Commentary: Project Wipeout can help keep you safe in the water
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June is here, the weather is warming up, and that means not only is summer quickly approaching, but National Beach Safety Week and Rip Current Awareness Week has begun.
With access to so many beautiful beaches along the Southern California coast, it’s important to know how to safely enjoy the sun, sand and waves.
Project Wipeout was created with that intention. More than 35 years ago, Hoag’s intensive care unit admitted five young men with neck and spinal cord injuries related to surfing and swimming accidents at the beach. This number of accidents and injuries prompted Dr. Jack Skinner and other concerned Hoag physicians and nurses, local paramedics and lifeguards, to create a program that educates the community about beach safety.
Today, Hoag’s Project Wipeout program has reached millions of people and continues to promote practicing beach safety and teaches about the potential dangers that exist at our beaches, the types of injuries that can occur and how to prevent them.
Here are a few tips to make sure your days at the beach are fun and safe:
Apply sunscreen regularly. Thirty minutes before hitting the sand, apply a waterproof sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher to prevent sunburns. Reapply sunscreen every two hours, or more frequently if you’re sweating or swimming. Sunburns can cause skin blisters, eye damage and skin cancer, so it’s always important to keep your skin protected.
Check in with a lifeguard before entering the water. Lifeguards are on duty to ensure your safety. Be sure to stop by the lifeguard tower when you arrive and find out what the ocean conditions are like, whether it’s a good idea to swim in the area and if there are any hazards to be aware of.
Know your swimming capabilities. The ocean is a powerful force and treading water can be exhausting. If you can’t swim an overhead stroke for at least 15 minutes, do not attempt to swim in the ocean. Enjoy the ocean from the shore.
Don’t jump or dive into the water or waves headfirst. The ocean floor is uneven and can easily change. Test out the depth of the water with your feet, entering the water slowly. If you are boogie boarding or bodysurfing, keep your arms out in front of you to protect your head and neck.
- When caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore. Stay calm and don’t fight the current. A rip current will pull you away from the shore, but it will not pull you under water. To escape, swim parallel to the shore, until you are out of the current. Then swim at an angle away from the current toward the shore. Rip currents are one of the biggest reasons for drowning, and the untrained eye can easily miss them. Avoid swimming in choppy, brown water which indicates a rip current’s presence.
For more information, see www.hoag.org/ProjectWipeout
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LAUREN TABIOS is the Program Coordinator at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach.