Cold Water Swimming Health Benefits and Risks

By Nicolas Iconomidis

Regular and prolonged swimming in the sea, in addition to the pleasure it provides, has beneficial effects on health, but it can also present certain risks. This book explores the physiological effects of swimming, particularly in cold water ( 10 to 14 °C), in the light of recent data. The author presents a complete picture of the benefits and risks of this activity.
He offers advice and recommendations for safe swimming in the sea in all seasons. This book is intended for those who are interested in this activity and want to start in the best conditions, but also for experienced swimmers who want to go further in the understanding of their practice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Release date: Mar 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9782322507658

Nicolas Iconomidis

Nicolas Iconomidis is a gastroenterologist in Marseille, France, with a degree in marine medicine and diving medicine. He is a member of the Marseille Swimmers' Circle and has been swimming in open water daily all year round for more than 30 years. Through this book, he wishes to share his passion for cold water swimming with experienced swimmers and to accompany neophytes in the discovery of this sport activity that is both exhilarating and refreshing.

Book preview

PREFACE

In recent years, outdoors activities and sports such as Nordic walking, trail running, hiking and swimming in the sea have developed considerably, especially during the health crisis. The practice of swimming in the sea regularly throughout the year has recently gained new followers. For swimmers, this means swimming regardless of the season, weather or water temperature, and which generally means swimming in cold water. Not just a quick dip as is common in Nordic countries or a short sprint in the increasingly popular icy water competitions, but a prolonged leisurely swim in water between 10 and 14°C.

This is what Nicolas Iconomidis has been doing for over 30 years. This activity provides regular swimmers with a state of physical and mental wellbeing. These benefits on physical and mental health have been well demonstrated in some situations. In other cases, it is said that the benefits are probable, given that studies in this field can be difficult to carry out. However, prolonged swimming in the sea in cold water also has its risks and constraints and can sometimes lead to antagonistic physiological responses. If the benefits outweigh the risks, a good knowledge and understanding of these benefits and risks allows the practice of regular swimming in safety. In this book Nicolas Iconomidis shares his personal experiences but he has also collected the testimonies of many swimmers who, like him, swim every day regardless of the weather in the Marseille area. They swim most often without a wetsuit in the Mediterranean Sea which, in the winter months, has an average temperature of 13°C. He explains in a detailed, yet comprehensive way, the physiological mechanisms of immersion, prolonged swimming and adaptation to thermal stress and the risk of hypothermia. This book offers recommendations to make this activity safe for both beginners and experienced swimmers. It will allow everyone to manage their practice by understanding the benefits and risks. After all, we only manage well what we understand well.

Doctor Jean Pierre AUFFRAY

University Professor,

President of the French Society of Maritime Medicine

Table of Contents

HISTORY

INTRODUCTION

I - IMPORTANT POINTS TO KNOW BEFORE SWIMMING

The temperature of the water

The state of the sea: currents, swell, and marine pollution

The main stinging sea creatures

The boats

The risk of infection

II - SWIMMING IN COLD WATER

Basics of human physiology

Physiological effects of immersion

Physiological effects of swimming

Physiological effects of cold water

Physiological and pathophysiological effects of swimming in cold water

III - COLD WATER ACCLIMATIZATION

Adipose tissue

Physical condition

Training

The cold shower

IV - HEALTH AND SWIMMING IN COLD WATER

Benefits

Cardiovascular

Respiratory

Endocrine

Immune

Metabolic

Osteoarticular

On caloric loss

On the occurrence of neurological diseases

On inflammation

Psychological

On socialization

Risks

Immediate

Cold water shock

Heart rhythm disorders

Hypertensive flare-ups

In the medium term

Immersion pulmonary edema

Neuromuscular cooling

Hypothermia

The afterdrop

Long term

Pathology of the external and internal ear

Other risks: cutaneous, Raynaud's syndrome, non-freezing cold injury

infectious, allergic, traumatic, related to rip currents and storms

Incidents in our winter swim group

Contraindications

Cardiovascular

Neurological

Cold-related diseases

Medications

V- STARTING TO SWIM IN COLD WATER

Tips

At the water's edge

Before swimming

While swimming

After swimming

VI - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXPERIENCED COLD WATER SWIMMERS

The preliminary medical consultation

At the water's edge

Over long distances

In case of prolonged interruption of swimming in cold water

Warming

VII - SWIMMING IN VERY COLD WATER LESS THAN 10°C

Water between 10 and 5°C

Ice water between 5 and 0°C

VIII - COLD WATER SWIMMING IN TRIATHLON AND SWIMRUN EVENTS

IX – SWIMMING IN ROUGH SEAS

X- WARMING UP AFTER SWIMMING

XI- GETTING THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT

For the safety and comfort of the swimmer

To avoid cooling at sea

In case of strong swell or current

To identify cooling

To avoid afterdrop

XII - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT SWIMMING IN COLD WATER

XIII - WEBSITES FOR SWIMMERS

XIV - CONCLUSION

XV - REFERENCES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

SUMMARY TABLES

HISTORY

Before swimming in a pool, our ancestors swam in the sea, lakes or rivers. Nowadays, hundreds of thousands of people find the pleasure of swimming in the open air, in complete freedom. But there are risks linked to this that we must be aware of for our safety.

The birth of open water swimming refers to a love story from Greek mythology in Asia Minor between Hero and Leander. Hero, priestess of Aphrodite, lived on the European coast of the Hellespont and Leander on the Asian coast. Every night, Leander swam across the Dardanelles Strait to join Hero, who guided him in the night with a lantern from the top of a tower. Unfortunately, one night, the wind blew out the signal light and Hero found Leander dead in the early morning on the shore of the Hellespont and committed suicide from the top of the tower. Today, Leander's Tower is an ancient lighthouse on a small tourist island at the entrance to the Bosphorus in Istanbul.

The modern era of open water swimming, as opposed to bathing, probably began on May 3, 1810, when Lord Byron swam several miles across the Dardanelles from Europe to Asia.

Jason Zirganos, 46 years old, from Volos in Greece, was a pioneer of long-distance swimming in cold water. He crossed the English Channel in 18 hours and 45 minutes in 1949 and the Bosphorus in 4 hours in 1953 in water at 8°C. Unfortunately, he died in 1959 of heart rhythm problems 3 miles off the coast of Scotland while trying to swim across the North Channel (Ireland to Scotland) over a distance of 35 km in water between 9 and 11°C. This sad accident illustrates the dangers of swimming in cold water over very long distances. The death of this excellent swimmer is most probably due to a deep hypothermia responsible for these heart rhythm disorders.

INTRODUCTION

Why this book?

Swimming in cold water in winter is very popular, particularly in the south of France because of our favorable climate, but also especially due to its probable beneficial effects on well-being, health and hypothetical improvement of longevity.

The viral pandemic of Covid-19 in 2020-2021 has led, due to the closure of swimming pools, new and numerous people to swim in winter in the sea, lakes or rivers without really knowing the risks to which they are exposed. It is an easy activity to access as long as you live near a body of water; it also requires little equipment. Nevertheless, it is an extreme physical activity because of the exposure of the whole body to cold water which can cause important physiological modifications, but also fortunately, in the medium and long term, adaptive responses because some regular winter swimmers manage to acclimatize to cold water to varying degrees. The problem is to know if this activity really has beneficial effects or if it can cause harmful effects.

The purpose of this book is to provide information to swimmers about the human physiology of cold water swimming so that they know the benefits and risks of this activity in this extreme environment. It is also important that swimmers understand this natural environment and develop common sense to recognize and avoid risky situations and thus enjoy their passion safely. All the information in this book has been gathered from scientific publications to provide practical applications that everyone can use in their regular activity as a cold water swimmer.

I would like to greet our friends who swim in cold water in the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the English Channel. They will find in this book a lot of information on the physiology and the physiopathology of winter swimming as well as advice and recommendations which I hope will be useful to them, without of course addressing all the problems specific to their natural environment, such as the marine fauna, the currents, the tide or the temperature of the sea water.

The International Winter Swimming Association (IWSA) has classified the sporting events according to the water temperature into three categories: cold water (between 5.1° and 9°C), very cold water (from 2.1° to 5°C) and icy water (from -2° to +2°C) and limits the maximum distance respectively to 1000 m for cold water, 450m for very cold water and 200m for icy water

The IWSA board decided to cancel the world championship in Petrozavodsk in Karelia (Russia) in 2022. Therefore, the Winter