Swimsuits of a certain color can be dangerous for children when swimming, according to this emergency doctor.
One of the steps that indicate the return of the sun and vacations is the purchase of the swimsuit. The shapes and colors are endless to the point that everyone can easily find their happiness. The swimsuit does not escape the rules of fashion, however. Very often it is chosen according to the morphology and the color palette matched to its skin type. There are even swimsuit color tips to appear more tanned. This step of choosing the swimsuit is also a rite of passage for the whole family.
However, it seems that the aesthetics of colors should be relegated to the background when it comes to choosing your children’s swimsuit. As indicated by a study of Public Health France for the 2021 season, approximately 1,500 accidental drownings are recorded each year in France. In 2021, 22% of drowning victims were children under 6 years old. The proximity of children to water during the holidays, whether the sea or the swimming pool, therefore requires great caution on the part of parents.
In addition to the classic safety devices like armbands or floats, an unexpected tip would be to avoid blue or green swimsuits for children. This advice comes from the account X of a lifeguard, Miguel Assal, where the latter indicates that these two colors are particularly difficult to spot under moving water. In his post, the lifeguard explains that “the color of the swimsuit could save your child’s life” and adds that “with the movement of the water, the blue is almost imperceptible.”
Mr. Assas not only puts forward such a theory, but also demonstrates it with two videos. In the first, we can see a person throwing two objects into the water of a swimming pool. One of the objects is red and the other blue. As both sink to the bottom of the water, it is clear that the blue object is barely visible with the movement of the water. The second video shows two people, including a child in a blue swimsuit. While the child is playing in the water, she submerges and becomes almost invisible from the surface, causing a moment of panic for her companion.
The lifeguard therefore recommends that parents avoid swimsuits in blue and green tones for their children and instead opt for bright colours such as red. As he explains in his post on X: “Swimming pools and the sea are cool tones, which means that the blue colour camouflages itself and goes unnoticed. However, warmer and brighter colours greatly improve visibility underwater.”
In order to ensure safety when swimming, dark swimsuit colors should also be avoided. Black and purple in particular are not recommended because they could blend in with other objects such as leaves or algae or even shadows at the bottom of a pool. The opposite should also be avoided. Colors that are too light such as white or sky blue are also less visible underwater.
As relayed by the Huffington Postan informal study carried out in 2020 by the American company Alive Solutions, specializing in aquatic safety, indicates that fluorescent colors are to be favored. Indeed, the study shows that these very bright colors are those that offer the most contrast with moving water, whatever the environment (swimming pool, lake, sea). The results of this study demonstrate that in pools with a light bottom, pink and fluorescent orange are the colors that stand out the most. While for dark bottoms, green, yellow and fluorescent orange are those that stand out the best.