When you pack your beach bag and head for the pool or lake this summer, you might wind up with something you weren’t planning for: a visit to the hospital.

Dr. Sabrina Prewett, who works in the emergency department at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, sees all kinds of injuries patients weren’t expecting.

“One major problem we see is people overestimating their skills and going out and thinking they can swim further than they can. We also see problems from children running around the pool. We tend to get a lot of lacerations from slipping and falling, broken forearms.

“Diving into water that is much too shallow, broken glass in the bottom of the lake, injuries from one-man water crafts like wave runners  these are problems, too,” Prewett said.

Most people associate a day at the pool or lake with fun, not danger. And doctors say that’s where the problem begins. They say people need to consider the risks instead of jumping in head first.

“Take it very seriously. It’s your life,” Prewett said.

One thing she stresses is supervision for children.

“The pool is a fun place to be, but there are a lot of children and sometimes there are so many that lifeguards can’t keep everyone in sight at the same time. Sending kids to the pool (unsupervised) could be a bad mistake,” she said.

And while you might pay careful attention to your safety in the water, you also can’t forget the other major danger of summer fun.

“We have a lot of problems with sunburns,” Prewett said. “People don’t realize that the water actually reflects the sun and they can get burns that are close to third-degree burns and become very ill.”

And she adds the biggest safety precaution people can take is to use common sense and be proactive about their own well-being.

“Take the time to learn CPR, if you’re going to be out at the lake at all  First Aid, and use lots of sunscreen.”