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Div. of Media Relations
1600 Clifton Road
MS D-14
Atlanta, GA 30333
(404) 639-3286
Fax (404) 639-7394 |
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May 25, 2001
Contact: CDC, Division of Media Relations
(404) 639-3286
Backgrounder
CDC releases strategies to help ensure a safe and healthy
Memorial Day
Millions of Americans will be heading to pools, lakes, the ocean and
elsewhere to enjoy outdoor activities this Memorial Day weekend. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would like to remind
people to learn about strategies to help protect themselves from injury
and illness during outdoor recreational activities.
Many Americans die each year from drowning, suffer from infectious
diseases or suffer health consequences from over exposure to the sun
during outdoor recreational activities. CDC has developed many strategies
that can go a long way to help ensure people stay safe and healthy when
they enjoy the outdoors. Some of those strategies listed below include:
Strategies to reduce drownings associated with recreational water
use include:
- Whenever young children are swimming, playing, or bathing in water,
make sure an adult is constantly watching them. By definition
this means that the supervising adult should not read, play cards,
talk on the phone, mow the lawn, or do any other distracting activity
while watching children.
- Never swim alone or in unsupervised places. Teach children to always
swim with a buddy.
- Never drink alcohol during or just before swimming, boating, or
water skiing. Never drink alcohol while supervising children. Teach
teenagers about the danger of drinking alcohol and swimming, boating,
or water skiing.
- Learn to swim. Enroll yourself and/or your children aged 4 and older
in swimming classes. Swimming classes are not recommended for children
under age 4.
- Learn CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation). This is particularly
important for pool owners and individuals who regularly participate in
water recreation. Do NOT use air-filled swimming aids (such as
"water wings") in place of life jackets or life preservers
with children. These can give parents and children a false sense of
security and increase the risk of drowning.
- Check the water depth before entering. The American Red Cross recommends
9 feet as a minimum depth for diving or jumping.
If you have a swimming pool at home be sure to:
- Install a four-sided, isolation pool-fence with self-closing and
self-latching gates around the pool. The fence should be at least 4
feet tall and completely separate the pool from the house and play
area of the yard.
- Prevent children from having direct access to a swimming pool.
- Install a telephone near the pool. Know how to contact local
emergency medical services. Post the emergency number, 911, in an
easy-to-see place. Learn CPR.
Strategies to help prevent infectious diseases due to fecal accidents
in swimming pools include:
- Don’t swim when you have diarrhea...this is especially important
for kids in diapers. You can spread germs into the water and make
other people sick.
- Don’t swallow the pool water. In fact, try your best to avoid even
having water get in your mouth.
- Wash your hands with soap and water after using the toilet or after
changing diapers. You can protect others by being aware that germs on
your body end up in the water.
- Take your kids on bathroom breaks often. Waiting to hear "I
have to go" may mean that it’s too late.
- Change diapers in a bathroom and not at poolside. Germs can spread
to surfaces and objects in and around the pool and spread illness.
Strategies to help avoid overexposure to the sun include:
- Wear sunscreen with an SPF factor of 15 or higher (both UVA and UVB
protection), whenever you’re outdoors during the day. Remember to
reapply it often.
- Wear long sleeves and pants when you are not in the water to help
protect skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays.
- Wear a hat to help shield your skin from the sun's harmful UV rays.
- Wear sunglasses to help protect your eyes from UV rays and reduce
the risk
of cataracts.
More detailed information can be found at:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/drown.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/chooseyourcover/
CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and controlling
diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible
information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through
strong partnerships with local, national and international organizations.
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