Swimming safety tips ahead of Memorial Day weekend: IDPH

Bradley Zimmerman
·3 min read

ILLINOIS (WCIA) — This week is Healthy and Safe Swimming Week, and the Illinois Department of Public Health is reminding the public to take precautions to avoid drowning, spreading disease and being hurt by pool chemicals.

Like National Safe Boating Week, Healthy and Safe Swimming Week is observed the week before Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer. This year’s theme is Prevent Drowning: Swim Lessons Save Lives, and officials said it highlights the importance of basic swimming and water safety skills training in keeping both children and adults safe around water.

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“Swimming is a favorite summer pastime – one that provides fun and health benefits for Illinoisans of all ages,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement. “However, unsafe swimming can be dangerous, whether it is in a swimming pool or in natural bodies of water like rivers or lakes. Sadly, drownings are one of the leading causes of deaths in children, and even more so for those under 4. I encourage all Illinois residents – and especially those responsible for young children – to follow safe swimming practices to prevent drowning. One of those critical practices is encouraging swimming lessons for children. I ask all parents of young children to seek opportunities in their communities to build this critical life-saving skill.”

IDPH said that to keep children safe around water, they should have swimming lessons and be closely supervised at all times. Swimming pools should be fully enclosed by fencing.

Health officials also shared tips on how to avoid getting sick from recreational water illnesses like diarrhea. They noted that one diarrheal or vomiting accident in the water can release millions of germs, and swallowing a mouthful of contaminated water can cause diarrhea that can last up to three weeks.

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To avoid getting sick, officials offered the following tips:

  • Don’t swim or let your kids swim if they have or have had diarrhea in the past two weeks. If there is an accident, let the pool operator know.

  • Try not to get water in your mouth.

  • Check out the latest pool inspection report and do your own mini-inspection.

  • Take kids on bathroom breaks every 60 minutes.

  • Check diapers every 30 to 60 minutes and change them in a bathroom or diaper-changing area – not waterside – to keep germs away from the water.

  • Shower before you get in the water. Rinsing off in the shower for just one minute helps get rid of most stuff that might be on swimmer’s body.

Swimming in natural bodies of water such as lakes presents a unique set of risks like amoeba and algae, officials added. They advised using nose clips, avoiding putting one’s head underwater and not stirring up mud when swimming in warm freshwater areas. People should stay out of beaches that are closed and they should not swim in water that is either discolored of where there is visible foam or algae on the water’s surface.

Another concern the IDPH has is pool chemical safety. People who own and operate a swimming pool should know how to safely use pool chemicals and keep them out of children’s’ reach.

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