Danger of drowning • 22 people have drowned since the beginning of the bathing season How will we protect our children and ourselves?

From the beginning of the bathing season (Saturday 20/03/21) until the beginning of the week (Sunday 25/07/21) Magen David Adom teams determined the death of 22 Citizens, who drowned to death on bathing beaches, in pools and water sources throughout the country. In addition, the MDA medics and paramedics provided medical treatment to119 More people in drowning cases in the sea, pools and various water reservoirs.

Details of drowning cases from the current bathing season, according to MDA data:

61 of the drownings occurred in the Mediterranean Sea
13 in private pools
7 in B&Bs
21 in public pools,
6 in Kinneret
3 in the Red Sea (Eilat)
18 in the Dead Sea
12 additional cases in various streams and reservoirs

During the last weekend, which was particularly deadly, MDA teams had to determine the death of 8 bathers.

On the evening of Saturday 24/07/21, at 18:56, MDA teams had to determine the death of a 46-year-old man, at the end of intensive resuscitation operations, who drowned at the unannounced Date Beach in Acre. 

MDA paramedic, Ella Shapir, said:

When we arrived at the beach, we saw the drowning man who was pulled from the water by passers-by lying near the waterline, unconscious, without a pulse and without breathing, and they were performing basic resuscitation on him. We continued with the medical treatment, which included breathing, massages, and administering medication. We transferred him while continuing treatment to the intensive care unit But unfortunately in the end we had to determine his death.

A day later (Sun. 25/07/21) at 08:48, MDA's 101 call center received a call about an unconscious child who was found by a boat in the depths of the sea near Acre, after he drowned together with his father on Shabbat night at the Palm Beach and went missing. MDA medics and paramedics had to determine the death of the 10-year-old boy. 

Paramedic MDA Talal Fars said: 

We teamed up with a boat that rescued the boy from the sea to the naval officers' school. We performed medical tests but he had no signs of life and we had no choice but to determine his death.

These cases are just the tip of the iceberg.

So how do we behave in order to avoid such painful situations and preserve our lives and the lives of our loved ones?

Racheli Or from the "Like a Fish in the Water" Center:

I am terribly, terribly sad about every disaster and everyone who lost a loved one... and that's why we put it on our agenda to teach independence in the water
And, I'm really asking, begging each and every one... to take responsibility: not to enter the sea without a lifeguard, not to build pools at home if there is no way to protect and protect that there will be no free entry, to be completely aware that the source of water, although it is fun and pleasant, it may also be a danger . Don't say "it won't happen to me". The more awareness there is and both the citizens and the state raise the issue to awareness, maybe we will be able to prevent the next drowning.

Racheli Or treats and teaches behavior in the water already Over 30 years. She specializes in diving instruction, swimming instruction, hydrotherapy, and other fields that deal with water. Over the years, she has made it her goal to convey to parents and adults as much as she can, about the abilities we have on the one hand - knowing how to be around the water, and on the other hand - knowing the dangers inherent in the danger in the water.

A skill that must be taught to every baby and toddler

"It is possible to teach a child from a very young age to know how to float himself on the surface of the water, it is a skill that I think every baby and toddler must be taught. In "Like a fish in water", we have developed a way that teaches children, if they have fallen into the water, how to pick themselves up and reach a safe place. Swimming according to dictionary definition is the ability to move forward in the water without auxiliary equipment, it is a skill that a child can acquire already at the age of 2. If he was trained for this from a young age.

In "like a fish in the water" we start from the age of two and a half months. In addition to knowing this skill, the authorities must instill in people the understanding of the danger inherent in entering the sea without lifeguard supervision, or entering springs or streams. Sometimes, the sea that seems to be the calmest has eddies and currents inside it and can actually cause death," Racheli warns.

An untrained person cannot save a drowning person

"Several years ago, I was at the beach and I saw a father and his daughter go into the water. The daughter got into trouble and the father went in to help her, the result was that the daughter was saved and the father drowned. It's a story that repeats itself too many times, unfortunately," emphasizes Racheli.

"When you see someone in danger of drowning, if you are not trained in rescue, the big chance is that when you go in to help - either you will both drown, or one of you. An untrained person does not know the behavior of a person in distress in the water. A person in distress in the water goes into hysteria and will drown whoever wants to come help him The skill to save a person from drowning is acquired in lifeguard courses and the basic thing they learn is that you do not approach a person in distress in the water without an aid, this goes beyond the skill of the rescue itself.

A child can drown even in a puddle

A child can drown in a puddle, so under no circumstances should you leave a child near a source of water, not even for a second and not if you put buoys on him and you think he is protected. Buoys also pose a danger because the parent thinks that the child is protected and then can pay less attention and also because if the child turns face down into the water, the buoys do not lift his head and he can drown with the buoys. In drowning, it is enough that the nose and mouth are in the water. That's why you don't leave a child near a water source.

"In my opinion, the dangers today are greater," emphasizes Racheli, "parents are very distracted by the phones, there have even been cases where a parent with a child in the bathtub receives a phone call or an SMS message, leaves the bathtub for a second and the child can drown. You do not leave a child near a water source even if He knows how to swim."

How to avoid drowning hazards

• Take your children at a young age to learn water skills from professionals with experience in standard pools.
• Do not leave a child near a water source, even if he is wearing a float!
• If you are building a pool in your home, make sure that the child has no ability to reach it without your supervision, whether you use fences, locks, anything possible. Remember! Just as a child is able to jump onto the road and you will keep him from doing that, so even more so you must keep him near a water source.
• Do not enter the sea without the supervision of a lifeguard! The sea can "lie", for a moment it looks very weak, you went out to swim in the deep, suddenly it rises, there are currents and you cannot return.
• In any case, if you have entered the current, do not fight it, let the current take you. Eventually the current will run out and you can exit the vortex. The most important thing is not to resist the current because this can lead to exhaustion, exhaustion and eventually drowning.
• If you want to swim far, alert the lifeguard that you have gone for a long swim. If the lifeguard tells you not to go out because the sea is high and dangerous then don't go out. And always obey his instructions.
• Do not go for a deep swim without an aid, even if the lifeguard knows that you are swimming far, it is possible that by the time the lifeguard arrives you will already have drowned.
• Today there are many swimming groups, surfing groups, surf groups. If you already want to do these activities, go to sea in a group with a person trained for this and with rescue devices. andOnly on designated beaches.
• You must teach your children about the dangers of the sea, look for surfing or diving clubs that give theoretical lectures about the dangers of the sea in addition to learning the activity.
• If you or your children are going camping in an area of ​​the sea without lifeguard supervision, always remember that the danger is also close to the shore, Even in the first meter of the sea you can find currents and dangers.
• Lots of teenagers like to have fun in the sea, drink alcohol, celebrate life. When your child goes to such a meeting, warn him of the dangers or arrange for a responsible adult to be present.
• In public pools, even though there is a lifeguard, sometimes because of the crowd, the lifeguard cannot see your children every second. Don't be complacent With the phone or with a friend scale and send your children alone to the water.
• Also teach children the dangers of playing in the water, one drowns the other, stops his breath and all kinds of games like this can end in a big disaster.
• When you are traveling and there are springs and streams it is very tempting to enter them, obviously there is no lifeguard there. Many times in streams and springs there are stones from which you can be hurt, or mud that pulls you down. If you want to enter such places, check the instructions and signs in the area and see if you can enter at all.
• Of course if you are with your children, check that it is standing deep and that you can hold them there, in order to avoid the risk of drowning.

Rachel summarizes:
Like I said, drownings can be prevented, so it hurts me a lot when people drown.
Remember! Although we were created in an environment of water, but at birth our respiratory system changed. We breathe air and we don't fish."

Then she adds: "It's terribly sad and saddens me so much when I hear that someone has lost the most precious thing to them... That's why I want everyone to read the article and think carefully before entering the sea without a lifeguard and to be safe
It is good for their children when they are near a source of water.