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Summary
Playing in the water - whether swimming, boating or diving - can be fun. It can also be dangerous, especially for children. Being safe can help prevent injuries and drowning. To stay safe in the water:
- Avoid alcohol when swimming or boating
- Wear a life jacket whenever you're in a boat
- Don't swim alone, or in bad weather
- Learn CPR
- Learn to swim and teach your children to swim
- Supervise your children when they are in the water
- Prevent sunburns - use plenty of sunscreen
Related Issues
- Cercarial Dermatitis (Swimmer's Itch) FAQs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- COVID-19: Visiting Beaches and Pools (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Diarrhea and Swimming (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Hot Tub Rash (Pseudomonas Dermatitis/Folliculitis) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Leptospirosis Risk in Outdoor Activities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-
Risky Drinking Can Put a Chill on Your Summer Fun
(National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) Also in Spanish
- Scuba Diving Safety (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
- Swimming and Ear Infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Swimming Pools and Molluscum Contagiosum (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Health Check Tools
- Water Safety (American Red Cross)
Statistics and Research
- CDC Study Finds Fecal Contamination in Pools (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Change in the activity of trunk and lower limb muscles during...
- Article: Preliminary Study of the Psychometric Properties of a Questionnaire to Assess...
- Article: Lightweight rowers' perspectives of living with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport...
- Water Safety (Recreational) -- see more articles
Find an Expert
Patient Handouts
- "Hot Tub Rash" and "Swimmer's Ear" (Pseudomonas) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish