There are many circumstances where you might find yourself
in the water.
You might have been on the swim team and won first place
but it doesn’t mean you know how to survive.
There are many techniques you should learn in case you end up in
the water and you are waiting for a rescue.
One of the best methods of floating you should learn is to
float on your back horizontally.
This position is comfortable and keeps your face out of the
water. You can lay
outstretched and arch your back a little.
Allow your legs to relax out in front of you.
The vertical back float doesn’t put all of your body on the
surface of the water.
Your upper body will be on the surface while your legs are
extended down in the water.
Your back and face and upper chest will be lay back with
your arms extended.
Survival floating is a very good thing to know if you are in the
water for a long period of time and you don’t know when help is
coming. When you
survival float you will just put your head back and relax while
maintaining your face at the surface so you can breathe.
One important factor is that when you tread water you use a lot of
energy and it is tiresome.
If you find yourself in waters that are moving quickly and rapidly
like a river or stream then you should turn over on your back and
put your feet in front of you facing downstream.
This position will help cushion you from the blows you are
about to take with the rocks and debris in the water.
When the body is immersed in cold water three things happen
quickly to your body; cold shock, failure to swim, and
hypothermia.
When the body is suddenly shot into cold water a reflexive action
of gasping out of shock occurs.
The problem that occurs is when the body gasps naturally
like this it takes cold water into the lungs.
Drowning can be instant if water does make its way in.
The best thing you can do is when you realize you are about
to fall into the water is cover your mouth and nose with your
hands and hold your breath.
After your body goes through the initial shock
you will be unable to swim.
The reasons you cannot swim is because you will completely lose
manual dexterity.
You may not be able to match your breathing with your swimming and
lose all of your coordination because your arms and legs are too
cold. People try
harder and harder to swim and increase their swim angle and then
it results in drowning.
Hypothermia
There are three types of hypothermia.
The three different types include mild, medium, and severe.
When the body’s temperature drops below 95 degrees you are in a
condition known as hypothermia.
This is caused by exposure to cold water or cold air.
The body loses its body heat and results in losing
dexterity,
consciousness, and loss of life.
Survival time can be really short depending on the water
temperature and exhaustion.
Here is a chart to explain survival time for someone who
falls into the water.
Temperature of the Water
Exhaustion
Time of survival (min)
32.5
under 15 minutes
under 15 to 45 Mins
32.5-40
15-30 min
30-90
40-50
30-60
1-3 hours
60-70
2-7 hours
2 – 40 hours
Mild hypothermia
When a person is suffering from mild hypothermia they are in the
best shape. They will
feel cold, have violent shaking and not be able to speak clearly.
Their speech may be slurred.
Medium Hypothermia
At this stage a person will have lost muscle control, feel drowsy,
incoherent, and completely exhausted.
Severe Hypothermia
This is the most dangerous stage that can lead to death quickly.
The person will collapse and be unconscious.
Respiratory distress or signs of a cardiac arrest will take
place.
Conserving Body Heat in the Water
When a person is in the water the only way to conserve your body
heat is not to move at all.
You don’t want to flail around and paddle.
Try not to move.
The more you move around the faster you will lose your body
heat and die. Swimming
lowers the temperatures in your body.
Don’t move.
If you are in a position or there is some type of small floatation
that will allow you to pull a part of your body out of the water
then you need to do this. Hypothermia occurs faster in the water
than out. Keeping your
head out of the water will really lessen your body’s heat loss and
increase the amount of time you have of survival.
The most important thing is that you need to be wearing a life
jacket. If you are not
wearing a life jacket then you will have to float and use energy.
A life jacket allows you to float and use nothing.
The best position you can be in when you are in the water is on
your back in the fetal position.
You can float effortlessly and protect the areas of your
body that are susceptible to heat loss the most.
These areas include the sides of the chest, groin, armpits,
backs of your knees, and more.
The ideal circumstance is finding yourself in the water
with someone else because you can huddle together and maintain as
much heat as you can.
One thing to keep in mind is that you never massage someone’s arms
or legs that is experiencing hypothermia.
This will cause the circulation in their body to take cold
blood from the surface to the core of the body.
This will speed up the dropping of temperature and progress
them into death. Alcohol should never be consumed either because
it causes body heat to be lost also.
Any type of stimulant will have the same affect as a
massage.
