Your skin is your largest organ by far. Suddenly lowering the temperature of your skin by jumping into cold water will give your body an enormous, potentially fatal, shock.
Richard Crowther, First Aid Cornwall
I’m sure at the time it was just a laugh or a good joke but this is the sort of tragedy that can stay with a family for the rest of their lives.
Inspector Ian Milligan, of Devon and Cornwall Police, reflecting on a New Year’s Eve drowning in the sea at Porthleveven
You’ve been working hard, the weather’s been miserable and you can’t wait for Christmas and New Year to have a bit of fun. We feel you.
Boxing Day swim dressed in your Santa pants? New Year’s Eve dip to round off a great night and sober you up? Hmmmm. Let’s think about that now before the season of silliness gets the better of us.
Let us share with you the lowdown on cold water shock:
-
Coldwater can kill you in less than a minute. It’s so dangerous that if you jump into deep water you can die before you even reach the surface.
-
Coldwater is water below 15ºC. Cold-related breathing difficulties in water can begin at 27º which doesn’t sound cold at all. That’s why it is so dangerous.
-
More people drown in Cornwall than in any other part of the UK.
-
For 9 months of the year, the water in Cornwall is below 15º: too cold for wetsuit free swimming.
-
Drowning is one of the leading causes of death for people aged 1-24 years.
Five Facts to Save Your Life: Cold Water Swimming & Drowning
-
Coldwater can kill you at 15ºC. Do not make the mistake of comparing water and air temperatures. Your breathing is affected from 27ºC and full submersion in water of 15ºC or lower can trigger total loss of breathing control. In fact, the shock you receive from coldwater at 15ºC is just as dangerous as at 2ºC. Once you’ve lost control of your breathing, things can’t get any worse.
-
Being a strong swimmer won’t help. This might sound harsh but cold water shock means an immediate loss of breathing control. When you gasp for air you are likely to inhale water and drown. To make things worse, shock increases blood pressure and can trigger a heart attack. Because strong swimmers are far more likely to be in and around cold water, they are actually most at risk. Which brings us to number 3:
-
Attempting to rescue someone in trouble in the water is likely to get you killed. Someone who is drowning or even just thinks they are drowning will be in panic mode. The same goes for a beloved pet or animal in danger. When you put yourself within their reach their survival instinct will kick in and they will use you as a buoyancy aid, potentially drowning you. This is not a rare occurrence, even between close friends and relations. There are no rational or ethical decisions in cold water shock or drowning.
-
Alcohol makes us brave and stupid. After a few drinks, you might be confident that a quick plunge in the sea will be harmless, funny and memorable. It will be none of these things. Throw darkness, slow reactions and drunk mates into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for a tragedy.
-
Don’t fall in. Don’t get in without the right wetsuit or drysuit and something that floats. IF you fall in, try to relax, float and use whatever you have access to as a flotation device. If someone else falls in or is in trouble in the water, throw them a buoyancy aid, flotation device or anything that floats and call 999. You can do this on anyone’s mobile phone by rapidly hitting the on/off button 5 times.
In a nutshell
Even if you have been working hard, and the weather has been depressing, Christmas and New Year is not the time to bring misery down on your loved ones by succumbing to entirely preventable cold water shock.
If you must get in, get your winter wetsuit on.
Stay safe and look after each other.
Team FAC x
