No matter how much doctors and priests exhort, those who decide to dive into the hole will dive. How to do it correctly and with minimal harm to health. aif.ru told about this Associate Professor of the Department of Polyclinic Therapy at the Institute of Clinical Medicine of Pirogov University, Candidate of Medical Sciences, general practitioner Dmitry Karpenko.
How to plunge properly?
Of course, preparation is necessary. You need to put on a swimsuit or swimming trunks in advance, while still at home, so as not to waste time changing clothes outside in low temperatures. Before plunging, you need to do a little exercise and warm-up in order to loosen your muscles a little and disperse the blood throughout the body. After plunging, you need to quickly get out of the water and dry your body, dry yourself and quickly put on warm clothes. Just at this time it will be very good to drink hot tea.
What is important to remember?
If we are talking about organized swimming places, emergency medical services and emergency medical services employees are on duty in such places. If any complications arise, assistance will be provided. Therefore, we recommend swimming only in specially equipped and designated areas. And under no circumstances should you do this alone, because the risk of a negative outcome increases sharply.
How to prepare for swimming?
Any such procedure requires preparation. When we come across seasonal Epiphany swimming, of course, many people who want to take part in this event are not professional winter swimmers and may even be unfamiliar with hardening. And in this case, of course, it would be necessary to begin the hardening procedure several weeks before swimming. Hardening is not exposure to extremely low temperatures. You can even start with a banal contrast shower. This will gradually prepare the body for exposure to low temperatures.
Who should absolutely not plunge into an ice hole?
Dipping in an ice hole is contraindicated for people over 75 years of age, pregnant women, children and people with chronic diseases of the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, such as bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive disease. Diabetes mellitus, joint disease.
Let us note that swimming in an ice hole is contraindicated for children, but many people do not keep children. The ban on swimming in an ice hole for children is due to the fact that the child’s body, thermoregulation system is imperfect, and the subcutaneous tissue is not developed enough. Therefore, children under seven years of age tolerate exposure to low temperatures very poorly.
As for alcohol. Breastfeeding is probably one of the most rash decisions you can make in the light of preparing for your Epiphany bath. Because when drinking alcohol, a person loses control, he feels his body worse, and cannot properly control the time he spends in cold water. It is better to prefer warm tea to alcohol, which you need to drink after plunging into the ice hole.
In addition, a sharp change in temperature can cause an attack of bronchial asthma. When exposed to cold, a sharp spasm of blood vessels first occurs, and then the vessels expand sharply to warm the body. You can inhale, but you cannot exhale.
How does immersion affect the body in general?
Unfortunately, a one-time dip cannot provide any benefit. If we are talking about hardening or extreme hardening options, which are called winter swimming, then regular immersion and regular exposure to low temperatures are assumed, and not episodic, once a year. If you want to engage in hardening, you need to consult with your doctor so that he can determine the presence of contraindications and indicators, respectively, for this procedure, and then develop a safe hardening regimen for you.
Source: aif.ru