Primary Care pediatricians have launched an alert for families and entities to take extreme precautions and security measures for children and adolescents on beaches and swimming pools. “Fun must be accompanied by safety, especially among minors; according to the latest national drowning report, last year 37 people between the ages of 0 and 17 died for this reason,” warns the Spanish Association of Primary Care Pediatrics (AEPap). ) it’s a statement.
And it details that the highest percentage of accidents occurs among the group of 11 to 17 years, followed by that of 0 to 3. “In older children, risk activities must be taken into account, and in small ones have a surveillance and constant supervision in the vicinity of aquatic spaces”, emphasizes doctor Pedro Gorrotxategi, vice president of the AEPap.
And he emphasizes that this vigilance must be extreme in places where there are no lifeguards, because eight out of ten drownings occur when there are no such personnel and half of the accidents occur between July and August.
In the case of the little ones and those who are learning to swim, pediatricians recommend using life jackets that meet quality standards and, in any case, not trusting that the minor is wearing a float to leave them unattended in the water. “Despite using safety accessories, it is important that families know that, when in the water, the little ones must always be within arm’s reach of an adult,” the pediatricians emphasize.
“To prevent drowning in the pool and on the beach, children should always be supervised by an adult, not by another child; pools should be fully fenced and children should learn to swim as soon as possible,” they point out in their statement.
But this is not the only prevention that pediatricians ask families so that summer activities and entertainment do not take their toll on the health of their children. They also ask them to avoid making and getting black henna tattoos because they can damage the skin, even in the long term.
“In consultation, we see more and more cases of inflammatory reactions to the typical henna tattoos that are made on the beaches or at summer fairs,” Teresa Cenarro, vice president of the AEPap, explains to La Vanguardia. And he details that “the problem is not natural henna tattoos; the problem is that in order for the tattoo to last longer and remain blacker, they often add paraphenylenediamine (PPD) and in quantities that exceed what is allowed, and PPD is an agent which has a high capacity to create sensitization by skin contact”.
And this substance causes an acute inflammatory reaction that means that when the henna tattoo is erased, the mark of the red figure still remains on the skin “and we have to treat them with corticosteroids.”
In addition, Cenarro warns, PPD is also present in some local anesthetics, dyes, sun creams or mascara, “so if sensitization is caused by the tattoo later, if the person uses a product that contains that substance, it will it will react, so the damage from the whim of a summer tattoo can be long-term.”
On the other hand, the doctor recalls that the summer months are a good time to develop healthy lifestyle habits, such as promoting a healthy diet, drinking water frequently to stay hydrated, and practicing physical activity outdoors.
