By the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons
We used to think that hypothermia was something that we all needed to know about cold water immersion. However, research has shown that few people who fall into cold water make it through hypothermia. They die long before.
What you need to know is a simple series of numbers… 1 – 10 – 1. It is the second most important thing to remember to survive an accidental fall into cold water. If you fall into cold water:
- You have 1 minute to get your breathing under control. The initial cold shock will have you gasping for air, breathing uncontrollably and probably panicking. Keeping afloat and breathing will be very difficult but concentrate on just getting your breathing under control and you can expect gasping to pass in about 1 minute
- During the next 10 minutes you will experience Cold Incapacitation and your body, in an attempt to preserve core temperature, will shunt blood to its core causing your limbs to shut down and quickly making it impossible for you to self rescue or even stay afloat.
- After Cold Incapacitation, hypothermia will finally start to set in but you can
expect that will take about 1 hour to become unconscious and still longer before you succumb to hypothermia.
Remember those numbers ! 1 – 10 – 1; the second most important thing to know and understand if you accidentally fall into cold water. And you already know the first!
Wear your lifejacket before you accidentally end up in cold water or you will likely be down before the count even starts.