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How not to drown in cold water

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JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/08/2010 : 11:22:29

I found this info about cold water accidents interesting. I fell out of a canoe in a cold river west of the Basketong Reservoir in northern Ontario once. I'm a believer. Today it's about 95 degrees here in DC, but anyway...

and there's a YouTube link at the end.

<b>The Truth About Cold Water – Part 1
[Published: November 10th, 2009 by Mario Vittone]</b>

I’m going to come right out and tell you something that almost no one in the maritime industry understands. That includes mariners, executives, managers, insurers, dock workers, for certain – fisherman, and even many (most) rescue professionals:

It is impossible to die from hypothermia in cold water unless you are wearing flotation, because without flotation – you won’t live long enough to become hypothermic.

Despite the research, the experience, and all the data, I still hear “experts” – touting as wisdom – completely false information about cold water and what happens to people who get in it. With another season of really cold water approaching, I feel compelled to get these points across in a way that will change the way mariners behave out there on (or near) the water.

What follows is the truth about cold water and cold water immersion. I know that you think you know all there is to know about hypothermia already (and maybe you do), but read ahead and see if you aren’t surprised by something.

When the water is cold (say under 50 degrees F) there are significant physiological reactions that occur, in order, almost always.

You Can’t Breath:

The first is phase of cold water immersion is called the cold shock response: It is a stage of increased heart rate and blood pressure, uncontrolled gasping, and sometimes uncontrolled movement. Lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes depending on a number of factors, the cold shock response can be deadly all by itself. In fact, of all the people who die in cold water, it is estimated that 20% die in the first two minutes. They drown, they panic, they take on water in that first uncontrolled gasp, if they have heart problems – the cold shock may trigger a heart attack. Surviving this stage is about getting your breathing under control, realizing that the stage will pass, and staying calm.

You Can’t Swim:

One of the primary reasons given by recreational boaters when asked why they don’t wear a life jacket, is that they can swim. Listen up, Tarzan; I swam for a living for the better part of my adult life, and when the water is cold – none of us can swim for very long. The second stage of cold water immersion is called cold incapacitation. lacking adequate insulation your body will make its own. Long before your core temperature drops a degree, the veins in your extremities (those things you swim with) will constrict, you will lose your ability control your hands, and the muscles in your arms and legs will just flat out quit working well enough to keep you above water. Without some form of flotation, and in not more than 30 minutes, the best swimmer among us will drown – definitely – no way around it. Without ever experiencing a drop in core temperature (at all) over 50% of the people who die in cold water, die from drowning perpetuated by cold incapacitation.

You Last Longer than You Think:

If you have ever heard the phrase, “That water is so cold, you will die from hypothermia within ten minutes.” then you have been lied to about hypothermia. For that matter you can replace ten minutes with twenty, or thirty, or even an hour, and you’ve still been lied to. In most cases, in water of say 40 degrees (all variables to one side), it typically takes a full hour to approach unconsciousness from hypothermia, the third stage of cold water immersion. But remember, you must be wearing flotation to get this far.

We are all different in this regard, but I once spent an hour in 44 degree water wearing street clothes and my core temperature was only down by less than two degrees (I was not clinically hypothermic). It was uncomfortable to be sure, and I wouldn’t recommend finding your own limit, but it probably would have taken another hour to lose consciousness, and an hour after that to cool my core to the point of no return. The bodies efforts to keep the core warm – vasoconstriction and shivering – are surprisingly effective. The shivering and blood shunting to the core are so effective, that twenty minutes after jumping in (twice the “you’ll be dead in ten minutes” time), I had a fever of 100.2.

Rescue Professionals Think You Live Longer:

There is a good side to the misconceptions about hypothermia. Should you ever be in the water in need of rescue, you can be certain that the Coast Guard is going to give you the benefit of every possible doubt. When developing search criteria – search and rescue coordinators use something called the Cold Exposure Survival Model (CESM): It is a program wherein they enter all the available data about the victim (age, weight, estimated body fat, clothing, etc.) and about the environment (water temp, sea state, air temp, wind) and the software spits them out a number that represents the longest possible time you can survive under those conditions. I plugged my own information into it once and it said I could survive for over 4 hours in 38 degree water wearing nothing but a t-shirt and jeans and no flotation. I can tell you from experience that the CESM is full of it – I’d give me 35 minutes tops – but the error is comforting. If the program that determines how long I might live is going to be wrong – I want it to be wrong in that direction.

Out of the Water is Not Out of Trouble:

I lost count of the number of survivors I annoyed in the back of the helicopter because I wouldn’t let them move. I had a rule – if they came from a cold water environment – they laid down and stayed down until the doctors in the E.R. said they could stand. It didn’t matter to me how good they felt or how warm they thought they were. Because the final killer of cold water immersion is post-rescue collapse. Hypothermia does things besides making everything colder. Victims are physiologically different for awhile. One of the things that changes is called heart-rate variability. The hearts ability to speed up and slow down has been affected. Getting up and moving around requires your heart to pump more blood, being upright and out of the water is also taxing, then any number of other factors collide and the heart starts to flutter instead of pump – and down you go. Victims of immersion hypothermia are two things; lucky to be alive, and fragile. Until everything is warmed back up – out of the water and dry is good enough – mobility comes later.

Did You Learn Anything?:

If you did, then hopefully you’ll use it to make good decisions when it comes to being safe on and around cold water; good decisions like these:

When working on deck, wear flotation. This includes, especially, all fisherman in Alaska. I couldn’t find more recent research, but the 31 Alaskan “fell overboard” casualties in 2005 died from drowning, not cold water. Not one of them was wearing flotation. Many couldn’t stay above water long enough for their own boats to make a turn and pick them up…..over a life jacket.

If you witness a man overboard – getting the life ring directly to them is critical (vital – step one – must do it). Make certain that all-important piece of safety gear is not just on your vessel, but readily available and not tied to the cradle.

When working on deck – wear flotation. I said that already? Well, when I quit reading search reports that end with “experienced” mariners dying because they thought they understood cold water – I’ll come up with better advice.

For more advice about how to handle an accidental immersion into cold water – please watch Cold Water Boot Camp – it is one of the best 10 minutes on immersion hypothermia ever produced. For even more advice, ask me a question on the discussion boards.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of the Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Coast Guard.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1xohI3B4Uc&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube Cold Water Boot Camp
[/url]

JohnP
1978 C25 SR/FK "Gypsy"
Mill Creek off the Magothy River, Chesapeake Bay
Port Captain, northern Chesapeake Bay

Edited by - JohnP on 07/10/2010 03:13:17

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 07/08/2010 : 12:25:30

Another point, John, is that alcohol is a peripheral vasodilator and even very low levels reduce the body's ability to constrict vessels and conserve heat. Like most things in America, the hyperbole and doomsday messages are more popular than facts and it is refreshing to read your accurate and well presented topic. Thanks.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 07/08/2010 : 13:31:43

Great article, and learned some new stuff. I'm guessing the author (Mario Vittone) was a USCG swimmer, or an Air Force PJ. I've forwarded the link along to several friends who don't belong to this forum.

Rita & I always wear our PFDs, but reading this gives me more hope of surviving a fall into Puget Sound.

Edited by - on

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 07/08/2010 : 13:46:19

Great article John, I learned a lot. Being where I am we don't consider cold water that often but it gets to the mid 50's in winter and even that'll freeze up the outer extremities after a while.

Edited by - on

vholmstrom
1st Mate

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USA
51 Posts

Response Posted - 07/08/2010 : 18:21:54

In the mid 1960s, I went surfing with some friends off of Long Island, NY. It was early April and the water was below 50 degrees. Unlike my friends, I did not have the money to own a wetsuit. The waves were only about 2 feet high, so I decided to paddle out anyway, wearing an old, tight fitting sweatshirt and old bluejeans. Fortunately, I was paddleing my 9'9" longboard, which kept most of me out of the water. When I reached about 50 yards offshore, where the waves were breaking, my arms started getting numb. I immediately started to paddle back to shore. Halfway back to shore my arms almost completely stopped working and I began to wonder if I would make it to the beach. A small wave broke and pushed me the rest of the way in.

I can say from personal experience that what JohnP says is 100 percent true. My arms, that were in the cold water for about 10 minutes gave out, while the rest of me (including my chest which was being rinsed by breaking waves on the way out) did not feel that bad. Keep in mind that my arms were only submerged intermittently while paddling. So, when on the water when it is cold, wear a flotation device. Chances are if you fall overboard, someone will get to you after your extremities quit, but before hypothermia sets in.

Vic

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 07/08/2010 : 18:36:45

Excellent find!

We should revisit this topic every few months, especially as winter approaches.

Admiral OSHA is totally vindicated

Paul

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 07/08/2010 : 20:23:54

I'd never heard of this guy til today, and I just got sent a link to another one of his stories (drowning doesn't look like drowning). Check him out at [url="http://www.MarioVittone.com"]Mario Vittone[/url].

Edited by - delliottg on 07/08/2010 20:25:02

pfduffy
Captain

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USA
317 Posts

Response Posted - 07/09/2010 : 08:59:07

I read the "drowning doesn't look like drowning" article on Facebook a few days ago. I have since seen it reposted hundreds of times. Seems like a guy deserving of his 15 minutes of fame.

Edited by - on

skrenz
Captain

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USA
351 Posts

Response Posted - 07/09/2010 : 09:27:26

Excellent view of Abby Sunderland's experience in his companion article.
http://mariovittone.com/2010/06/abby_epirb/

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5378 Posts

Response Posted - 07/09/2010 : 22:09:57

As a kayak safety instructor for several kayaking clubs and the US Power Squadron in Connecticut since 2002, I've spent a lot of time on cold water issues. John is dead right with everything he's said. Here are a few more anecdotes.

(1) if you fall in headfirst, the gasp reflex is automatic, and you will breath in a lot of water. The air in your lungs makes you buoyant. If they are filled with water, you lose your buoyancy, so you sink like a stone without a lifejacket.

(2) if you are over 50, the capillaries in you head and brain will literally pop, and stroke-like conditions will set in.

(3) Navy-seal level swimmers have been seen falling in, coming up for one last time and drowning in cold water

(4) if your lungs fill with saltwater, then you are rescued, your lungs will swell up and afterward you will suffocate.

(5) loss of manual dexterity (not diminution, but loss) will take place within 15 minutes in 45 degree water.

(6) I teach wet exits in a pool for my kayak safety class. I teach, then demonstrate self and tee rescues, which takes me between 2-4 minutes to complete (we've timed it). Most of my students require more than 5, and usually 8 minutes to get back in the boat using a self rescue.

In 45 degree water, all the moves needed to get oneself back in the boat require incredible manual dexterity. After 8 minutes, you will be unable to get yourself back in the boat.

Every April and every November, like clockwork we hear of 3-5 people lost in small boats (kayaks, duck hunters, anglers) just around Connecticut. These numbers are pretty consistent, and indicative of reality.

USCG estimates that for small boats, the risk of injury or death is 100 times greater than the next most risky boating activity - jetskis. Add to that, small boats are the most popular types of boats being bought today - so the risks are increasing.

If I see kayakers out early or late season, I always stop by to see whether they are wearing lifejackets, having trouble with chop or currents and just get nosy. If anything does not "smell" right, I issue a security call on the VHF warning fellow boaters of the number of boats, a description of the kayakers, the color of the boats and a general direction they're heading.

I always recommend that boaters file a USCG Float Plan describing (1) where the group is starting from and returning to, (2) when they expect to be back, (3) where they are going, (4) how many boats, (5) what color boats, (6) what kind of cars they have, and provide a copy of the float plan to a loved one, and leave a copy on the seat of the car.

Edited by - Voyager on 07/09/2010 22:11:11

ruachwrights
Captain

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USA
258 Posts

Response Posted - 07/14/2010 : 10:21:02

Thank you for the post! I am thankful that Narragansett Bay is warmer than the outer ocean but it is still cold in the spring and late fall.

Edited by - on

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