A Word Of Warning [Archive] - BushcraftUK: Community Forum

thebear

11-03-2006, 12:02

Just in case there are some other people like me who were not aware of this - a word of warning.

Please be very careful drinking icy cold water while being hot and sweaty it can lead to shocking the nerves of your heart.

While out hiking over Snowdonia during December, the temperature was -2 / 3, and under heavy exertion humping a fairly heavy winter pack I stopped for a drink at a stream. While drinking I noticed a juddery sensation in my chest but put that down to normal shivering. After walking for a couple more hours I stopped made camp and had a very weird night without much sleep. The next day I carried on and up over the mountain, but was really struggling. I nearly called in the air rescue but didn't and just about managed to get over the top and eventually back to where I was staying. Once I had settled down after the exertion I noticed my heart was beating strangely, out of sync and palpating. It didn't go away after a day or two so off to the doctor. He sent me off to the hospital for ECGs which showed atrial flutter. Just going up the stairs put me out of breath. I looked anaemic and started to catch whatever was going around, flu, stomach bugs etc. With my heart not pumping properly my defenses were down. It was also a bit scary when you can feel such a vital organ not working as it should. Both the GP and cardiologist are certain that the icy cold water shocked the nerves of my heart causing it to go out of sync. Apparently very similar to what Tony Blair had a while back but for different reasons. Anyway after six weeks and a lot of rest all is healed and back to normal. In my case the cardiologist said I made it much worse by stupidly carrying on and up over the mountain after the shock and that is why it took such a long time to heal. I'll be warming my water next time with my body or stove before drinking.

Abbe Osram

11-03-2006, 12:18

Sorry to hear that you had such a terrible time, I can imagen that one get spooked by having his heart out of order. Good you are back to normal.

Thanks for the tip mate!

cheers
Abbe

P@ul

11-03-2006, 12:24

I certainly wasn’t aware of this risk and will be more careful in the future.
Glad to hear you have made a full recovery and appreciate you bringing this to everyone’s attention.

P@ul

Tony

11-03-2006, 12:59

Heck, I'm glad you're doing ok now. It's weird how tough our bodies are and yet how not!

Thanks for the heads up.

:D

lardbloke

11-03-2006, 13:21

Crikey.....I have'nt heard of that one before. I will bear it in mind though. I hope you will be out on the hills again soon.

laurens ch

11-03-2006, 13:47

Never heard of that before. Glad your okay now must have been really scary. I drank cold water after some exertion last week and was okay I won’t do it again though, thanks for mentioning it.

Jjv110

11-03-2006, 14:41

I had a bad time also after drinking water which was out of the fridge.
I was working in the south of italy and it was very hot, over 40 and we had just unloaded a truck full of water melons. After that we were all sweating heavily and I fetched a bottle of water from the fridge and had a few gulps. Later on that night at around midnight, I started to feel as if I had the flu. I finished off my work and went ot bed. Half an hour later, I was shivering like mad and was freezing. I had to put two heavy blankets on me and a sleeping bag, instaed of the usual thin sheet which was only there to stop the mosies biting. In the morning I was ok. To imagine putting those blankets on and a sleeping bag in that heat made me realise just how cold I must have been, I could only just bare even a sheet normally. It really was roasting inside that caravan I was sleeping in. It was wierd.
I never drink cold water or any drink from the fridge anymore when I'm sweating. (maybe a cold beer or two)!

bloodline

11-03-2006, 16:29

Fair warning, glad you recovered okay :) , for some reason I have always taken the chill off water when possible (instinct perhaps?) Ive noticed feeling a bit off when drinking cold drinks when on holiday in the Med when its very hot but put it down to the heat I suppose I must of cooled the core out of proportion to the rest of the body

ilan

11-03-2006, 17:31

Hi glad you ok now thanks for the warning , Now that jumping into a very cold lake can also prove a problem even in summer due to shock

Cairodel

11-03-2006, 17:55

Simon1

11-03-2006, 19:30

Thanks for the warning and very glad you made a full recovery! :) :p

mark a.

11-03-2006, 21:25

I'd heard of cold water being bad for hot stomachs (I've had a few moments after manic squash games and so on), but never the heart! Eek! I now take more care anyway, but it's good to know.

RGRBOX

23-03-2006, 12:12

Before going off for a desert hike, I ALWAYS freeze my water the night before.
1. - cold water makes your body work harder and burns off extra calories (could be a problem on an extended hike).
2. When drinking on the trail, never gulp down large quantities... you'll knock your system completely out of 'sync'. Small mouthfulls suffice. If you're that thirsty that you feel you need to down a large amount, then you've left it too long to have a slurp.!!

Very good advice. I've never had a problem with this.. and I'm from Louisiana. Hot as hell in the summer. Anyway, it's better when your hot, and tired to stop relax, and drink slowly. As was said above. If your thursty, then it's too late. You should get into the practice of making yourself drink. I know that in some militarys, mine included, we would force drink about a liter before we started, and during the movement we would stop and force drink more water. We would force drink about 3 liters a day, and in the summer up to 5-7 liters a day. that said, we would sweat like crazy during the day. I always also suggest that you try to drink water at air temp. it's easier for the body to absorb. With cold water, the body has to warm up then it can use... strange...