Prevent Thousands of Summer Childhood Tragedies
From Seattle Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center comes a reminder about water safety in the summer: Fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of injury-related death for children. In 2004 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) reported approximately 4,000 deaths resulting from water accidents, averaging nine per day. Non-fatal drownings are nearly five times higher in number, and can cause severe difficulties including brain damage, memory problems, learning disabilities or permanent loss of basic functioning. Drownings increase greatly in summer when children play at beaches, swimming pools, lakes, rivers and even small backyard wading pools. Areas of the country with rivers, beaches or lakes are especially vulnerable, but children can drown in just a few inches of water <