Swimming in cold water is exhilarating, healthy and fun. However, it is also potentially dangerous if you're not organised. Here are some tips to help you enjoy it safely.
Choose entry and exit locations are easy to negotiate i.e have gradual gradients and are sandy underfoot. Enter the water slowly and acclimatise to the cold water at your own pace. Dip your hands into the water early on and put some cold water on your face, neck and arms. Do your best to relax and focus on breathing out as you gently submerge up to your neck in the water. Put your face in the water after you have passed the 'gasp' phase.
Remember to always swim with a buddy and keep an eye on each other. If you're new to cold water swimming choose an experienced buddy to take.
Once you are in the water keep close to your entry/exit point at all times, by swimming shorter laps, and staying parallel to the shore.
Judge the duration of your swim based on how you feel rather than staying in until you reach a particular time or distance. There are many variables that can affect how quickly you get cold on a particular day. Along with weather and water conditions, this includes how much you have slept, how much you have eaten and drunk, and what other exercise you have done that day.
Don’t judge how long you stay in the water by focusing on how long others are staying in. Instead be alert to how your body feels in the water. Early signs of hypothermia are that lips start to turn blue and teeth chatter. When you get very cold your body retains warm blood at your core (around vital organs) at the expense of your extremities. Consequently, muscles in the arms, hands, face and legs don’t get enough blood to work properly. Look out for signs of this - your voice becoming slurred, swimming becoming a struggle, shivering, blue lips, lack of co-ordination when leaving the water, and your fingers curling into claws. This can happen more quickly the colder the water is. If you notice any of these signs, in yourself or others, you should get out of the water and change as soon as possible. There are no heroes in cold water swimming.
Your body temperature can continue to drop for up to 2 hours after getting out of the water as your body continues to conduct cold into your core. Known as the afterdrop, this typically leads to feelings of deep cold and shivering, but can lead to feeling faint and unwell. Take this into consideration by getting out before you feel cold. If you are with someone who you think is getting cold, perhaps ask them a simple question like ‘what day is it?’ or ‘when is your birthday?’ If they are slow in answering or they seem confused you should get them out. You should probably get out too as the chances are they may need help getting changed and you will be cold too.
Get changed into dry warm clothes as quickly as possible after leaving the water. Leave chatting or hanging around until after you are fully dressed, even if you feel OK. Organise your dry clothes before you head into the water so you can find everything easily and quickly. Stack items in the order that you put them on, with your woolly hat first, gloves and socks last. When changing always check on others around you who might be in difficulty.
Take a reusable bottle of warm water to pour on your feet to clean and warm them up before you put socks on. A changing mat to stand on after the swim is also highly recommended to avoid sharp stones and to insulate your feet from the ground.
Bring a hot drink and a snack with you. Warming your body from the inside with a hot drink is important and heat from the cup helps to warm your hands too. The snack provides the energy to generate heat to warm our bodies up too. When you are dressed generate some extra heat by jogging or dancing - don’t worry how it looks to others!
Make sure everyone has stopped shivering before they get into their cars and head off home.
If you have any other tips please add them to comments below.