Can Coronavirus Spread at the Pool?

Some people, especially avid swimmers, have concerns that the coronavirus (otherwise known as COVID-19) might be able to spread through water. The good news is, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is no current evidence to support those concerns. The bad news is that finding a place to swim regularly for many people means violating safe social distancing practices. Going to a pool at the local gym would mean passing by lockers, equipment, benches, and other surfaces that several other people have touched. Swimming in open water such as a river or a lake is not recommended if swimming alone, but puts people at risk of infection if they go in groups. It is difficult to know the appropriate route to take.

What We Know About Coronavirus

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the coronavirus is an infectious respiratory illness. This means that it is airborne and can be transmitted through spit and mucus droplets after sneezing, shaking hands, or touching surfaces that an infected person has touched. It gets into the body through the viral transmission sites: e, eyes, and mouth. Therefore, people are being advised to wash their hands frequently, thoroughly sanitize surfaces, and avoid touching their faces.

According to Roberta Lavin, professor of medicine from University of Tennessee College of Nursing, swimming itself is likely one of the safer activities that can be done during this time. There is no evidence that the virus spreads through water, and the proper amount of chlorine and other chemicals in the pool will kill the virus. Proper pool maintenance is as important now as it has ever been. However, the issue comes when attempting to comply with social distancing.

How to Reduce Risk and Stay Safe

Many communities have begun to loosen their social distancing recommendations and restrictions while others are continuing to remain cautious. If you are in an area where the regulations are being relaxed, it is crucial that you continue to follow safe social distancing guidelines to reduce your risk of contracting the virus.

Practice good hygiene.

As always, shower before and after entering the swimming pool. Wash your hands after touching public surfaces and avoid touching your face.

Remain six feet away from others.

Do not swim near other people if you are in a shared pool. Avoid touching hard surfaces as much as possible such as the edge of the pool and ladders unless you are using it to assist you with entering and exiting.

Pay attention to your body.

If you are experiencing any negative respiratory symptoms whatsoever, do not go to a shared swimming pool (or out in public at all). It is important that you do everything in your power to keep yourself and others safe.

Coronavirus and the Pool

Before deciding to go swimming in a shared pool, be sure to check your community’s current social distancing regulations. While it is unlikely that coronavirus can spread in the pool water itself, there are several risks to consider. Practice recommended safety guidelines, and avoid going swimming in a pool, river, or lake if appropriate social distancing is not feasible.

5 Hidden Dangers in a Swimming Pool

Many people school their children on general pool safety guidelines. “Don’t run around the pool.” “Don’t push one another under while playing.” “No diving.” These are great rules and should continue to be preached. But there are some hidden pool dangers that you and even the most seasoned pool owners never considered.

Drowning

You might think that this one is obvious, but that is exactly the problem: Drowning is not always obvious. You might think your child will give some form of distress signal, but drowning is often called “The Silent Death” because it happens quickly, without warning, and silently. Your child is unlikely to make any sound if he is drowning. If he is stuck underwater, he will be unable to signal you, and you might not know what is happening until it is too late.

Pool Drain

The pool drain is necessary to properly filter your pool water and keep it from becoming stagnant and dirty. A proper filtration system can help prevent the spread of germs in the water. However, if the drain is not properly covered, it can produce a powerful suction that a small child cannot fight against. Older children and adults can also get caught underwater and be unable to free themselves from the drain before suffering significant injuries.

Teach children to avoid the drain. All swimmers should have long hair tied in a tight bun and avoid wearing loose jewelry in the pool. Taking these steps and following proper guidelines can help keep you and your children safe.

Flotation Devices, Noodles, and Other Toys

Arm floaties, puddle jumpers, pool noodles, and other flotation devices can create a false sense of security in children and parents. While these items can help children stay afloat and can make the pool experience safer and more fun, they are not a substitute for constant adult supervision. If you are at a gathering with multiple adults, someone should always be designated to watch the children.

Lack of Supervision

A lot of things can go wrong at a swimming pool, and it can happen in the blink of an eye. As we have already touched on, lack of supervision plays a large role in swimming-related accidents. It is important to pay attention to the details surrounding potential accidents such as leaving the ladder in the pool when it is not being used, risk of shock from electrical equipment such as underwater lights and music, and energetic children prone to taking risks. Always ensure there is an adult who is not in the pool providing constant supervision.

Spreading Germs

Every time you swim in a public or shared pool, you run the risk of contracting Recreational Water Illnesses (RWIs). According to the CDC, the most common RWI is diarrhea. It is caused by ingesting water contaminated with germs such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Shigella, norovirus, and Ecoli. To prevent these illnesses, shower before and after swimming. If you or a child has recently had diarrhea, avoid swimming in a shared pool. Checking the safety score of the pool and the chemical levels before swimming are recommended to ensure the safety of you and your children as well.

We all want to be able to kick back and enjoy cooling off in the summer with our friends and family. The best way to guarantee that everyone has a great time is to create a safety plan and stick to it. Remain mindful of these five hidden pool dangers and factor them into your summertime swimming plans.

Exposure to the sun is an inevitable part of our life. We all need it so our skin can use sunlight and create Vitamin D. This essential vitamin helps our body absorb calcium better and develop stronger bones. However, too much exposure to sunlight can be a problem.
Our skin is so sensitive that as little as 15 minutes of exposure to harmful UV rays can cause skin damage. This issue of sensitivity is even worse when it comes to kids. In order to aid in sun protection, it is advised to protect the skin by various methods that are available.

Consequences of not using protection:

It is common knowledge that excessive sun exposure can lead to many undesirable effects on an individual’s health. It can lead to premature aging and wrinkling of the skin, damage to eyes, and suppression of the immune system.

The preliminary sign of failing sun protection is redness of the skin. Exposure to the sun can sometimes be tricky as the effects may not be felt immediately and symptoms may only manifest later.

Unregulated exposure of kids to the sun can cause nausea, dizziness, vomiting, confusion, disorientation, unconsciousness, and heat stroke. Blisters and fever may show up later. It can also lead to cataracts, and in severe cases, melanoma (skin cancer).

Melanin’s role in protection:

Melanin is a chemical that is naturally found in the skin. This chemical serves as protection against UV rays. The lighter the skin, the lesser is the amount of melanin for protection. Hence light-skinned kids are at a bigger disadvantage and need sun protection more.

How to protect your little ones:

There are various ways to protect kids against harmful sun rays. These good practices must be implemented and promulgated so that more and more people can benefit from them. Let’s take a look at some of these:

• Avoid venturing out when it is too sunny:

Try to stay indoors from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon to prevent exposure to the strongest rays of the sun. Throughout this range, the sun is at its peak and can cause more damage than during other times.

• Look for shade:

As far as possible, seek shade to prevent exposure. Even if your kids are playing out in a park, they can be moved under the shade of a tree or a building. This is especially important around noon when the sunrays are the strongest.

• Apply sunscreen:

If you are going to have your kids out in the sun, there is no better protection against it than an appropriate sunscreen lotion. Sunscreen can provide complete protection against UV rays. It is recommended that an SPF factor of 30 or higher be used.
Choose a sunscreen that protects against a broad spectrum. This means UVA and UVB protection. Also, there are some sunscreens that claim to be water-resistant. These must be used if your kids are going to be playing in the water, say at a beach or a swimming pool. It should be noted though, that no sunscreen is 100% water-resistant and hence, it must be reapplied every time kids come out of the water.

Use sunglasses:

A good pair of sunglasses can provide excellent protection to kids against dangerous sun rays. Contrary to popular belief, sunglasses should be worn all year and not just in summer.

They protect the eyes and the sensitive skin around it against the sun’s harmful rays. If not used, sun rays can cause irreversible damage to the eyes. Therefore, invest in a good pair of sunglasses that block UVA and UVB rays for your children.

Cover all areas of the body:

It must be understood that a young one’s skin is far more sensitive than an adult’s. The melanin in their skin, especially in babies, is still developing and cannot provide protection against UV rays. Sunburns also occur easily due to this reason.
All body parts must be covered with clothing to reduce exposure. Hats should be used to protect the head. For areas, that cannot be covered, some sunscreen must be applied.

What is UV clothing?

Covering your kids up with clothing, though helpful cannot provide adequate protection. The SPF rating of a regular cotton t-shirt is less than SPF 15. It drops further when the t-shirt becomes wet.

Advances in technology have enabled us to create clothing that provides UV protection. This new UV clothing is the ultimate protection against UV radiation. It has a rating of SPF 30 or higher and can help you to ditch sunscreen altogether for covered areas.

These sun protection clothing are categorized on the basis of protection they provide using a characteristic called UPF. UPF stands for Ultraviolet Protection Factor. If a garment is classified as UPF 25 for instance, it means that only 1/25th of the sunrays make it to the skin through the fabric. That means that the fabric absorbs 96 percent of the sunrays that fall on it.

The higher is the UPF rating, the better is the protection offered by the sun protection clothing. A clothing accessory with UPF 50 or higher is what you should be buying for your children. They absorb at least 98 percent of the UV radiation. UV hats are a similar piece of clothing that provides protection for your kid’s face and head.

Summing it up:

It is crucial to have a plan in place to provide your kids with adequate protection from the sun. In the United States itself, in the past 10 years, melanoma cases have shown a hike of 53%. Melanoma is the most dangerous of all skin cancers and 90 percent of these cases are due to excessive exposure to sunlight.

Both physical and chemical methods of sun exposure prevention are effective and must be used in conjunction wherever possible. Sun protection clothing is a great way to combat UV rays. The dangers of unaided skin exposure to sunlight are very real and must not be taken lightly. Your kids have sensitive skin and the responsibility falls upon you to provide them with adequate protection and compensate for it.

References:

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/basic_info/children.htm

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sun-safety.html

https://familydoctor.org/effects-early-sun-exposure/

https://www.travelandleisure.com/style/fashion/womens-sun-protective-clothing

http://www.healthcommunities.com/sun-safety/harmful-effects-of-the-sun.shtml

How to Teach a Child to Swim: 5 Tips and for Success

With summer fast approaching, many families are excited to spend time at the pool. Knowing how to swim is an important life skill and can make it easier for children to have fun and feel safe. We have compiled these five tips and tricks for teaching your child to swim. Keep in mind that a child should never be thrown into the water and “forced to learn.” That is an outdated, dangerous method and can put the child at risk for drowning. Enlist the help of a reputable instructor or swimming program that can teach the skills properly. You can then take the skills you and your child have learned and build on them each time you are in the water together.

Patience is Key

As with other motor skills, learning how to swim does not come with being told or shown once or twice, but is a skill that is learned through consistent practice over time. Be patient and help your child practice the same methods repeatedly. Explain that they should be patient and not expect to do everything perfectly the first time. Patience and repetition will help swimming become second nature. Take your time, and give your child time to learn at their own pace so they become comfortable in the water and have fun with you while they learn.

Bring a Friend

If your child has a friend who also needs to learn to swim, that is even better! The two can learn these skills together, give each other advice as they learn, and encourage one another as they go. Learning alongside a peer can be a rewarding and positive experience.

Make it Fun

Learning to swim does not have to be a boring activity. Your child should not feel that learning to swim is too much work or they will not feel encouraged to continue and will not enjoy being in the water. Incorporate swimming toys, floats, pool noodles, and other swimming items in the learning process so that your child stays engaged and excited about learning.

Have Snacks Ready

Swimming is serious exercise and can take a toll on even the most energetic child. A hungry kid can be a cranky kid who does NOT want to learn and may give up quickly. Pack healthy snacks for improving focus and energy. Granola bars, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, trail mix, sandwiches, and other high protein snacks can keep energy levels and spirits high.

The More Time, The Better

The more time you spend in the water, the more comfortable you and your child will become.  Daily swimming is the best way to learn. If you cannot spend every day in the water, four to five times a week is good, and one to three times a week is better than nothing. The more practice your child has, the more quickly their skills will improve, and the more excited and confident they will be about getting in the water for fun.

How to Teach a Child to Swim: 5 Tips and Tricks for Success

Be patient with your child and teach them to respect the water and follow all safety guidelines when near a pool or outdoor body of water. Keep in mind that you must always supervise your child no matter how strong a swimmer they are. It is also a good idea to take CPR and First Aid classes before venturing into the water with your child. Having the knowledge and skills to assist your child can improve your time in the water and make sure you both have fun.