For most American families, summer activities and vacations involve swimming and diving in a backyard, community or hotel pool, or in one of our country’s many rivers, creeks, lakes and oceans. Your swimming skills may also be put to the test while kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, surfing, waterskiing, sailing and enjoying numerous other water-related activities.

The dangers, both of drowning and contracting a water-born bacterial infection, are real and not to be ignored.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans make more than 300 million visits to pools each year. The number of pool-associated outbreaks — mostly of diarrhea — has significantly increased during the past 20 years. In 2009-2010, the last year for which data is available, outbreaks involving 57 pools sickened more than 1,000 people and sent 40 swimmers to the hospital. Injuries caused by improperly used pool chemicals led to about 5,000 emergency department visits in 2012 alone.

On average, according to the CDC, nearly 4,000 swimmers drown each year. Children younger than 5 years old are the most frequent victims, followed by adults age 75 and older. Appropriate pool fencing significantly reduces the risk of drowning; more than half of all swimming pool drownings among young children could be prevented by four-sided fencing that completely separates the pool from the house and the yard. Drowning also accounts for 14 percent of deaths of U.S. citizens traveling abroad.

Here are some tips, based on CDC recommendations, to help you stay healthy and safe this summer.

Tips to Avoid Injury and Drowning

• Formal swimming lessons and water-safety skills training can and should start at a young age. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics supports swimming lessons as young as 1 year of age.
• Swim only when lifeguards are on duty, if possible. And children should be supervised closely by adults at all times around water, even when lifeguards are on duty.
• Learn about local water conditions, currents and rules before entering the water.
• Use lifejackets and other proper safety equipment.
• Make sure all scuba gear, including masks and tanks, are properly fitted and maintained.
• Never swim alone — especially in unfamiliar waters.
• Never dive in shallow water; always enter unfamiliar water feet first to avoid head and other injuries.
• Be aware of and avoid both known and hidden obstacles in the water.
• Obey all posted signs and warnings, which may not always be present or visible from your location.
• Know the meaning of and obey the warnings represented by colored beach flags. These may vary from one beach to another, so don’t be shy about asking a lifeguard what they mean.
• Use experienced guides when boating, scuba diving or participating in other water-related activities.
• Learn the risks associated with local aquatic life — for example, sea urchins, jellyfish and sea lice — before you get in or on the water.
• Watch for signs of a rip current, which is water moving quickly in a channel away from shore, before entering the ocean; if you are caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore until free, then swim diagonally toward the shore.
• Don’t drink alcohol before or during swimming, diving or boating, because alcohol affects balance, coordination and judgment.

Tips to Avoid Germs in the Water

• Don’t swallow the water you are in or on.
• Don’t swim with open cuts, abrasions or wounds. Breaks in the skin can let harmful germs into your body.
• Don’t swim if you have diarrhea.
• Never swim in cloudy or dirty water.
• Be careful about swimming or wading in fresh water in some countries:
  • Infections such as schistosomiasis and leptospirosis are spread by contact with fresh water. These microbes can penetrate your skin, so swallowing water isn’t necessary to cause infection.
  • Avoid contact with any fresh water (ponds, lakes, rivers and smaller streams) where these infections are a problem (see the CDC’s destination pages for more information).
  • Seek medical care if you think you have been exposed to a waterborne infection.

If a Drowning Accident Happens

If a drowning accident should happen despite all precautions, call 911 immediately then begin CPR if the victim has stopped breathing. CPR performed on-site by lifeguards, family members or even bystanders has been shown to improve the outcomes for drowning victims. Starting CPR immediately, rather than waiting for emergency personnel, can help reduce the chance of brain damage.

Learn how to perform CPR for a drowning victim with this video by the American Lifeguard Association:

Carrollton Emergency Physicians provides board-certified emergency medicine physicians for Tanner emergency departments in Bremen, Carrollton and Villa Rica. For more information about emergency care at Tanner, visit tanner.org or call 770-812-9666.