Summer fun hides hazards for children

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ALSO Sun safety a must for children

June 3, 1999
Web posted at: 3:44 p.m. EDT (1944 GMT)

In this story: Keeping kids safe near the pool Bugs in the water Protecting kids from Mother Nature RELATED STORIES, SITES

(CNN) -- Now that warm weather has reached the northern hemisphere, families will be playing in swimming pools, visiting water parks, and spending time outdoors. While summer is a time for fun, it is also the time when the most accidents involving kids occur.

Nearly 400,000 children under 14 are treated every year in hospital emergency rooms for bicycle injuries. Thirty-eight percent of bike-related deaths occur from July to September, according to the National Safe Kids Campaign. Nearly 80 percent of those fatalities are associated with the bike rider's behavior.

According to experts, learning the rules of the road and proper protection saves lives. Since many head injuries can be fatal, all bikers are urged to wear helmets.

Suzanne Ogaitis, a safety expert at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, says skateboarding and roller blading injuries, too, can be reduced by as much as 87 percent if protective gear -- helmets, wrist guards and elbow and knee pads -- is worn.

Keeping kids safe near the pool

Another summer hazard for children is the swimming pool.

Every year, more than 300 children under 5 fall into backyard pools and drown, usually at their own homes. According to a study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine earlier this year, adults are five times likelier than a child to be revived after such a life-threatening incident.

The American Heart Association and the American Red Cross say more than twice as many people are trained in adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as in infant CPR. The difference appears to be affecting survival rates among children, according to study author Dr. Paul Pepe of Allegheny Hospital.

"There's no way a professional rescuer can get to you in the four to five minutes in which brain damage can occur ... so it's up to a person there ... usually a family member in the case of a child...to perform CPR," said Pepe.

Bugs in the water

Public pools and water parks pose additional risks besides drowning.

Last year 26 children became sick, some severely, from E. coli after playing at a water park outside Atlanta. State health experts blamed fecal contamination in the water.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say the risk for contracting any disease from properly maintained swimming pools is low, but parents should not allow a child of any age to swim if he has diarrhea.

Health officials also stress teaching kids not to drink pool water. Those who became sick from E. coli in Atlanta were found to have swallowed the bacterium.

It is also recommended that parents not change diapers at poolside or rinse their hands in pool water after changing diapers.

"Chlorine has been the backup disinfectant for several generations in this country; however, it doesn't kill everything. There are germs that are resistant to chlorine," says Michael Beach of the CDC.

Protecting kids from Mother Nature

Even walking down the block can pose a danger, particularly to smaller children.

Young children have a tendency to put things into their mouths. Some common plants such as azaleas, daffodils and holly can be poisonous if swallowed. Medical treatment may be necessary.

Parents are advised to call the local poison control center if they think their child may have eaten a poisonous plant. Most poisoning can be treated at home with advice from the poison control center.

When contacting the poison control center or seeing a doctor, it is best if a parent can identify what the child ate and bring some of the leaves from the plant along.

Parents should supervise kids carefully in all settings, experts say, especially in the long hot days of summer.