A relatively rare but horrifying death that grandparents should be aware of can result from entrapment in the drain of a hot tub or swimming pool. While the incidence of death from this type of accident is not high -- a couple of deaths in the United States per year -- the deaths can be easily prevented with safety measures including proper hot tub and pool drain covers.

Most of the deaths occur from drowning when a child's limb becomes trapped in a drain, but almost as many occur from hair entanglement.

The hair entanglement cases typically occur when a person with long hair gets too near a suction outlet. There also have been cases of a child being disemboweled and dying after sitting on an open drain.

Pools and hot tubs should be equipped with special pool drain covers. They should also be equipped with some combination of the following safety measures:

• Safety vacuum-release systems (SVRSs)
• Filter pumps with multiple drains
• Other pressure-venting filter-construction techniques.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007 mandated such safety measures in public pools and spas. Many owners of private pools, however, are either unaware of the risk or downplay it. It is estimated that only 15% of private pool owners have the proper drain covers, and even fewer have multiple drain systems or SVRS.

If parents or grandparents are pool owners, they should consult a pool professional to make sure that their pool is properly equipped to prevent accidents with drains. Before parents or grandparents allow their grandchildren to swim in a private pool, they should be sure that the pool owners have taken care of these important safety measures.

In addition, children should be taught to stay away from drains.

_{Source:
Policy Statement-Prevention of Drowning. Pediatrics. Volume 126, Number 1, July 2010. The American Academy of Pediatrics.}