Latest news with #AmericanLifeguardAssociation
Fox News
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Expert shares riptide escape tips after accidental drowning of Malcolm-Jamal Warner
American Lifeguard Association spokesperson Wyatt Werneth joins 'Fox & Friends' to share tips for safely swimming out of riptides and strong currents after the death of 'Cosby Show' star Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
New York Times
26-06-2025
- Health
- New York Times
How Lifeguards Avoid Sunburns (and Treat Them When They Happen)
Wearing sunscreen is an extremely important part of sun safety, but if you plan to spend long stretches of time outside, reapplying it multiple times throughout the day is just as critical as putting it on in the first place. 'Many individuals apply sunscreen when they first arrive at the beach but forget to reapply after swimming or prolonged sun exposure, which leaves them vulnerable,' Bernard Fisher, the director of health and safety for the American Lifeguard Association, told me over email. 'Sun safety is an ongoing habit, not a one-time action.' On average, King spends anywhere from eight to 10 hours a day out in the sun. At the beginning of her shift, she slathers herself in the same sunscreen she's been using for the last ten years: Blue Lizard Sensitive Mineral SPF 50 Sunscreen Lotion. King opts for the physical sunscreen by Blue Lizard for her skin, which can be easily irritated by the chemical sunscreens she's tried in the past. It goes on thick and can leave a bit of a white cast behind, but King said she doesn't mind because it reminds her that she's protected. During a typical shift, she'll reapply three to four times, depending on the length of a shift and the day's UV index. (Check the National Weather Service website to see your area's UV index.) To ensure her sunscreen doesn't turn into a soupy mess, she stores it in a pouch that she keeps tucked out of direct sunlight. 'Sometimes, I'll even throw it in my lunch box so that it stays cold,' she added. King swears by the tinted Vertra Sunscreen Face Stick SPF 38, which she says provides a skin-smoothing finish and uses it as her main source of face coverage. (We've previously reported that it's trickier to get full protection from stick sunscreens than lotions; the American Academy of Dermatology recommends four passes back and forth if you're using a stick.) 'Honestly, it kind of looks like I'm wearing makeup when I have it on,' King told me during a phone interview. 'If I have to go somewhere right after work and I still have sunscreen on my face, I don't even care because it makes my skin look amazing.' King says the brand is a staple in the California surf community. 'Pretty much everyone that I work with uses it,' she added, regardless of their gender. The Vertra face stick comes in a handful of shades; King likes to start the season with ehukai beige, eventually switching to the kona gold later on as her skin develops a bit of a tan. On her lips, she likes to use Vertra's Coconut Sunscreen Lip Balm SPF 15 unless 'it's a crazy high UV index day,' in which case she'll swipe her sunscreen stick directly over her lips for more protection. Dubinski's go-to body sunscreen is Supergoop Play Everyday Lotion SPF 50, a longtime Wirecutter pick. She likes that it doesn't feel tacky or greasy on her skin, and, most importantly, she loves the way it smells. She used to dread smelling like traditional sunscreen — now she doesn't mind Supergoop's scent at all. She wears sunscreen every day, even if she's not working. To remind herself to apply it whenever she leaves the house, she likes to keep an 18-ounce pump bottle of Supergoop Play by her keys. 'For sensitive areas — like around the hands, the tops of the knees, the backs of the ears — zinc oxide is really the way to go,' Dubinski said of her go-to Badger lotion, which is one of our sunscreen picks for physical and reef-safe protection. It still leaves behind a slight white cast, but Dubinski said that's the sacrifice she makes for highly effective zinc oxide sunscreen. 'It's not about vanity,' she said. Dubinski finds it helpful to carry a selection of sunscreens when she's working on film or television sets as an EMT. Tommi Dubinski More often than not, the type of sunscreen that works best for any given individual comes down to personal preference. When Dubinski is on a TV or film set as an EMT, she likes to keep an array of physical and chemical options in her emergency kit, including Sun Bum Original SPF 50 Sunscreen Lotion, Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50, and Banana Boat Sport Ultra Spray SPF 30. 'I always have a selection of different types of sunscreens on hand because I know first-hand how long it can take to find a sunscreen that you actually want to wear,' she said. 'And even though I don't find spray bottle sunscreen as effective, I know that some people prefer it, so I always have [a sprayable option] because something is always better than nothing.' Werneth also keeps spray sunscreen on hand to use in a pinch. 'I put the stuff in my hair — I fill my palm up and I scrub it into my scalp as if it were hair gel,' he said of his hack, which he employs mostly as a last resort when he knows he'll be in the water without a hat. 'My hair will come out all spiked up and I'll look like Billy Idol, you know, but I don't care.' (The Skin Cancer Foundation says hats and 'any type of sunscreen that works for your face' are your best bets for scalp protection.)
CBS News
24-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Lifeguard shortage could threaten Derry Borough public pool's summer
A lifeguard shortage is complicating the summer schedule of the public pool in Derry Borough, leaders say. There is nothing worse on a hot day, with the sun beating down and temperatures well into the 90s, than seeing an oasis of cool water locked behind a fence that you can't get to. Derry Borough Council Member Nathan Bundy said no one wants the pool to be closed during the summer, but leaders just don't have enough lifeguards to monitor the pool and keep people safe. "Think about who our lifeguards are and their ages, and a lot of them are under 18 and a lot of them are also siblings," Bundy said. "So, what happened was, a bunch of family vacations happened all at the same time, and we did not have enough on reserve to be able to open safely." According to the American Lifeguard Association, there is a lifeguard shortage nationwide. Pay is cited as a factor, along with the rigors of getting certified. Bundy says certification is something the borough is working on. "We can't certify a lifeguard overnight," Bundy said. "But we are working with the American Red Cross, and we have some feelers out to local school districts and community pools about providing a lifeguard instructor and using our facilities for a lifeguard class." Lifeguards in Derry make $9 per hour, which is in keeping with several other pools in the area. Bundy said the borough would love a staff of 10 to keep the pool open seven days a week. Five lifeguards are usually needed at the pool on any day. But right now, the pool only has three to four lifeguards able to work, with two more hires set to start this weekend. But just as KDKA was recording interviews on Tuesday, two lifeguards resigned, and now the borough is calling into question whether or not it can reopen the pool at all this season. The council will be discussing the fate of the pool on July 1st at its next meeting. "I do hear all the complaints," Bundy said. "I understand them all. I would have loved to go to the pool myself, and we definitely feel the pain of the pass holders, as well that this service was expected. And we are planning some compensation for our pass holders in some different ways going forward this season and maybe for future seasons as well." Now, if you are a certified lifeguard and want to work for Derry, lifeguard jobs will be posted on the pool's Facebook page.
Chicago Tribune
11-06-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Donna Vickroy: Even the best swimmers can drown so learn to respect water
Before you head into the water this summer, make sure you know how not to drown. About 4,000 unintentional drowning deaths occur annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Every summer we learn about them happening in local pools or at a Lake Michigan beach or along vacation-popular coastlines. Water can be a relief during hot weather. It can be a comfort, and a thrill. But it can also be dangerous. According to the USA Swimming Foundation, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death in the United States for children ages 1 to 4 and the second leading cause for children under the age of 14. It also states that African American children ages 5 to 10 are nearly six times more likely to drown in a swimming pool than their Caucasian peers. If a parent does not know how to swim, according to the foundation, there is only a 19% chance that a child in their household will learn to swim. Wyatt Werneth, spokesperson for the American Lifeguard Association and founder of the Drown Zero International Project, said the first step toward preventing drowning is, 'Learn to swim, America.' If you know how to swim and have water confidence, Werneth said, 'you're already ahead of the game.' But even the best swimmers would struggle in battle against a powerful rip current, he said. And that's why everyone also needs to take precautions to prevent drowning. Begin any water outing with a safety check, said Werneth, a former Fire/Ocean rescue chief, U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard veteran and celebrity stunt performer. Prevention means dressing kids in bright orange, the color the rescue community uses for easy visibility. It means having a flotation device at the ready because you should never try to rescue someone without one. And it means assigning a designated water watcher during any kind of water outing. 'Make sure there are lifeguards on duty,' he said. 'Lifeguards have super powers in that they can prevent a 911 call from happening.' Give your designated water watcher a whistle and authority to safeguard the family, he said. 'Even if you swim where there's a lifeguard, you should still be accountable for your family.' Watch the weather, he added. In Florida, 'lightning strikes kill more people than shark attacks.' Learn to identify rip currents, although that can be tricky, Werneth said. Remember the adage, 'Wherever there's a dip, there's a rip.' 'If you're on the beach and your stuff is getting wet but people on either side of you are dry, you're in a dip,' he said. 'That's the channel. You want to stay out of that.' Rip currents can be turbulent and move in circles, making them nearly impossible to swim against, Werneth said. 'If you get caught in one, try to relax and signal for help,' he said. If you see someone in distress — moving slowly in the water, flipping on their back — first, call for help. 'Don't attempt to rescue anyone without a floatation device,' he said. 'Seventy-five percent of the drownings I've dealt with over the years are people trying to rescue someone else. So many times, the person in distress is brought to safety but the rescuer doesn't make it,' he said. His Drown Zero initiative is working to install flotation ring stands in all areas where there is the potential for someone to end up in distress. He recalled the tragic story of Ted Hunt, a former lifeguard who saved a woman from drowning but subsequently lost his own life while vacationing in Florida. 'There was no flotation available and he drowned,' Werneth said. 'Today there is a flotation device station dedicated to him at Cocoa Beach.' In the absence of a life ring, Werneth said, a cooler, boogie board or even a beach ball — anything that floats — can be used to help rescue someone who is drowning. Leslie Dorworth, spokesperson for the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, has safety tips that can be applied in any water situation, but particularly for the Lake Michigan beaches, where wind and waves can quickly create powerful rip currents, structural currents near piers and longshore currents. 'On top of the dangerous currents, rapidly shifting weather, deep drop-offs and uneven lakebeds make the southern shoreline of Lake Michigan the most dangerous stretch of water in the Great Lakes when it comes to drownings,' according to the IISG website, Dorworth's tips include: 'Always swim with a buddy, designate a water watcher, wear a properly fitted life jacket and know the water, which means looking for signs of dangerous conditions such as flags or structural currents.' Don't be afraid to ask the lifeguard about the safest spots for children to swim. If you find yourself in a dangerous situation, remember this catchphrase: 'Float first then figure it out.' 'Rip currents can move faster than Olympic swimmers,' Dorworth said. 'Swimming against them will exhaust you.' Instead, flip on your back, float, wave one arm and call for help. If you can, swim across the current — parallel to shore — until you are free of it and can head back to shore, Dorworth states. And, remember, Lake Michigan water can be cold. Dorworth recommends beachgoers take frequent breaks. If you're caught in cold water, 'pull arms and legs close to the body to preserve heat,' she said. In addition, parents should review with their children 'what to do in case something goes wrong' before heading out, she said.
