Stay Warm in Cold Water
Rule number one when you take an accidental plunge into ice cold water: don't attempt to swim long distances. You'll lose too much body heat, which you need to conserve as much as possible when you're in cold water without a survival suit. You never know when your sailboat might capsize or the ice break under your feet during a fishing expedition. Read on for information on the right way to stay warm.
Contents
Steps
Surviving in Cold Water
- Swim only if a boat or solid object is in reach. If a boat, dock, or some other solid object you can climb upon is no more than a few yards away, swim to it and get out of the water. Otherwise, stay put. Even strong swimmers can end up drowning when they try to swim in cold water. When too much body heat gets lost, hypothermia sets in very fast.
- Keep your head above the water. Hopefully you're wearing a life jacket or personal flotation device (PFD), because it's imperative that you stay afloat. You don't want to have to do the doggie paddle to keep your head above water, since that uses up too much energy. Make sure your life jacket or PFD is fastened tightly, and lean back a bit to make it easier to keep your head above the water's surface.
- Look around for something that may be floating in the water that could help you stay afloat. If your boat capsized, you may see a lifesaver ring, seat cushions, or other items you can grab.
- If you don't have anything to keep you afloat, you'll have to use your hands and feet. Try to move as little as possible, making only as many movements as necessary to keep your face out of the water.
- Assume the HELP position. The Heat Escape Lessening Position, called HELP, keeps your body as warm as possible and conserves energy while you wait to be rescued. Draw your legs up to your chest and cross your feet. Wrap your arms around your chest and keep all your appendages close to your chest. Now "sit" in this position and bob on the water's surface.
- HELP only works if you're wearing a PFD that keeps your head above the water without your having to move. Don't attempt HELP unless you're wearing a PFD.
- If you're wearing a life jacket that's designed in such a way as to make it difficult to assume HELP, assume the "survival position" instead. Keeping your head above the water, hold your body vertical with your arms straight at your sides, and your legs straightened and held together.
- Huddle if you can. If you're in the water with other people, the best way to stay warm is to huddle together. Get close to each other and lock arms and legs so that you're forming a big group hug. Make as much bodily contact with each other as you can.
- Avoid panicking. This uses up much-needed energy for survival. Have faith things will turn out if you are in need of rescue and keep as clear-headed as possible.
- Get medical attention. As soon as you get out of the water, dry, off, warm up, and get treated for hypothermia. If you were in the cold water for more than a minute or two, you could sustain organ damage, so it's essential that you get checked out as soon as possible.
Preparing for a Cold Water Swim
- Wear a survival suit. If you are around frigid water, such as the Arctic or Antarctic waters, you may be required to know how to use a survival suit. If you are told to put it on, do it immediately. It will allow you to survive longer in the coldest waters on the planet.
- Don't venture into icy cold waters on a boat without preparing in advance. If you don't have a survival suit to keep you safe, the risk is just too great.
- Even if you're wearing a survival suit, you shouldn't stay in freezing water for too long.
- Wear a dry suit. This aquatic garment seals out water completely and will keep you warm in cold water. If you know you will be around cold water such as the Pacific ocean or certain rivers where you might go whitewater kayaking), a dry suit is probably an acceptable level of protection.
- Wear a wetsuit.Wetsuits will allow water inside the garment, but they keep you warmer than if you had no insulation. This is good choice for warm to cool waters, such as what you'd encounter while SCUBA diving or snorkeling in certain areas.
- Not all wetsuits are created equal. Some cover only the torso, while others cover the arms and legs as well. Make sure you know what type of wetsuit you need for the particular water temperature you're entering.
- Wear a personal flotation device (PFD). Whenever you are out boating or doing some other water activity (apart from diving), always wear a personal flotation device. If will help keep you floating and it adds an element of warmth.
- Some PFDs have good insulation that can make the difference between surviving or not in cold water.
- Consider putting reflective tape or another reflective material on your PFD in case you're caught in the water at night. This will help a search party find you more quickly.
- Wear the right clothing when you're around water. If you aren't actually wearing a wetsuit, wear layers of light clothing rather than heavy clothes. The layers will help to trap air but the lightness will prevent you from being weighed down.
- Don't wear cotton. This fabric weighs you down when it becomes wet, and it doesn't keep you warm.
- Wear a wicking layer and a waterproof layer. Wool or another fabric that wicks moisture away from your skin should be worn underneath a protective layer of waterproof clothing.
- Keep your head warm. You can prevent the loss of too much body heat by focusing on keeping your head warm. If you'll be in cold water, wear two swim caps. Wear ear plugs designed for underwater use, so you don't lose too much heat through your ears.
Tips
- Avoid going to sleep. You may never wake up.
- It's possible you could be "clinically dead" from being in cold water, and be able to be revived. Not that you could act on this fact in any way, but it could keep your spirits up when you're waiting for help.
- Keep out of the water to begin with. Although this sounds obvious, the best way to stay out of trouble is to avoid situations that will put you in such a situation.
- Expect to shiver. This is the body's mechanism to try to produce heat.
