According to Khanh Hoa Provincial General Hospital, drowning is still one of the leading causes of death in children.
Citing data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the hospital said that Vietnam records nearly 2,000 children dying from drowning each year.
Many accidents occur in areas along rivers, streams, seas, ponds or during summer vacations when children lack adult supervision. Among them, the group of children from 5-14 years old is identified as having the highest risk.
What is worrying is that drowning often occurs very quickly and silently. Just a few minutes of losing vigilance, children can fall into an oxygen deficiency, stop breathing, severe brain damage or death.
According to doctors, the risk of drowning not only appears in the sea, rivers, lakes or swimming pools but can also occur in daily living environments.
Water containers such as water jars, buckets, basins or fish tanks in the family are all potentially risky for young children.
Khanh Hoa Provincial General Hospital recommends that parents not let children play by themselves near ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, canals or water storage facilities; always monitor children when swimming and playing in the water; teach children to swim and equip them with safety skills suitable for their age.
Children need to wear life jackets of the right size when boating, going to sea or participating in water activities.
When a child is found drowning, the rescuer needs to quickly take the child out of the water by safe method, place the child in a dry place, and check their breathing and circulatory conditions.
If the child is still awake, it is necessary to keep the body warm, lie on their side and take them to a medical facility for monitoring. In case the child is not breathing or breathing abnormally, it is necessary to perform aspiration, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and call emergency 115 as soon as possible.
The hospital also noted not to push the child upside down onto the shoulder and run around, not to press the abdomen to push water out or try to induce vomiting because these measures are not effective, can slow down the emergency process and increase the risk of sniffing.
According to doctors, drowning can be completely prevented if adults raise awareness of supervision and equip children with safety skills. Every proactive action of parents can contribute to protecting children's lives and limiting unfortunate accidents in the summer.
