Pool First Aid

Introduction

This article is no substitute for training. A basic life support course takes a few hours, is available in nearly every municipality, and is the single most useful thing a pool owner can do for their family. If you have a pool and have never done one, do it.

What this article does is different and complementary: it organises the information so that, at the moment something happens, the sequence of actions is clear and there is no hesitation. Because in an emergency nobody learns — you only execute what you already know.

In any emergency, call 112. Do it early, not after trying to sort it out yourself.

Before Anything Else: the Numbers

Posted beside the pool, in large letters:

• 112 — European emergency number
• The full address of the house, written underneath 112

That second point looks superfluous and is not. In a panic, people forget to give the address, stumble over the street name, do not know the door number of a holiday house. Having the address written beside the number saves time that counts.

• CIAV — Centro de Informação Antivenenos (poison information centre): 800 250 250, for chemical exposure

Drowning: the Sequence

1. Do not get in the water if you can avoid it

Many double drownings start with an improvised rescuer. Use what reaches from outside first:

• The rescue pole with a hook — the reason it must always be beside the pool
• The ring buoy with a rope
• Your hand or arm, if the person is within reach of the edge

Only get in if there is no alternative, if you swim well, and preferably taking something buoyant with you.

2. Get the person out of the water

Supporting the head and torso. If a cervical spine injury is suspected — a dive, a fall from height, an impact to the head — keep the head aligned with the torso and avoid flexing the neck.

3. Call 112, or have someone call

If another person is present, point at them and say explicitly: "Call 112 and say there is a drowning at this address." Instructions directed at a specific person get carried out; instructions to the air do not.

If you are alone, put the phone on speaker and carry on.

4. Check consciousness and breathing

Call out, shake the shoulders gently. If there is no response, open the airway — hand on the forehead, two fingers under the chin, tilt the head back — and look for up to ten seconds: is the chest moving? can you feel air? can you hear breathing?

Noisy, irregular breathing or isolated gasps do not count as normal breathing. Treat it as absent breathing.

5. If not breathing normally: resuscitation

In drowning, unlike other cardiac arrests, the initial problem is lack of oxygen. Current recommendations for drowning give priority to rescue breaths at the start.

• Five initial rescue breaths, if you are trained to give them
• Then cycles of 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths
• Compressions in the centre of the chest, with the heel of the hand, depressing about a third of the depth of the chest
• A rate of about 100 to 120 compressions per minute
• Do not stop until help arrives, the person starts breathing normally, or you can no longer continue

If you are not trained in rescue breaths, do continuous compressions and follow the instructions the 112 operator gives you on the phone. The operator guides you — keep the call open.

6. If breathing but unconscious

Place in the recovery position, so they cannot inhale vomit, keep the airway open and monitor breathing continuously until help arrives.

7. Even if they recover, go to hospital

This is essential and poorly known: anyone who has been submerged and inhaled water should be assessed at an emergency department, even if they seem fine. Respiratory complications can develop hours after the incident. "They're fine now" is not a clinical criterion.

Suspected Cervical Spine Injury

When to suspect it: a dive into the shallow end, a fall from height, an impact to the head, or a person found near the edge after a jump.

• Do not move the person more than strictly necessary
• Keep the head aligned with the torso, with no neck flexion or rotation
• If they are in the water and breathing, stabilise the head and keep the face above the water until help arrives, rather than pulling them out hurriedly
• If they are not breathing, resuscitation takes priority — while maintaining alignment as far as possible

Contact with Chemicals

In the eyes or on the skin: rinse with plenty of running water for several minutes, without rubbing. Remove contaminated clothing. For eyes, hold the lid open and keep rinsing.

Ingestion: do not induce vomiting. Call CIAV: 800 250 250 or 112 immediately, and have the product container to hand so you can say exactly what it is.

Vapour inhalation: move away from the area into fresh air. In case of breathing difficulty, 112.

See Pool Chemicals: Safe Storage, which deals with prevention — which is where this risk is actually solved.

Cuts and Trauma

Cut: rinse with clean water, press with a dressing to stop the bleeding, elevate the limb where applicable. Deep cuts, with gaping edges, or where you cannot stop the bleeding: emergency department.

Head injury: even with apparent recovery, watch for drowsiness, vomiting, confusion, changes in vision or worsening headache over the following hours. Any of these signs: emergency department.

Heat Exhaustion and Heatstroke

Common beside a pool in summer and frequently underestimated.

Warning signs: very hot skin, confusion, nausea, severe headache, sweating stopping.

What to do: shade immediately, cool the body with water and damp cloths, hydrate if the person is conscious and able to drink. In case of confusion, loss of consciousness or vomiting: 112.

The Pool First-Aid Kit

Accessible, outdoors in a known place, not locked at the back of a cupboard:

• Sterile dressings and bandages
• Tape and plasters in several sizes
• Single-dose saline (for rinsing eyes and wounds)
• Disposable gloves
• Scissors and tweezers
• Foil blanket
• A pocket mask for rescue breaths, if you are trained
• The contact list and the address

Check the expiry dates once a season, at the same time as you check the fence gate.

Common Mistakes

Getting in the water unnecessarily. It is the origin of double drownings. Pole and buoy first.

Calling 112 late. Call at the start, not after ten minutes of trying to sort it out.

Saying "someone call 112" to the air. Point at a person and give them the instruction directly.

Stopping resuscitation too soon. Continue until help arrives or the person breathes normally.

Reading gasping as normal breathing. It is the mistake that most delays the start of resuscitation.

Not going to hospital because "they're fine now". Respiratory complications can appear hours later.

Inducing vomiting after chemical ingestion. Never. Call CIAV.

Keeping the first-aid kit indoors in a closed cupboard. In an emergency it has to be where the people are.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need training to perform resuscitation?

You do it better with training, and a basic life support course takes a few hours. But if you have no training, do continuous chest compressions and follow the instructions 112 gives you on the phone — that is substantially better than doing nothing.

Should I try to get water out of the lungs?

No. Do not waste time on manoeuvres to "get the water out": what matters is starting rescue breaths and compressions. Abdominal compression is contraindicated.

What if the person vomits during resuscitation?

Turn the head to the side, clear the mouth quickly, and resume. It is common in drowning.

Does someone who inhaled only a little water need to go to hospital?

Yes, they should be assessed. It is the most ignored recommendation and one of the most important, because respiratory complications can appear hours later.

What do I put on the wall beside the pool?

112, the full address underneath, CIAV 800 250 250, and the usage rules. See Safety Rules for Residential Pools.

In a condominium pool, who is responsible?

The management organises what exists — rescue equipment, posted information, procedures. Check with the management what is in place and ask for it in writing. See the condominium pages.

Conclusion

In an emergency nobody improvises well. What decides the outcome is what was already prepared: the numbers on the wall, the pole beside the pool, and a course done on a Saturday morning.

Key points to remember:

• 112 and the full address posted beside the pool.
• Pole and buoy before getting in the water — double drownings start here.
• Gasping is not normal breathing: treat it as absent.
• In drowning, five initial rescue breaths, then cycles of 30 compressions and 2 breaths.
• Untrained: continuous compressions, and follow 112 on the phone.
• Anyone who inhaled water goes to hospital, even if they seem fine.
• Do a basic life support course. It is the highest-return measure of all.

If you want to check your pool's safety conditions and the state of the installation, the on-site technical diagnosis covers access points, suction grilles, coping and water quality, with a written report. It costs €45, deductible from your first month under contract.