09/11/2024
❄️ Cold Water Swim Safety ❄️
It’s getting cold now 🥶🥶🥶 Water temperatures are dropping quickly, and the winter swim season is fast approaching!
Here are a few things to consider now that it’s getting colder -
❄️Be organised - Know where your warm clothes are and make sure all your kit is piled up in reverse order (woolly hat, towel and base layers first) for when you get out. Never underestimate the number of layers you can put on after a cold water swim!⠀
❄️Get into the water slowly - no jumping or diving! Focus on breathing out. Instinct tells us to take a massive breath in and hold it when the cold hits or to gasp and take lots of shallow breaths in. Focusing on exhaling can help to control your breathing and stop you from hyperventilating.
❄️ NEVER SWIM ALONE - even experienced swimmers can get into difficulties in cold water.⠀
❄️ Don’t go far - Keep close to your kit/entry/exit point at all times - swim shorter laps backwards and forwards rather than a longer stretch.
❄️ Swim parallel to the shore - ideally, where you can still put your feet down if you need to. ⠀
❄️Get out before you feel you need to - Be mindful of how your body feels - your core, your extremities (claw hands), difficulty with speech and coordination. Get out while you still feel good.
⚠️ Hypothermia is a real risk - If your teeth start to chatter, you feel lightheaded, or your limbs start feeling heavy in the water, and swimming starts to feel like hard work, you have already stayed in for too long. Your temperature will continue to drop long after you get out of the water, so you need to get out before you start feeling too cold. Do you feel like you could happily stay in the water for another five minutes? Don’t wait five minutes – get out now.
❄️Do not attempt to stay in for a particular time/distance. Look at the conditions on the day and see how you feel.
So many things can affect your ability to cope with the cold on a particular day. E.g. external factors like air temperature, water temperature or wind chill, or personal factors like lack of sleep, lack of energy (food) or starting new medication - just because you stayed in the water for a certain amount of time yesterday, it doesn’t mean you should do the same or more today.
❄️Never use someone else’s report of a temperature/time/distance as a target. Every swimmer is different, and we all have different capabilities and tolerances. Swim your own swim.
❄️ Keep an eye on other people - Stick close together. If someone looks like they are struggling or has got a bit left behind, check that they are ok.
Look out for mumbling/slurred speech, blue lips, and slowing down/deteriorating stroke. Ask simple questions - if there is a delay in their answer or they seem confused - get them out. You will also need to get out as the chances are they will need help getting changed/warm.
⚠️ Safety signals - do you have a visual (hand/arm) signal to check in with other swimmers and make sure they are ok? How will you signal to other people if you are struggling? It is always worth thinking about this before getting into the water.
❄️ As soon as you get out, GET CHANGED - no stopping and chatting, even if you feel fine. Woolly hat on (if not already on!), wet stuff off and get layers onto your core ASAP. Non-insulating fiddly items are often not worth the hassle. Who needs underwear anyway?
Once you are dressed, get moving!
❄️Beware of the afterdrop - Your core body temperature will continue to drop once you get out of the water and will be coldest between 15 and 40 minutes after your swim. This is called afterdrop and typically leads to a feeling of ‘deep cold’ and shivers, but if you have got particularly cold, it can lead to you feeling faint, shivering violently or feeling unwell. Wind chill exacerbates this.
You have a five- to-ten-minute window to get all your clothes on before the cold hits you and shivers kick in, so make the most of it and get dressed as quickly as possible. It’s much harder to do up zips when your hands are shaking!
⚠️ However tempting it is, never go straight from the cold into a hot shower – it can cause sudden cooling of the core, leading to dizziness or even collapse. Wait until you’ve warmed up again before showering.
❄️ Have something to eat and drink - Our bodies generate heat by metabolising food, so a post-swim snack is pretty much essential. A hot drink in a flask is a good idea - even if you are going to a cafe afterwards. Be mindful that flasks can be very effective at keeping drinks hot – sometimes too hot! Be careful not to scald yourself.
❄️ Don’t rush off - Don’t attempt to drive (or ride a bike) until your core temperature has recovered. Driving and shivering is not a good combination! If your core temperature drops too much and you become hypothermic, it can also affect your cognitive abilities. If you think someone you have swum with is too cold to drive, please ensure they stay a bit longer and warm up before leaving.
And finally -
❄️ Be a good swim buddy - keep an eye on each other, even once everyone is out of the water. Always make sure someone waits until the last person in the group is dressed before leaving. Even if someone appears completely fine getting out of the water, they may be a shivering wreck ten minutes later.
If you see someone shivering too much to get dressed or struggling to get a neoprene sock off, help them. Equally, if you are struggling, ask for help. The faster you can get wet stuff off and dry/warm stuff on, the better!
No one should be left on their own.
📷️ Bernie McGee
