If you see someone in distress in the water this summer, you may have to go against your first instinct, Dr. Michael Flaherty, a critical care physician at Mass General for Children, told MassLive.
According to Flaherty, the single most important thing you can do when you spot someone who may be drowning is call for help. He likened it to safety instructions on a plane — where you are told to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others.
“It’s tough to do because you don’t want to leave the victim, but you have to sort of also assess what the safety is for yourself,” Flaherty said Monday. “We hear so often of people going into bodies of water, trying to save someone else, and then also drowning.”
“It’s making sure that you’re a good swimmer, that the situation is safe before you try to go and save the person yourself. The first step is to try to call for help … before then trying to go in yourself to save that person,” Flaherty continued.
Seeking help can take a number of forms — whether it be screaming, calling 911 from a cell phone or an emergency pool phone or alerting a lifeguard.
When attempting to aid someone in the water, Flaherty suggested reaching an object out to get them to float.
Already in Massachusetts, four people have died after incidents on the water in late May and early June.
On May 25, a man drowned in a lake in Lunenerg. The next day, two men drowned in ponds in Lynn. Then, on Monday, a man drowned after jumping off a boat into the Norton Reservoir.
Taken together, the incidents highlight the risks of heading out on the water this summer, though the state’s youngest residents are perhaps most at risk. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Tuesday noted that drowning is a leading cause of death among young children between 1 and 14 nationwide and in Massachusetts, with backyard pools posing the greatest risk to children under 5.
State officials said residents should always swim with a buddy, particularly in public spaces.
