Blog Post

With the heat of summer, you may be looking forward to a cool dip in the pool. But the increased interest in swimming also invites a risk for injuries. If you aren’t careful, you or your child could sustain an injury  when you’re just trying to have fun.

If you suffer a laceration or other injury while swimming, you can find help from our team at Houston Medical ER in Houston and Spring, Texas.

Common causes of pool accidents

Several problems with the pool facility, staff, or conditions of the equipment can put you at risk of injuries, especially lacerations. These include:

• Slippery surfaces — a common reason for slipping and falling, causing cuts and scrapes
• Inadequate barriers — improper fencing to keep children from dangerous areas
• Defective equipment — faulty diving boards, ladders, and drains
• Lack of supervision — losing track of children at crowded pools
• Lack of proper warning signs

Whether you’re at a public pool or one at your home or at someone’s house, be aware of the hazards each place can present and make allowances for them.

How to know if a laceration is serious

The term “laceration” covers a broad range of injuries to the skin, including minor scrapes and cuts to serious gashes and wounds. Determining what kind of problem you or a family member has depends on the symptoms that accompany the injury. 

Here are some important signs to look for to determine if a cut is serious enough to warrant an ER trip:

Nonclotting wounds

If a laceration is bleeding heavily even after you put proper pressure on the wound, get to an ER facility as soon as possible.

Deep cuts

If the cut is deep enough that muscles and bone are visible, get immediate medical attention.

Symptoms of infection

If your injury has pus, swelling, or oozing, or if you have a fever, the risk of infection is high and you need immediate medical attention before the problem worsens.

If you can’t clean it

If something is lodged in the wound that you can’t remove and it makes cleaning the wound difficult, see us right away for emergency care.

If it’s in a sensitive area

Any cut near your eyes or vital organs needs treatment right away, especially if it’s hard to determine the extent of the injury.

What to do next

Follow the basic steps for managing lacerations as soon as possible until either medical help arrives or you can get to our ER or another urgent care facility. This involves:

• Stopping the bleeding
• Cleaning the wound
• Applying antibiotics and dressing the wound, if possible
• Looking for signs of infection
• Calling for medical help

Most public pools have some form of first aid if you don’t have any with you, but once medical help arrives or you get to the ER, our team will be able to manage your care. 

Lacerations are just one of the accidental injuries we treat at our facility, so if this happens when you’re trying to have fun in the sun, contact us at Houston Medical ER as soon as possible to get the treatment you need to recover.