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Hot weather brings spike in drowning figures in Latvia

Four drowned people pulled from Latvia's rivers and lakes on Wednesday mark the gloomy side of the hot weather. The workload for medical staff is also increasing, with patients being admitted to hospitals with kidney and other organ damage after overheating, Latvian Television reports. 

On Wednesday, June 26, drowning victims were recovered from the water in Jaunciems in Riga, Sēlpils municipality, Saldus, and Salaspils.

Lifeguards' experience shows that it is usually a case of overestimating one's abilities. Also on Wednesday, a boy started drowning in a lifeguarded swimming area in Riga when he swam too far.

"All drownings start from not being able to stand on your feet in the water and in an upright position, then the drowning starts. [It is therefore advisable] not to swim far from the shore," said Jānis Skrims, a spokesman for the Riga Municipal Police's Water Safety Department.

"We had to rescue one boy who obviously couldn't get into this vertical position and started drowning. Luckily, a lifeguard was present and rescued the boy. And I strongly encourage parents to come along and look after their children. Lifeguards are not babysitters! We can't look after every child, we don't have that many eyes," stressed Skrims.

The heat is also felt in hospital emergency centers, literally, because the consequences of overheating can be very serious. Especially for people who are elderly or have chronic illnesses.

There can be "various organ failures, primarily it is starting with kidney failure that is the first to suffer. And then a chain reaction that affects the whole body, and the condition can become critical," said Roberts Fūrmanis, head of the Emergency Medicine Centre at Stradiņš Hospital.

The doctor reminds people to ventilate rooms as much as possible and drink plenty of water in hot weather.

"For heart patients, be more careful, but the key word is fluids and ventilation of the rooms, a cool towel on the forehead, on the groin, on the chest to keep cool," the doctor reminded.

The sun and ultraviolet radiation are most intense in the middle of the day. This is when doctors recommend seeking shade.

As repeatedly reported by LSM over the years, Latvia has a serious problem with a huge number of drownings and other water tragedies every year. Statistics show that on average, a dead person is removed from the water every three days: 122 people in 2020, 100 in 2021, 94 in 2022, and 111 in 2023.

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