It is reported that: 55% of cold water deaths are due to the combination of cold shock and subsequent swimming failure. Hypothermia, dropping core temperature, accounts for 25% of deaths and 20% of deaths are due to "post rescue collapse", the effects of pulling a chilled individual out of the water improperly and other effects of lung damage, and damage to the blood vascular system etc. In general, cooling time is effected by body mass, extent of marine turbulence, water temperature and clothing. The USCG has some rather advanced computer programs now for estimating survival time and they are using the data to estimate how long they should carry on searches for victims lost at sea. Chuck Sutherland *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hayward's early experiments at the University of Victoria suggested longer than expected (but still far less than what the general population thought) swim times/distance based on the slow, but steady drop in body core temperatures. More recent research has shown that in cold water (12 Celcius I think), swimming failure occurs at less than 50% the distance Hayward indicated (2000 plus meters at the given temperature they measured, versus the actual 800 plus meters now indicated). Loss of dexterity was a large factor, and of course more rapid core cooling. Immersion apparel and flotation are cited as critical to survival time in cold water. Nothing really new here for Paddlewise readers, other than a reminder that "swimming failure" also includes inability to further tread water. PFD's do help save lives, discounting cold shock. Doug L > It is reported that: > > 55% of cold water deaths are due to the combination of cold shock > and subsequent swimming failure. Hypothermia, dropping core > temperature, accounts for 25% of deaths and 20% of deaths are > due to "post rescue collapse", the effects of pulling a chilled > individual out of the water improperly and other effects of lung > damage, and damage to the blood vascular system etc. snip *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mar 25, 2007, at 4:29 PM, skimmer wrote: > It is reported that: > > 55% of cold water deaths are due to the combination of cold shock > and subsequent swimming failure. Hypothermia, dropping core > temperature, accounts for 25% of deaths and 20% of deaths are > due to "post rescue collapse", the effects of pulling a chilled > individual out of the water improperly and other effects of lung > damage, and damage to the blood vascular system etc. I remember seeing on TV a story about a lady who could swim in Antarctic water. They also observed a guy who would go into a glass box and they would pour ice in all around him and he could stay in there for long periods of time. I don't remember the details of how this was possible, but in effect they had trained themselves to do this. It kind of makes me wonder about the possibilities... Paul Montgomery paul_at_paddleandoar.com http://paddleandoar.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In Saturday's mail I received (probably from the ACA but who knows) a "Wear It!" brochure produced by the "National Safe Boating Council". It contains a tear-off card with "2005 USCG Boating Statistics". (The brochure is available at http://SafeBoatingCampaign.net if you want to see the whole thing). In it, they state that there were 697 boating fatalities in 2005 (presumably in the US). Of these, 29 involved kayaks. Of those 29, it states that 24 deaths were from drowning (10 no PFD), 3 from hypothermia, and 2 from 'other'. The only safety practice discussed in this brochure is the wearing of a PFD, so the numbers are presented in such a way as to enhance the conclusion that no PFD = higher risk of death. The stats card goes on to draw the obvious (to them) conclusions for the reader: "In 2005, approximately 70% of all fatalities drowned (491 out of 697). Approximately 87% of the victims who drowned were not wearing a life jacket. Overall, fatal accident data show approximately 426 drowned lives could have been saved in 2005 if boaters had worn their life jackets..." Their assumption is that every drowning death that occurred without a PFD would have been avoided by the use of a PFD. There is no discussion whatsoever about cold water or any other factors. Such is the logic of those who are the public face of 'boating safety' and the 'opinion makers' of those who look for guidance WRT rules and legislation. Jennifer -- Jennifer Pivovar jpivovar_at_headwinds.org ----- Original message ----- From: "skimmer" <skimmer_at_enter.net> It is reported that: 55% of cold water deaths are due to the combination of cold shock and subsequent swimming failure.... *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
"I remember seeing on TV a story about a lady who could swim in Antarctic water. " Paul Montgomery ----------------------------- Hi Paul, The answer is somewhat tedious. I'll work ot it in a few days. The short answer is that the swimmer lady trained by swimming some miles every day in cold water. None-the-less, the effects of cold water immersion on her were not changed much, but she learned how to deal with those effects. It is an interesting story, but it holds no hope for an easy fix for paddlers that do cold water paddling. Chuck Sutherland *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
skimmer wrote: > "I remember seeing on TV a story about a lady who could swim in > Antarctic water. " Paul Montgomery This sort of effect is common for folks who work with their hands in very cold water: fish filleters, for example. Studies show (can no longer recall the sources) that you can acclimate your hands to immersion in 35-40 F water, over a period of many weeks, working up from a few minutes to a full eight hour work shift. OTOH, if you fail to maintain the regime, you lose the acclimatization pretty fast: couple weeks or so, IIRC. Acclimatizing your body to full immersion must involve something more demanding, although when I swam regularly in the ocean, as a kid, we could stay out in 63-64 F water for at least an hour, moving actively. The demarcation was quite sharp, however: at 60 F, we could not stand it for more than 15 minutes; at 70 F, we were in heaven, and could last basically all day. Again, we were swimming actively. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 3/25/2007 8:33:10 PM Pacific Daylight Time, skimmer_at_enter.net writes: The USCG has some rather advanced computer programs now for estimating survival time and they are using the data to estimate how long they should carry on searches for victims lost at sea. I hope they are better than the computer models the UN folks are running on global warming. Cheers, Rob G ************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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