Epiphany bathing is just around the corner, so it’s time to get ready for diving into the icy water. According to Ekaterina Kashukh, Candidate of Medical Sciences, the event must be approached extremely responsibly, because even a short stay in icy water can turn into serious health problems for an unprepared person and even a sudden death.
Kashukh noted that those who do not practice hardening in everyday life should definitely not plunge into the hole on Epiphany night, and besides, patients with chronic diseases.
“A short stay in ice water can turn into serious health problems for an unprepared person and even a sudden death. Patients with diseases of the respiratory tract and the cardiovascular system are in a special risk group. In the presence of most chronic diseases, it is contraindicated to descend into the hole, ”said the specialist.
Also at risk, according to her, are children, pregnant women and the elderly: for them it will be an excessive burden.
According to Kashukh, before swimming in the hole, it is necessary to prepare the body, and this should be done gradually.
“Start in advance to carry out hardening procedures at home. For example, include in your schedule regular rituals for exposure to the cold and gradually increase their duration. This will minimize the possible harm from sudden, sharp hypothermia on Epiphany night, ”the doctor emphasized.
For adults, as such procedures, you can douse with water, the temperature of which is 8-12 ° C, with a gradual expansion of the impact zone: for the first couple of weeks, you need to rinse with cold water only the hands and feet, then – the area to the elbows and knees, and after another two weeks already you can climb under the ice shower completely.
“It is recommended to eat two hours before swimming. Immediately before diving into the ice hole, you need to do a light warm-up and make sure that the blood pressure values are within the normal range, and immediately after swimming, dry yourself with a towel, put on warm clothes, go into the room and drink hot tea, ”Kashukh noted.
What you definitely should not do when bathing is to drink alcoholic beverages: both before ablution and after. Also, do not climb into the hole if you are sick or have recently had ARVI or the flu.
“It must be remembered that dipping into the hole on Epiphany night is allowed only in public places specially equipped for this, where, if necessary, timely qualified medical assistance will be provided,” the expert summed up.
Otherwise, the event could turn out to be extremely tragic – for example, as at Epiphany bathing in January 2022 in the Leningrad Region. Then the woman dived into an unequipped font in the Oredezh River and never surfaced again. Eyewitnesses, including the husband of a Russian woman, tried to save her, but the believer had already been swept away by the current.
