BALTIMORE — The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) shared water safety tips during Healthy and Safe Swimming Week to prevent water-related injuries. Healthy and Safe Swimming Week took place from May 20-26, the week leading up to Memorial Day— the unofficial start of summer.
“It’s important to remember that water is a potentially dangerous force. No matter where you swim, please keep safety in mind to prevent injuries and drownings,” said MDH Secretary Robert R. Neall.
Swimming is one of Maryland’s most popular sporting and leisure activities. This year’s campaign will increase awareness of the simple things people can do to prevent the most common and serious health and safety risks associated with recreational water activities— drownings and injuries, sunburns and potential infections.
Follow these tips so that you can safely enjoy all that Maryland’s recreational waters have to offer:
•Never swim alone
•Always be aware of young children’s activities and whereabouts
•Use swim vests on all young children at the beach and for weaker swimmers in pools
•Reapply sunscreen frequently throughout the day
•Drink plenty of fluids
•Don’t swallow pool or beach water
•Change children’s diapers often to minimize the risk of contaminating water
•Don’t swim when you have diarrhea, or if you have open skin wounds or
infections
•Stay out of the water if it has a strange color
•Use bug spray
•Learn how to avoid and to escape rip currents
•For pool owners, follow package
directions when using pool chemicals
•Save contact information for emergency personnel in your cell phone
For more information, call the Maryland Department of Health’s Environmental Health Helpline at 1-866-703- 3266 or email mdh.envhealth@maryland.gov