The end of the digestion-cutting myth: This is what actually happens when you get into the water

How many times have you been banned from taking a shower at the beach or in the pool because you just ate? There are many people who take it for granted that they may suffer from interrupted digestion if they do so “due to a change in temperature”. Well, this is a belief that has just been disproved by a recently published study.

researchers University of Santiago de Compostela and the University of Vigo Explain that “there is no contraindication to taking a shower” after eating. Believing that a digestion cut is possible may come from confusing you with another problem that can be caused by temperature changes: thermal differential shock.

When a person dives “suddenly” and there is a “noticeable difference between body temperature and water temperature”. Long exposure to the sun or heavy meals before diving can encourage this. Thus, the mythical cutoff of digestion is really a water shock or a thermal differential shock.

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And it’s not the only myth this study debunks. I am sure if you are thinking of person drowning, They imagine her noisily waving her arms. Well, the study confirms that’s not the case. And they add: “The drowning person does it quietly, does not scream or call for help, tries to stick his head out, and concentrates all his efforts on breathing.”

Not only that, but the authors of this study also refute the notion that after drowning, the victim must lie face down to “empty the water out of the lungs,” maneuvers that “in addition to being useless, mean a necessary loss of time.” Therefore, they recommend applying as soon as possible Basic cardiovascular resuscitation protocol.

Sleeves or floaties are a bad idea for little ones

The study warns of this for adults who will be spending the summer with boys or girls Sleeves or floaties do not prevent drowning in children. Instead, they create a false sense of security that can cause parents to let their guard down.

These types of methods “do not guarantee that the head and airways will remain out of the water at all times,” the researchers explained. There is no better example to illustrate this than this viral video of a father throwing his daughter into the water with a sleeve.

There are more myths. The study notes that urine and other “home remedies” are useless against jellyfish stings, as they “do not relieve discomfort and can increase venom secretion.”

Faced with this, they recommend cleaning up the remains of jellyfish and washing the area with seawater, “as well as seeking health care “in case of any respiratory difficulties, dizziness or discomfort.”

A guide for all kinds of audiences

Published in the journal Educación Médica, it is the first scientific document in Spanish that addresses this problem, prepared by a “multidisciplinary working group” with expertise in emergency medicine, pediatrics, forensic medicine, nursing and first aid.

Its goal, USC highlights, is that this document “serves as a guide for all kinds of audiences,” from the general population “to regulators and health professionals,” in a way that allows “to resolve common questions that may arise in beach season” and to discard ideas “in popular thought that not based on a scientific basis or attributed to it is outdated.”

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Mark Miestris

For this, they conducted a “concept check,” based on a review of the scientific literature on the subject, and finally came to identify ten false beliefs, which were refuted based on medical knowledge.

The article was coordinated by researchers from the Clinursid group at USC and Remoss at UVigo, Antonio Rodriguez Núñez and Roberto Barcala, along with Santiago Martínez Isasi and Ignacio Muñoz, from the University of Santiago de Compostela; Patricia Sanchez, Physician from Public Health Emergency Corporation-061; Ismael Sanche of the Autonomous University of Madrid. Veronica Izquierdo, from the Santiago de Compostela Health Research Institute; and Silvia Aranda, of the University of Barcelona and PhD student at the University of Southern California.

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