“Pediatric Trauma Care” with the funding of the “John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation” created the brochure “Swimming Saves Lives”.
This brochure will be distributed so that as many students, parents, and teachers as possible are informed about the prevention of children’s accidents in the water. Statistics show that every year a large number of children in our country die from drowning.
A study conducted by the Aristoteleio University of Thessaloniki mentions that in the last three years there has been a rapid increase of drownings in Greece.
On average every year in Greece 300 people drown, of which 80% are men, and about 12% are children and adolescents. 70% of drownings happen at sea, 25% in pools and the remaining 5% in lakes, rivers and elsewhere. Approximately 67% of drownings are recorded in July and August.
Most drownings happen at noon (42%), then in the morning (34%) and finally in the afternoon (21%).
Very worrying is the fact that there is an increase in the number of drownings of babies and children, from 2 to 16 years old, reaching up to 15% of all deaths from this cause. 10% of drownings are children up to 9 years old.
The World Health Organization records approximately 450,000 drownings per year. Drowning is the fifth leading cause of accidental death among all age groups and the second leading cause of injury and accidental death among children aged one month to 14 years old. The interest of scientists focuses on victims of “near-drowning” as the health problems that they develop can lead to the permanent impairment of their health or even death. For children, 35% of accidents in the water are fatal, 33% lead to a slight degree of neurological impairment and 11% lead to severe neurological problems. Amongst children aged one month to 14 years old 12 – 27% of those who survive develop health problems.
The main cause of drowning is the lack of education and awareness of safety precautions in and around water.
