It is impossible to foresee a cramp: when swimming can be dangerous

The warmth has finally returned to Belarus and many people will want to swim, especially since the weekend is ahead. In what cases swimming can be dangerous and how to get rid of cramps in the water, spokesman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations Yevgeny Baranovsky told BelTA.

"Today, the system for rescuing a person on the water is built at a qualitative level, assistance is provided in a timely manner. However, an analysis of the main causes of death of people shows that, first of all, accidents occur due to carelessness, neglect of elementary safety rules, in particular, when swimming in unauthorized places" , - said Evgeny Baranovsky.

Everyone knows that swimming while intoxicated is especially dangerous. Nevertheless, over 50% of the adults who drowned were intoxicated .

“Drunk bathing is associated with a high risk. There are several factors that can lead to tragedy. And the very first one is that a drunk person does not adequately assess his strength. Having found a place to swim, he jumps into the water, and there may be a sharp cliff or a strong a current that a person cannot cope with and drowns in. Often, even choosing a place allowed for swimming, a person in a state of intoxication swims too far, and there is not enough strength to return back, "said the press secretary of the Ministry of Emergencies.

He noticed that anyone, even a sober person, may have convulsions in the water. Spasm, as a rule, occurs in the calf and hip muscles. “It is impossible to foresee a spasm, you just have to be prepared. When swimming far, you should always remember that an unforeseen situation can happen,” Yevgeny Baranovsky drew attention.

The representative of the Ministry of Emergency Situations admitted: personally, when bathing, he reduces the calf muscle. He gave some recommendations on how to quickly get rid of the spasm. “I pull the toe towards myself, and the heel as far forward as possible, straighten my leg. It hurts, but it solves the problem quite quickly. You can take other actions: dive, take your thumb and pull. But not everyone can do it,” noted he.

Yevgeny Baranovsky stressed that despite good physical training, he does not give himself the liberty to swim far. “Mostly I don’t swim in depth, but along. Yes, and in general, you need to sensibly assess your capabilities: how well you swim, how well you are physically prepared, where you are - in a fast-flowing river or lake, are there lifeguards on the beach," he recommended he.

When it comes to small children, they die mainly due to the carelessness of adults. "The parents got distracted, went to do something else or relax with friends, and the child went to the water - and drowned either due to a strong current or inability to swim. And teenagers often show ostentatious courage, self-confidence. Recently there was a case when three guys walked along Neman and one of them decided to swim. He jumped into the water and did not emerge - the body was found two days later," the press secretary of the Ministry of Emergency Situations noted.

Or one more case: on June 28 at 18.02 the Mostovsky rescuers received a message that on the Neman River near the agricultural town of Dubno a child dived into the water and disappeared from sight. The arrived employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations examined the water area of ​​the reservoir, rescue divers carried out work at depth. Search work lasted until late in the evening, but it was not possible to find the child. The body was found by divers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations on June 30. As it turned out later, a 13-year-old teenager came to the river bank with his comrades, the parents did not know about the whereabouts of the children. The boys were swimming in the water, at some point one of the guys dived and did not appear on the surface of the water. By the way, the depth of the river in this place is about five meters.

On the same day, a tragedy occurred on the Pripyat River near the village of Khvoensk, Zhitkovichi District: a child drowned. During the proceedings, it turned out that the mother, while on parental leave, was resting on the Pripyat River with three children. At the moment when she went to put her 2-year-old son to sleep in a tent, two daughters were playing on the bank by the river. Coming out of the tent, the woman saw that the middle daughter was missing. At 20.53, the body of the drowned girl was discovered and pulled ashore by OSVOD divers.

“Children and teenagers are not afraid of danger, they often disregard the rules. Therefore, adults need to discuss these issues with them,” stressed Yevgeny Baranovsky.

The representative of the Ministry of Emergency Situations is confident that the vast majority of deaths can be avoided. "There are situations when a person is in the wrong place and at the wrong time, and, by and large, practically nothing depends on him. But the situation on the water is manageable. A person can protect himself and his loved ones from trouble. Each of us is guarantor of their own security," he said.

The press secretary of the Ministry of Emergency Situations also recommended to be more careful because of the heat. "In hot weather, there is a risk of getting sun or heat stroke, dehydration, and cardiovascular diseases can worsen. In summer, a person releases a lot of fluid to cool the body. To compensate for it, you need to constantly drink water. From 12.00 to 16.00 the sun is most active, therefore, in this time it is undesirable to sunbathe.If you need to go outside, you should wear light natural clothes, use sunscreen, glasses, a hat, and umbrellas on the beach," he said.

According to Yevgeny Baranovsky, there are frequent cases when drivers lose concentration due to hot weather, they feel bad - as a result, accidents occur. "In general, in the heat, people drink little, do not wear hats. All this increases the risk of injury or leads to accidents," he said.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations has prepared methodological recommendations, safety rules, and thematic videos, cartoons. "Everything has been done so that a person can familiarize himself with the safety rules in a form convenient for him, analyze them. They are simple. It is enough to read or watch once and you will understand what risks lie in wait in one place or another, in particular, when relaxing on water," the press secretary of the Ministry of Emergency Situations concluded.

BELTA.