York U researchers warn myths around cold water submersion could kill you

Over the past few years, researchers at the Sharma Lab at York University’s Faculty of Science have been investigating the effects of climate change and other environmental stressors on one of Canada’s greatest natural resources, our lakes.

And, when it comes to lake ice, the team at Sharma has discovered that increasingly erratic weather has meant shorter seasons and less predictable freezing patterns. That, unfortunately, has led to an increase in drownings, particularly around this time of year, since the thaw is less predictable.

“From examining trends in lake ice over hundreds of years, we know that ice-on is now much later in the season and ice-off is much earlier,” said Sapna Sharma, associate professor in the department of biology and a York Research Chair in Global Change Biology.

“We are seeing rapid trends in ice loss in lakes and rivers across the northern hemisphere and we found that the highest number of drowning events correspond to these times of ice-off and ice-on when ice is weaker and less stable.”

Sharma said that countries with strong regulations governing winter ice activities have lower incidences of accidental drowning. She also recommends children receive winter ice safety lessons. You might imagine that ice safety is limited to learning about ice-on and ice-off periods but, in fact, understanding how a sudden immersion into ice-cold water impacts the body can also save our lives.

“We’re really pushing for education so that people know that the biggest risk when you fall into cold water comes from thinking ‘I’m going to freeze to death right now and I need to get out right away,’” said Stephen Cheung, professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Brock University. “But most people will take about 30 minutes or so to get to a point where their core temperature is actually dropping a degree or two degrees, so what you need is to get over the cold shock response and get your breathing under control.”

Cheung advises slow, deep breaths and quick thinking: “That’s also the time when you should be planning your escape.”

Even though research on the effect extreme temperatures have on the human body has come a long way in a short period of time, the vast majority of people still think that hypothermia is an immediate danger. Falling into a body of icy water can be nearly immediately fatal but, most often, that would be caused by hyperventilation, not the actual cold water.

University of Manitoba professor Gordon Giesbrecht said it’s important to clear up some myths about cold water to help people improve their odds of surviving cold water immersion accidents.

“So there are things that we think we know that are wrong and it doesn’t really matter,” said Giesbrecht, who is also known as “Professor Popsicle.” “And then there are other things that we think we know that are wrong that can kill you. And myths about cold-water immersion is one of the things that can kill you.”

Giesbrecht said that part of the education effort involves making these potentially life-saving protocols as easy as possible to learn and remember.

“We’re trying to standardize the terms like ‘stop, drop and roll,’” he said. “So if a person falls through the ice into cold water they need to remember the ‘1-10-1’ rule.”

“You have one minute to get your breathing under control and then 10 minutes of meaningful movement,” he continued, referring to the time period in which you have the best chance of escaping to safety. After 10 minutes you start to lose dexterity and strength as the cold begins to effect muscles and nerve fibres.

“And then, you have one hour before you become unconscious due to hypothermia.”

That first minute is key. And the golden minute rule also applies to submerged vehicles, another hazard on the rise as the thickness of ice at the beginning and end of the season becomes less predictable, particularly for people who use ice roads or drive on frozen lakes to go ice fishing.

“The acronym for vehicle submersion is SWOC, which means: seatbelts off, windows open, out immediately, children first,” Giesbrecht said. “You have to get out immediately. Once you’ve missed that first minute, you’re done.”

He said there’s a prevailing myth that you can survive by breathing in the air pockets as the car fills up, so the pressure is the same on both sides and you can easily open the door. Sadly, that’s misinformation: there are no air pockets, since the entire passenger compartment will fill with water.

Also, he said, the worst thing you can do is to try to call for help.

“If you’re in a sinking vehicle and you touch your cellphone you’re probably going to die because you’re going to waste that first minute,” he said. “A minute on a phone call goes by like nothing and there’s no rescue system that’s going to be activated by your cellphone call that’s going to get someone to you in a minute or even three minutes, when the vehicle is still visible.”

There are tools you can buy to help you break a window in case of emergency but he said they’re only useful if they’re in plain sight and easy to grab — hanging from the rear view mirror is best. Plus, an increasing number of car manufacturers are using laminated glass in side windows, which will make them harder to break.

“You need two main tools to survive and that’s your brain, which tells your finger to press the button that opens your electric window,” Giesbrecht said. “And then you have to remember that you basically only have one minute to get out that open window.”

You’ve got the tools, all you have to do is remember the rules: 1-10-1 and SWOC (seatbelts off, windows open, out immediately and children first).