. We will explain each procedure to the parents with the softest touch as their baby lay there intubated. We will comfort the parents; we will keep the child warm when no one is there. We will pray just as hard that the child recovers. We will explain how and why the child acquired pneumonia from drowning, which to them doesn’t make sense at all. A lung will lose surfactant from aspiration of lake water. We may certainly see near-drowning victims that will exhibit symptoms of cough, fever, rapid pulse, CMS and cyanosis from lack of oxygen. Nursing interventions will be to keep that airway open and monitor for s/s of CMS and oxygenation. Insert and IV as needed, obtain a GCS, maintain body temperature, monitor VS, LS, and maintain a calm environment for the family as well as the
patient. In conclusion, water safety can be a fun thing for children if we present it that way. It doesn’t have to be boring and mundane. Children learn in fun ways, making these life vests fun and festive makes children want to wear them. But in order to keep the statistics down, we need to educate the public on water safety. Swimming lessons, fencing around pools and community education always will help improve those outcomes. Making swimming lessons a tad more affordable and accessible to families of all incomes will most certainly help in the fight against drowning. We have nearly 4,000 deaths a year from drowning; we can educate the public and avoid at least some of these numbers. The articles that were out there did not truly get in to water safety and how to prevent it in a more lengthy way. They touched on the basics yes, however did not spend too much time or even resources on reaching out to the public on the issue even though it is the third leading cause of death among children in the U.S.