Health
Water safety tips from experts for families and caregivers as drowning deaths increase
As summer gets underway, a recent report sheds light on the importance of swimming and water safety strategies.
Each year, some 4,000 unintentional drowning deaths occur in the U.S., with the highest rates among children between 1 and 4 years of age, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Drowning is the leading cause of death among children age 4 and under, and it is one of the three leading causes of death due to unintentional injury among those aged 5 to 34, the report said.
DROWNING PREVENTION: KEEP KIDS SAFE IN AND NEAR THE WATER WITH THESE TIPS
“With drownings on the rise across the U.S., especially among young children, it is more critical than ever to ensure that water safety is always top of mind,” Megan Ferraro, executive director of The ZAC Foundation.
It’s a Connecticut-based organization that develops educational programming and resources for swimmers of all ages and abilities, she wrote in an email to Fox News Digital.
Each year, some 4,000 unintentional drowning deaths occur in the U.S., with the highest rates among children between 1 and 4 years of age. (iStock)
The number of unintentional drowning deaths has risen in the years since the COVID pandemic, the report revealed.
Between 2020 and 2022, the increased drowning rates may have been caused by infrastructure disruptions, limited access to supervised swimming venues, and individuals spending more time in or near water, said the CDC.
BEACH SAFETY TIPS: WHAT TO DO IN A RIP CURRENT AND HOW TO STAY SAFE NEAR THE WATER
Despite these risks, more than half of U.S. adults have never taken a swimming lesson.
Heading into the thick of beach and pool season, several swim and water officials shared these eight water safety measures to prevent tragic drownings.
1. Choose swimsuit colors carefully
Some swim instructors suggest dressing children in bright-colored bathing suits and avoiding colors that blend with the surrounding water.
Some swim instructors suggest dressing children in bright-colored bathing suits and avoiding colors that blend with the surrounding water. (iStock)
Nikki Scarnati, a certified infant swimming resource instructor in Florida, used her TikTok platform to warn parents to avoid buying blue or pastel-colored bathing suits, which can make it difficult to spot children in the water.
In her 2023 social media post, she demonstrated how it was easier to see bright colors, such as red, in splashing water.
2. Don’t skip the swim lessons
Water safety instructors recommend enrolling children at an early age in swim lessons through local organizations.
“Studies have shown that swim lessons reduce childhood drowning by 88%,” Ferraro noted.
Many organizations, like the American Red Cross, offer swim classes to help individuals become more comfortable in the water and learn to become stronger, safer swimmers.
“Studies have shown that swim lessons reduce childhood drowning by 88%.”
Experts also suggest taking added precautions, such as installing alarms and gates, to prevent children from wandering into pool areas unsupervised.
3. Be aware of high-risk children
“Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children with autism,” Lindsay Naeder, the Philadelphia-based vice president of community impact for Autism Speaks, told Fox News Digital.
Water safety instructors recommend enrolling children at an early age in swim lessons through local organizations. (iStock)
Naeder emphasized the importance of educating beach and pool lifeguards about how to recognize signs of distress in swimmers with autism.
“You can work with lifeguards to understand the different behaviors of autism and how to best communicate with an autistic individual, especially during an unsafe situation,” Naeder said via email to Fox News Digital.
4. Install safeguards for older swimmers
When caring for adults with dementia, installing gates and pool alarms can prevent dangerous situations in the event that the individual gets confused and wanders, some experts told Fox News Digital.
“Caregivers of elderly adults with dementia need to identify potentially dangerous areas near their homes, such as pools and all bodies of water,” Ferraro told Fox News Digital.
BE WELL: RECOGNIZE THE WARNING SIGNS OF ‘DRY DROWNING’ AND TAKE QUICK ACTION
She recommended choosing an alarm that beeps if a door to the pool is opened or if the surface of the water is disrupted by movement.
“Make sure a senior with dementia never swims alone,” she added. “A swim buddy or guardian should always be close by.”
5. Know the ABCDEs
Parents and caregivers must use multiple layers of protection when it comes to keeping families safe in and around water, Ferraro told Fox News Digital.
Installing locking fences and other barriers around water is an essential component of pool safety, experts say. (iStock)
“This means following the ABCDEs of water safety: A is for Adult supervision, B is for Barriers around water, C is for swim Classes, D is for avoiding Drain entrapment and using Devices such as Coast Guard-approved lifejackets, and E is for Everywhere — because water is all around us,” she said.
6. Remain vigilant while in large groups
As pool party season gets underway, it is important to remain vigilant.
“In large groups, like a pool party, everyone assumes someone else is watching the children in the pool — this is known as the diffusion of responsibility,” Ferraro warned.
“Don’t ever assume someone else is watching your kids around the water.”
“Don’t ever assume someone else is watching your kids around the water, because this can have deadly consequences.”
Parents should ensure that children are swimming in lifeguard-designated areas — and it is important to provide close, constant supervision even if lifeguards are present, Ferraro noted.
Parents should ensure that children are swimming in lifeguard-designated areas, and it is important to provide close, constant supervision even if lifeguards are present. (iStock)
“Designate an adult ‘water watcher’ whose sole responsibility is to keep a watchful eye on those in the water at all times,” she recommended.
“Never leave a child unattended in or near the water, not even for a second. Make sure children are within arm’s length of an adult at all times when at the pool or beach.”
7. Ensure pets’ safety
It is also important to protect your pets’ safety in the water, noted Ferrara with The ZAC Foundation.
“Always keep your eyes on your pet around water, and never leave them unattended,” she said. “Be aware that not all dog breeds are natural swimmers.”
8. Be mindful of water differences
Swimming in open water is different from swimming in a pool, experts warn.
“If you swim well in a backyard pool, that does not mean you can swim well in the ocean,” George Gorman Jr., regional director of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, told Fox News Digital.
Swimming in open water is different from swimming in a pool, experts warn. (iStock)
“You need to stay close to shore, and gain experience.”
Gorman, who oversees many of the ocean areas along the shores of Long Island, New York, also warned people to be mindful of rip currents that may occur in ocean waters.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“If you are caught in a rip current, do not fight against it,” he advised. “Instead, swim parallel to the shore until you notice the current diminishing and you are out of it.”
He also recommended swimming with a buddy, and maintaining a distance of around 25 feet if a rip current is encountered.
A lifeguard looks out at people swimming in the Atlantic Ocean on a beach at the Jersey Shore on June 27, 2020, in Middletown, New Jersey. An expert warned people to be mindful of rip currents that may occur in ocean waters. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
“This way, your buddy has time to react and escape to get help.”
To avoid an unwelcome encounter with certain marine life, such as sharks, Gorman said to avoid murky water and to look for signs that a larger fish may be in the vicinity.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/health
“If you see splashing fish or diving seabirds, that usually means there are smaller fish in that area — therefore, larger fish may be headed there to feed on those smaller fish,” Gorman said.
It’s also wise to avoid areas where larger fish, such as seals or dolphins, have been spotted.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Colorectal cancer, once considered a disease of older age, is becoming a crisis for younger adults. New research shows one group getting hit the hardest – those without a college degree.
A recent study from the American Cancer Society analyzed data from over 101,000 adults aged 25 to 49 who died from colorectal cancer between 1994 and 2023.
While death rates remained stable for college graduates, they climbed significantly for those without a bachelor’s degree, the findings showed.
WIDESPREAD HABIT MAY RAISE COLORECTAL CANCER RISK MORE THAN YOU THINK
For young adults with a high school education or less, the mortality rate rose from 4.0 to 5.2 per 100,000 people, while the rate for those with at least a bachelor’s degree stayed flat, at approximately 2.7 per 100,000.
This does not mean that a degree offers some kind of biological protection, researchers cautioned.
Colorectal cancer, once considered a disease of older age, is becoming a crisis for younger adults. (iStock)
The difference is likely driven by the conditions in which people live and work, which often correlate with education levels, the researchers noted.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
The study suggests that the higher death rates are likely driven by differences in the prevalence of risk factors, including obesity, physical inactivity, smoking and diet, which are “known to be elevated among children and young adults with lower [socioeconomic status].”
Because the study relied on death certificates, researchers couldn’t say exactly why college graduates had better outcomes.
Because the researchers didn’t have the patients’ actual medical records, they couldn’t see things like frequency of screenings or treatment options, which would impact survival outcomes. (iStock)
Certificates typically list the cause of death, age, race and education level, but they do not include a person’s full medical history.
RED FLAGS FOR COLORECTAL CANCER THAT WARRANT SCREENINGS BEFORE 45 YEARS OF AGE
Because the researchers didn’t have the patients’ actual medical records, they couldn’t see things like frequency of screenings or treatment options, which would impact survival outcomes.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for men under 50 and the second leading cause for women in the same age group, according to recent statistics.
While colorectal cancer death rates remained stable for college graduates, they climbed significantly for those without a bachelor’s degree, the findings showed. (iStock)
Because the disease is highly treatable when caught early, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lowered the recommended screening age from 50 to 45 in 2021.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
Common signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer can include a change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of the stool, that lasts for more than a few days, according to the American Cancer Society.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Other signs that warrant seeing a doctor include blood in the stool or a persistent feeling of needing to go to the bathroom but being unable to go.
The research was published in JAMA Oncology.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A young woman who started vaping at the age of 15 has been given just 18 months to live — after being diagnosed with lung cancer in her early 20s.
Kayley Boda, 22, of Manchester, in the United Kingdom, was engaging in heavy vaping on a regular basis when she started coughing up a brown substance with “grainy bits” in it in January 2025, news agency SWNS reported.
The retail assistant said doctors turned her away eight times, telling her she had a chest infection — until she began coughing up blood.
SMOKING AND VAPING MAY BE BANNED AT ONE STATE’S MOST POPULAR BEACHES AND PARKS: HERE’S WHY
After seven biopsies, Boda was diagnosed with lung cancer. She underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, as well as chemotherapy — and in February 2026, got the all-clear, the same source reported.
Two months later, though, doctors said the cancer had come back in the pleural lining. Now she’s been given 18 months to live.
Kayley Boda, 22, is shown in the hospital. She started coughing up a brown substance with “grainy bits” in January 2025, she said. She had been vaping since the age of 15. (SWNS)
The young woman has now issued a warning to others to be aware of the dangers of vaping.
Boda said she smoked a bit as a young teenager. She took up vaping after that.
Then, “a few months after I switched from reusable vapes to disposable ones, I started coughing up brown, grainy mucus,” as SWNS reported.
TOURISTS MAY FACE STEEP FINES AND JAIL TIME FOR VAPES AT THIS VACATION HOT SPOT
“Doctors turned me away eight times with a chest infection. … Then I started coughing up blood, so they did an X-ray and found a shadow on my lung,” she added.
“They told me they were 99% sure, [since I was] so young, that it wasn’t cancer, so not to worry about it. When I got the results back, and they told me it was lung cancer, it felt so surreal.”
Boda said she was “very naive” before her diagnosis and thought that “something like this would never happen to me.”
She said that she had surgery to remove half of her right lung.
“After the surgery, I started chemo and I had a terrible reaction to it. I couldn’t lift my head up. I was throwing up blood. I was urinating blood. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep.”
VACATION HOT SPOT CRACKS DOWN ON VAPING WITH JAIL THREATS AND HEFTY FINES
She said that when she got the “all clear [in Feb. 2026], it felt amazing, but just two months later I was told the cancer had come back, and I have 18 months to live.”
She added, “I’m 22. This isn’t meant to happen to somebody my age.”
“Stay off the vapes because they will catch up with you.”
She blames her cancer on vaping, she said.
“My symptoms started a few months after I started disposable vapes, and there’s no lung cancer in my family,” she said. “I haven’t vaped for three months, I’ve made my partner stop, I’ve made my mom stop, I’m urging all my friends to stop. Stay off the vapes,” she continued, “because they will catch up with you.”
When doctors did an X-ray, they found a shadow on Boda’s right lung. She was later diagnosed with lung cancer and has undergone surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, as well as chemotherapy. (SWNS)
She said she’d been using reusable vapes since the age of 15 and began using disposable vapes a few months before her cancer symptoms started.
DISPOSABLE VAPES MORE TOXIC AND CARCINOGENIC THAN CIGARETTES, STUDY SHOWS
In November 2024, when she developed a rash all over her body, doctors said it could have been due to shingles, chicken pox or scabies, she told SWNS.
‘Nothing worked’
“I got treated for all three, and nothing worked,” Boda said. “It got to the point where I was cutting myself from scratching so hard.”
A few months after that, she began coughing up a dark brown mucus, with “grainy bits, the consistency of sugar, in it,” she said. When the coughing continued, she visited the doctor’s office, but was told it could be scarring from pneumonia or a chest infection, she also said.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
It wasn’t until March 2025 that she began coughing up bright red blood. At that point, doctors gave her a chest X-ray and told her they’d found a shadow on her lower right lung.
Over the next four months, she had seven biopsies as doctors took samples from the “shadow.” In August, when she went to get the results, she was told she had stage one lung cancer.
Boda is shown in the hospital. She was diagnosed with lung cancer and had surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, as well as chemotherapy. (SWNS)
In September 2025, she had surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, and the surrounding lymph nodes. During the surgery, doctors upstaged her cancer from stage one to stage three after finding cancer in six surrounding lymph nodes, she said.
Following the surgery, Boda was unable to breathe properly and had to learn to walk all over again.
“The oncologist said this is so rare.”
After finishing chemotherapy in February 2026, Kayley was given the all clear, leaving her feeling elated.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
However, just a month after that, she began experiencing extreme chest pains and was told by doctors she had a pleural effusion — a build-up of fluid in the lungs. She had the fluid removed, but when doctors tested it, they discovered her cancer had returned to the pleural lining of her lungs, giving her 18 months to live.
“The oncologist said this is so rare, and usually something they see in patients that are 80 years old,” she said, as SWNS reported.
Increasingly, vacation hot spots are enforcing strict bans on the use of e-cigarettes in public venues. (iStock)
Boda claimed that doctors were unable to pin her cancer to a specific cause — but told her that smoking and vaping definitely didn’t help.
Since her diagnosis, she has stopped and is urging others to stop, too.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
She’s hoping to raise the thousands of dollars needed for treatment to try to prolong her life, she said.
Last year, Fox News Digital reported on the case of a Pennsylvania woman, 26, who said she vaped for just one year before her lungs collapsed. She was 22 when she took up the habit, she said in an interview.
“Everybody warned me about it, but I didn’t listen — I wish that I did,” she said.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH ARTICLES
Dr. David Campbell, clinical director and program director at Recover Together Bend in Oregon, told Fox News Digital at that time that signs of collapsed lungs include sharp chest or shoulder pain, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
Lung issues are just one of the many health issues linked to vaping, he warned. The habit can also increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as exposure to harmful heavy metals.
Melissa Rudy of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The key to feeling better in a fast, overstimulated world might be surprisingly simple: Live a little more like your grandparents.
A growing social media trend, dubbed “nonnamaxxing,” draws inspiration from the slower, more intentional rhythms associated with an Italian grandmother.
The lifestyle is often linked to activities like preparing home-cooked meals, spending time outdoors and making meaningful connections.
MARTHA STEWART SHARES 7 TIPS FOR AGING WELL: ‘LOOK GOOD, FEEL GOOD, BE GOOD’
“Nonnamaxxing is a 2026 trend that embraces the slower, more intentional lifestyle of an Italian grandmother (a Nonna). Think cooking from scratch, long family meals, daily walks, gardening and less screen time,” Erin Palinski-Wade, a New Jersey-based registered dietitian, told Fox News Digital.
Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)
Stepping away from screens and toward real-world interaction can have measurable benefits, according to California-based psychotherapist Laurie Singer.
“We know that interacting with others in person, rather than spending time on screens, significantly improves mental health,” she told Fox News Digital, adding that social media often fuels comparison and lowers self-esteem.
LONELINESS MAY BE SILENTLY ERODING YOUR MEMORY, NEW RESEARCH REVEALS
Living more like previous generations isn’t purely driven by nostalgia. Cooking meals from scratch, for example, has been linked to better nutrition and more mindful eating patterns.
Adopting traditional mealtime habits can improve diet quality and support both physical and mental health, especially when meals are shared regularly with others, Palinski-Wade noted.
One longevity expert stresses that staying healthy isn’t just about food — it’s also about joy and community. (iStock)
There’s also a psychological benefit to slowing down and focusing on one task at a time. Anxiety often stems from unfinished or avoided tasks, Singer noted, and engaging in hands-on activities can counteract that.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“Nonnamaxxing encourages us to be present around a task, like gardening, baking or knitting, or just taking a mindful walk, that delivers something ‘real,’” she said.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
Palinski-Wade cautions against turning the trend into another source of pressure, noting that a traditional “nonna” lifestyle often assumes a different pace of life.
The key, she said, is adapting the mindset, not replicating it perfectly.
Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)
The goal is to reintroduce small, intentional moments that make you feel better.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
That might mean prioritizing a few shared meals each week, taking a walk without your phone or setting aside time for a simple hobby, the expert recommended.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Singer added, “Having a positive place to escape to, through whatever activities speak to us and make us happy, isn’t generational – it’s human.”
-
Connecticut4 minutes ago
Marylin A. Shields Obituary
-
Delaware10 minutes agoDelaware Lottery Powerball, Play 3 Day winning numbers for April 20, 2026 – AOL
-
Florida16 minutes agoFlorida wildfire strands Amtrak passengers for over 24 hours
-
Georgia22 minutes agoDemocrats Are Ready to Reclaim Georgia. Is a Former Republican the Man for the Job?
-
Hawaii28 minutes ago7 Stunning Small Towns In Hawaii
-
Idaho34 minutes ago
Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on April 20, 2026
-
Illinois40 minutes agoIllinois teen stabbing case returns to court this week
-
Indiana46 minutes agoIndiana police find semi trailer loaded up with nearly 400 pounds of cocaine: troopers