Hidden Dangers of Hot Tubs

I am writing in the hope that you can better publicize a potentially lethal problem for pool owners.

We have a pool and hot tub built in the early 1970s. Recently my 6-year-old son was playing in the hot tub. He was apparently swimming underwater along the bottom. The grill covering the suction port had come off and he was sucked to the bottom.

My wife jumped into the tub and tried to pull him up, but he was stuck so tightly that she was unsuccessful. She then got out and turned the pump off. Even so, she had to give several more vigorous tugs before she was able to free him and bring him to the surface. He was blue and not breathing. He also had extensive bruising on his chest and abdomen.

My wife administered mouth-to-mouth breaths, and he began to breathe spontaneously. Paramedics were called, and after a four-day hospitalization, he seems to be doing fine.

I feel that we are very careful parents and quite compulsive about protecting our children. It never occurred to me that such a thing could happen. I have recently discussed the situation with many people, and several had heard of similar incidents.

I understand that pools and spas are now built differently to prevent excessive suction, but there are certainly many pools in the area of the older design. I would hate to think that other people would have to go through what we did or worse simply because they were unaware of the potential danger.

JAMES L. HARDEMAN

Fullerton