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There's a reason why they say that "you're not dead until you're warm and dead"! The case of Anna Bågenholm [1] is similarly fascinating. She was in cold melt
by jwise0 11y ago
There's a reason why they say that "you're not dead until you're warm and dead"!
The case of Anna Bågenholm [1] is similarly fascinating. She was in cold meltwater for 80 minutes before being pulled out, and made a ~full recovery. Her core temperature was around 56 degrees when they began resuscitation. It is truly amazing how effective hypothermia is at preserving bodily function!
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Bågenholm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Bågenholm
- jnardiello 11y agoFor the convenience of non-US commenters/readers: that's 13 C.
- unicornporn 11y agoAnd for those who don't regularly swim in open water, that's f*g cold.
- josu 11y agoThat was her body temperature, not the water's temperature.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- mokus 11y agoIndeed. The water would be even colder. After 80 minutes, though, how much difference is there? Still some, I'm sure, but water is really good at conducting heat.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- Shivetya 11y agohaving been in the water below a dam its amazing just how cold it can be. The best part is, watching a friend drop an expensive knife in less than four feet of water and unable to retrieve it cause of the cold. Fortunately a few young kids came wading down the same river in this water and when they asked my friend what was wrong he pointed to the knife and the one kid simply went under and got it. and to my point, perhaps younger people have better ability to not suffer the ill effects of such temperatures? I am sure many can remember being in snow or sweltering hot weather where adults all went indoors or such. Is it ignorance or something physical?
- SoftwareMaven 11y agoHaving watched my kids grow up while observing this effect, I've come to the conclusion that kids' nervous systems aren't as sensitive as adults. That, or they are just brain damaged. :) Ignorance is an interesting question. Does it not bother them because they haven't been conditioned that it bothers them? It makes me think of pain. The anxiety of anticipating pain and of what experiencing the pain will be like is often as or more significant than the pain itself and can cause significant impact on the sufferer's life irrespective of the pain itself. Dogs, on the other hand, do not anticipate the pain, so, even when they hurt, it doesn't have the same impact on their lives. That's a long way around to get to this: maybe it's not the discomfort of the cold itself that is highly uncomfortable, but the anxiety of the anticipation of what the cold will be like, and that is not something kids have the experience to, well, experience.
- sanoli 11y agoHa, just yesterday I went in the pool with my 3 year old. I was freezing and cursing (not in front of him of course) and he was as happy and active as on any summer pool day (I'm in the southern hemisphere).
- agumonkey 11y agoI thought about this about falling. Kids do fall all the time, but instead of anticipating failure, they go all in for "success" (whatever success can be for a kid). More momentum is created, diffusing energy in a smoother way. The mindset shutting down the brain for the "negative" aspects of the situation, because it came from a desire not from fear. I have similar thoughts when playing music, whenever I get a nice sound, I don't feel pain or exhaustion, but every time I fail it suddenly become tiresome. The brain as an amplifier ?
- codeulike 11y agoHe's talking about her body temp, not the water temp. 13 c isn't _that_ cold a water temp for swimming. Plenty of people swim in 3 c water in the winter on Hampstead heath ... 13 c is however an insane body temperature.
- mahouse 11y agoAh right. I thought she was boiled in water
- caiob 11y agoI don't get why his comment was downvoted.