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The summer months call for more time in the water, whether people are cooling off at the pool or staying active and participating in water sports. So it’s no surprise that the summer months also have a higher occurrence of water-related injuries. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2007 alone, there were 3,443 fatal cases of unintentional drowning in the United States and an additional 496 deaths in boating-related incidents, due to drowning and other causes.

Healthcare practitioners with advanced cardiac life support training are the most prepared to treat water-related injuries. Here are some facts that every healthcare practitioner should know.

Who is at Risk?

Who are you most likely to treat for a water-related injury? According to statistics from the CDC, males, children and minorities are at higher risk for accidental drowning.

• Men were found to be 3.7 times more likely to drown than women.
• Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 in the United States.
• African Americans were found to be 1.2 times more likely to drown than Caucasians, while Native Americans were found to be 1.7 times more likely than Caucasians.

What Other Factors Contribute to Risk?

As a healthcare practitioner, it is also important to be aware of environmental factors that contribute to higher risk for water-related injury. The most common environmental factors in water-related injury and death include:

• Lack of barriers and supervision – Children under the age of 1 frequently drown in bathtubs or other shallow water containers, while children ages 1 to 4 are more likely to drown in residential swimming pools. The lack of fences or protective barriers around pools and the lack of supervision are two factors that greatly increase the risk of unintentional drowning for children.
• Natural water settings – Most drowning incidents among individuals over the age of 15 occur in natural water settings, such as lakes, rivers or oceans.
• Boating accidents – Reports from the U.S. Coast Guard showed that 9 out of 10 individuals that drown in boating accidents were not wearing a life jacket. Other common causes of injury in boating-related accidents include trauma, hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Alcohol use – Alcohol is involved in up to half of all adolescent and adult water-related deaths. It was also reported that one in five boating fatalities involved alcohol use. 
• Seizure disorders – Drowning is the most reported cause of unintentional injury or death for people with seizure disorders.

About Health Ed Solutions’ ACLS Training Courses

Health Ed Solutions is a leader in providing healthcare professionals with advanced cardiac life support training. For more information on ACLS certification requirements and ACLS recert online, visit www.HealthEdSolutions.com.