Hello! I have been a doctor for 21 years. My name is Georgy Olegovich Sapego. In this article, I will talk about pulmonary edema that is triggered by cold water.
There have been cases when people swam in cold water, and then suffered from coughing, shortness of breath, coughing up blood, and pulmonary edema was found in them. In most cases, everything went away in a couple of days.
This nuisance can happen to swimmers, divers and in general anyone who climbs into cold water. They say that the exact statistics are unknown, because pulmonary edema from cold water is almost no different from drowning - sometimes a dead swimmer is obtained with foam in the lungs.
It is believed that the reason is the unique effect of cold water. Everything happens at a water temperature of 10-15 degrees. Cold water compresses the body of the swimmer and simultaneously cools. It turns out that a lot of blood rushes through the veins and further into the lungs.
In this case, peripheral blood vessels spasm from the cold, and it is more difficult for the heart to pump blood through them.
Got the drama of the situation? At the same time, a lot of blood flows to the heart and the outflow of blood from the heart is difficult.
The lungs are a large filter between venous blood and arterial blood. If it is difficult for the heart to pump arterial blood, then it stagnates in the lungs. This is how swelling occurs.
Neoprene wetsuits are not helpful in this matter. They protect from the cold, but they squeeze the body and squeeze the blood towards the heart.
There is an additional unfortunate feature in this story - small blood vessels in the lungs get damaged. Microscopic cracks appear there, through which blood enters the lungs. Therefore, swimmers complain of hemoptysis.
The tube turns into a tube
In addition to swimmers and bathers, pulmonary edema also occurs in divers. Even those who just snorkel have their own interesting features. This is due to atmospheric pressure.
When we calmly stand on land and breathe fresh air, there is a pressure drop between our nose and lungs. There is only about 20 centimeters of the air column. These are trifles, but it looks like smoke is drawn from a chimney. Have you presented? The lungs are a hot stove, and the nose is like a chimney. There is also a draft through this pipe.
Suction
If atmospheric pressure pulls air out of us, then we have to overcome this pulling force during inhalation in order to drive a portion of fresh air into our lungs. It turns out that the draft in the pipe makes us suck on the lungs. Can you imagine a hickey? It draws out blood and it bruises. So atmospheric pressure tends to make us cough up blood.
In the case of breathing on land in an upright position of the body, this aspiration will be microscopic, and we will not notice it. But swimming with a tube, we get a pressure drop of 20 centimeters, not an air column, but a water column. This pressure is quite palpable. If our lungs are already filled with blood, then we can cough up.
Triathlon
It turns out that 1.5% of triathletes have this bullshit.
It is believed that overland habits play a cruel joke with triathletes. They are accustomed to drinking plenty of water and salt to keep them hydrated. When swimming, excess fluid hits the heart and stagnates in the lungs.
Risk
High blood pressure and cold water are the main risk factors for this type of pulmonary edema. They also include fear (dunked in water) and a lot of liquid drunk.
If a swimmer feels short of breath, he has a cough, and even with blood, then he must be quickly removed from the water, take off his wetsuit, warmed and passed on to doctors.
In general, if a person is impatient to engage in extreme sports, then it is advisable to be examined by a cardiologist.
Before doing anything dangerous, it's best to check with your doctor.
