Children can drown due to floats with arm rings! - Do not assume they are safe just because they are wearing one -

Intended to help children play around water and consisting of a chest float (the buoyant body) with left and right arm rings attached, "floats with arm rings" of various shapes and sizes can be found being sold via the Internet, etc.

In December 2023, the mailbox for accident information from doctors (nickname: "Doctor Mailbox")received word that a child had drowned while wearing one. The product was intended to be worn with the buoyant body on the child's chest, but when the accident happened, it was being worn with it on their back. With the product in question, wearing it back to front like that tends to make it difficult for the child to lie on their back on the water, and if they end up face down, they could have trouble righting themselves again. That means they could drown from not being able to get their nose and mouth out of the water to breathe, so it is important to wear it the right way round. However, the product in question was made in such a way that it could be worn with the buoyant body at either the front or the back.

Suspecting that similar accidents will happen if there are products around with the same structure as this one, we decided to conduct an investigation and other measures regarding floats with arm rings, and alert consumers to the dangers.

Video[YouTube]

A child drowned?! Swimming pool accident due to a float with arm rings
A child drowned while wearing
a float with arm rings?!

Advice for consumers

• Remember that unlike life jackets, floats with arm rings and are not intended to protect the wearer's life.
• When your children are playing in water, make sure a guardian (supervisor) always gets into it with them, and stays within reach of them in case of an emergency.
• Wearing floats with arm rings the wrong way round or with loose straps, etc. increases the risk of drowning. Always check to see what way round they should be worn, and make sure your children wear them with the buoyant body snugly against them. Their lives could depend on it.
• Floats with arm rings are not suitable for use in natural settings such as the ocean or rivers. In places like that, have your children correctly wearing a life jacket that is a suitable size for them.

Requests to industries and businesses

We would like arm rings to be labeled appropriately in Japanese so that consumers correctly understand that they are not intended to protect the wearer's life. Also, we would like the structure of them to be improved so that wearing them in certain ways will not lead to accidents.

Request for cooperation from Internet shopping mall operators

We would like you to cooperate with preventing drownings caused by floats with arm rings by, among other things, including the correct way to use them in the product information, and alerting buyers to the dangers.