Neurosurgeon: Swimming and diving in prohibited areas can result in disability

June 28, MINSK. The OSVOD Minsk city organization held an off-site press conference on the topic of safe recreation and compliance with the rules for protecting people's lives on the waters. Particular attention was paid to the rules of conduct that must be observed in open water.

According to the deputy DIRECTOR for organizational and methodological work of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics, candidate of medical sciences, neurosurgeon Kirill Krivorot, one of the reasons that leads to the death of people on the water is swimming in prohibited places. Therefore, a very important recommendation is to swim only in specially designated areas where the beach has been cleaned and equipped for this. Do not swim in navigable areas, swim behind buoys, dive from a boat or in an unfamiliar place.

"The greatest danger is diving in places not intended for this. As a result of hitting the HEAD against the bottom, the cervical spine and spinal cord are damaged, which is fraught with failure of the arms and legs, dysfunction of the pelvic organs. We, as neurosurgeons, do our best, but the damage that was inflicted on the spinal cord in such cases, in most cases it is irreparable. Such diving ends in disability, "Kirill Krivorot emphasized.

Another important recommendation of physicians is the observance of the drinking regimen. “It is necessary to have a rest on the water correctly. Firstly, consume a large amount of liquid. Secondly, if possible, avoid direct sunlight,” Kirill Krivorot advised.

An important rule that must be observed when relaxing near the water is a ban on the use of any alcoholic beverages. An analysis of accidents on the waters in 2020-2021 shows that one of the main causes of death is a violation of safety measures on the water while intoxicated . This trend continues in 2022. Of the total number of drowned people in 2022, 58 people were in a state of alcoholic (drug) intoxication.

In total, according to the operational data of the Belarusian Republican Society for Water Rescue (OSVOD), since the beginning of the year, 165 people have died from drowning in Belarus, including 9 minors. At the press conference, special attention was paid to the safety of children on the water. Lifeguards warn against leaving children unattended near open water. According to OSVOD operational data, in just a week, from June 20 to June 26 of this year, one child drowned, and 9 more children were rescued.