Summer is upon us. It is time to start swimming. It is also time to pay attention to water safety. Drowning is the second leading cause of death for children under age 14. It is the leading cause of unintentional death in children ages 1 to 4 years.Of interest is the fact that adolescents have the second highest number of fatal drownings after toddlers. One-third of those drownings are alcohol related. Therefore drinking is a big risk factor. In addition, the drownings in that age group tend to occur in open bodies of water as opposed to pools.About twice as many drownings are in boys as opposed to girls. So male sex is another risk factor.A survey of parents in 2007 found that 90 percent of parents claimed that they consistently supervised children around water. It is not likely that all the pediatric drownings occurred in the other 10 percent. Therefore, supervision leaves something to be desired.Some medical conditions are associated with a higher risk of drowning. Seizure disorders are at the top of that list. That is especially true if the seizures are not well controlled. Interestingly, there is a high incidence of bathtub drownings in that group.Other [...]