Session 11 October 2014

[Mr. Premise]

I don't see anything wrong with a warm shower after a period in cold to get the core temp back up if the person feels really cold and shivery.

I thought that it was better for a cold adaptation to let the body work is way back to his normal temp after spending some minutes in a cold shower or pool.

That was my understanding too....buuuuut I will gladly take a warm shower after a cold bath

My point is to err on the side of safety. We've seen forum members go south on diet issues because they did not take the slow, easy, experimental way. We've see injuries from poor understanding of pressure cookers. The important thing is to understand the principles FIRST, experiment and go slowly. And ALWAYS err on the side of safety!!!

I agree this is really important. Hypothermia can cause raises in blood pressure, so it's important to listen to your body and not push things too far. I have found it good to stop just as you begin to shiver. It's like exercise, some people do too little, some just enough, and others get obsessed and take it too far (triathletes, etc.).

On another note, I was travelling for five days last week in the tropics. The hotel room had no tub just a shower and the cold water wasn't that cold. So I decided to skip the cold adaptation until I got home (six days). Last night I did a cold bath (10 mins at 10C) like I usually do. I was worried that I would have lost some adaptation, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was the opposite. It was easier than it usually is.

 

[Jacques]

The force was great, but luckily we were at the back seats strapped on with seat belts, and were unharmed by the accident except for some minor whiplash. It was a three vehicle pile up with our taxi in between. Indeed we both very relieved as well that all passengers & drivers in the public bus, our taxi, and the car in front were fine with no injuries.

Hi Mr. Cyan,

Really sorry to read that about the accident.

However be aware that a whiplash can take sometimes a couple of days before really seeing the effect. So be very careful about that.

 

[IncenDiary]

I finally managed to do a cold shower on the weeked - I had to get into a hot shower and let the water run cold (we have a solar geyser with elec. power option) and then just stood under the cold water for as long as I could. Hopefully I made 5 minutes .... Wow it was difficult. Sooo hard to stay there but I had an internal monologue the whole time, and funnily enough it WASN'T that hard to just sit there; but it was also insanely difficult at the same time. That part I don't understand.

It was definitely worth it though. Gonna try work up to 10 mins in the 20C water. I can also see now that there is NO way you can make someone do this - either they will decide to try it for themselves, or it will NEVER happen :( I couldn't sleep properly last night, I was just so hot under the blanket, I had to sleep half out! That is new. As for after effects after the shower, I didn't notice any, except I wasn't cold when I got out, and the air felt warm which is the complete opposite of freezing when getting out of the shower ..... No shivering or other effects. Maybe I need to stay in longer ;)

 

[Divide by Zero]

I still have a hard time doing cold cold showers. I do room temp showers.
But, since it has gone cold here, I was ok working outside, so much so that I got my hands numb- ouch the pain that came when I heated em up in the truck! Have to be careful when I am doing a job that I can't do well with gloves on, less time per turn.

Sometimes during lunch break I take a nap in a cold part of a warehouse, which works for me and after seeing the article on sott about sleeping in the cold, I am glad it also has effects.

I think the slower type of cold, via air- is much more manageable for me. The cold water just seems to really drop me too fast.

I'm a mutant though jk... I have light colored eyes (blue), but I can tan well, and tons of heat or sunlight doesn't bother me.

 

[Meg]

I still have a hard time doing cold cold showers. I do room temp showers.

The cold showers are difficult. I found cold baths are much more tolerable. If you have a tub, of course. :)

 

[jar]

I still have a hard time doing cold cold showers. I do room temp showers.

The cold showers are difficult. I found cold baths are much more tolerable. If you have a tub, of course. :)

Same here. Luckily I have a two person whirlpool so I can get under right to my earlobes. I have well water so full cold is between 55-60 F.
Once the internal heat kicks in its rather relaxing and getting out is a lot easier than getting out of a hot shower on a cold day.

 

[Turgon]

I don't see anything wrong with a warm shower after a period in cold to get the core temp back up if the person feels really cold and shivery.

I thought that it was better for a cold adaptation to let the body work is way back to his normal temp after spending some minutes in a cold shower or pool.

That was my understanding too....buuuuut I will gladly take a warm shower after a cold bath

My point is to err on the side of safety. We've seen forum members go south on diet issues because they did not take the slow, easy, experimental way. We've see injuries from poor understanding of pressure cookers. The important thing is to understand the principles FIRST, experiment and go slowly. And ALWAYS err on the side of safety!!!

I'm one of the skinnies and had a scare two weeks ago where the temperature in our shower dipped to just over 10 degrees C and because I thought I was able to handle it I decided to do 13 minutes instead of the usual 10 minutes. Upon getting out I thought I was fine other than the usual chills, but when I started walking to my bedroom I felt sharp pains in my right foot. I checked and I had lost sensation in two of me toes and there didn't seem to be any blood flowing back into them. It took almost 30 minutes along with rubbing magnesium oil on my foot before the toes started to show colour again.

So now I've increased the temperature on my showers to 13 Degrees C and never for more than 10 minutes, but yeah, I was very worried that I had a serious case of frostbite. :/

 

[Mr. Premise]

I still have a hard time doing cold cold showers. I do room temp showers.

The cold showers are difficult. I found cold baths are much more tolerable. If you have a tub, of course. :)

Same here. Luckily I have a two person whirlpool so I can get under right to my earlobes. I have well water so full cold is between 55-60 F.
Once the internal heat kicks in its rather relaxing and getting out is a lot easier than getting out of a hot shower on a cold day.

I agree, baths are better. I have a setup like yours. Only my well is colder. My cold water is now coming out at 42F. I have to add some hot water to bring it up to 50 to make it 10C. And, when the 50F feels too comfortable, I turn on the jets! When we got this house, I didn't think I would hardly ever use the thing, but now I'm really glad I have it.

 

[Gwenllian]

The force was great, but luckily we were at the back seats strapped on with seat belts, and were unharmed by the accident except for some minor whiplash. It was a three vehicle pile up with our taxi in between. Indeed we both very relieved as well that all passengers & drivers in the public bus, our taxi, and the car in front were fine with no injuries.

Hi Mr. Cyan,

Really sorry to read that about the accident.

However be aware that a whiplash can take sometimes a couple of days before really seeing the effect. So be very careful about that.

I second that, Mr. Cyan.
DMSO, comfrey and/or arnica might help? Added: Or medical taping? There are some threads on the forum about DMSO, comfrey and medical taping. I did read the book Acupressure taping - The Practice of Acutaping for Chronic Pain and Injuries first, before I used the tape.

Added:

I finally managed to do a cold shower on the weeked - I had to get into a hot shower and let the water run cold (we have a solar geyser with elec. power option) and then just stood under the cold water for as long as I could. Hopefully I made 5 minutes .... Wow it was difficult. Sooo hard to stay there but I had an internal monologue the whole time, and funnily enough it WASN'T that hard to just sit there; but it was also insanely difficult at the same time. That part I don't understand.

This may sound strange, but I puff a lot (some women do that when they are in labour) when I have a cold shower and it seems to help.

 

[Mr.Cyan]

The force was great, but luckily we were at the back seats strapped on with seat belts, and were unharmed by the accident except for some minor whiplash. It was a three vehicle pile up with our taxi in between. Indeed we both very relieved as well that all passengers & drivers in the public bus, our taxi, and the car in front were fine with no injuries.

Hi Mr. Cyan,

Really sorry to read that about the accident.

However be aware that a whiplash can take sometimes a couple of days before really seeing the effect. So be very careful about that.

I second that, Mr. Cyan.
DMSO, comfrey and/or arnica might help? Added: Or medical taping? There are some threads on the forum about DMSO, comfrey and medical taping. I did read the book Acupressure taping - The Practice of Acutaping for Chronic Pain and Injuries first, before I used the tape.

Thanks a lot Gandalf, and Mariama for the concern, and advice, much appreciated :)

So far its been 3 days, and no adverse effects yet, fingers crossed that it remains this way for the next few days...


Mod note: fixed quotation boxes

 

[Jacques]

I'm one of the skinnies and had a scare two weeks ago where the temperature in our shower dipped to just over 10 degrees C and because I thought I was able to handle it I decided to do 13 minutes instead of the usual 10 minutes. Upon getting out I thought I was fine other than the usual chills, but when I started walking to my bedroom I felt sharp pains in my right foot. I checked and I had lost sensation in two of me toes and there didn't seem to be any blood flowing back into them. It took almost 30 minutes along with rubbing magnesium oil on my foot before the toes started to show colour again.

So now I've increased the temperature on my showers to 13 Degrees C and never for more than 10 minutes, but yeah, I was very worried that I had a serious case of frostbite. :/

Hi Turgon,

Since you are one of the skinnies, you can cut your time in two as Laura suggested.

I was thinking that maybe some of the skinnies ought to reduce their time in cold water a bit. I just read an article on sott about the temp of the Great Lakes and the guy said that water pulls heat from the body 25 times more efficiently than air. Ya'll don't want to get into hypothermia.

So how about a sort of rule of thumb, adjustable to specific cases, that skinnies stay in 30 seconds per degree of temp C when they start experimenting with colder water, like 20 C or lower? For water that is 15C, which is pretty cold, that would be 7.5 minutes only.

And don't forget:

I just want to once again encourage taking it slow and easy on the cold adaptation. Just because "the Ice Man" can do stuff, doesn't mean we can now or ever.

I don't see anything wrong with a warm shower after a period in cold to get the core temp back up if the person feels really cold and shivery.

Also, keep your minutes low as the temp goes lower. Our pool is running around 10/11 degrees C lately and I'm getting out after 10/12 minutes and MOST of the skinnies are just staying in for five. Ark goes in and out, staying about a minute each time for three dips. That's about right for him.

Remember: A water temperature of 10 °C (50 °F) can lead to death in as little as one hour, and water temperatures near freezing can cause death in as little as 15 minutes.

 

[davey72]

As for the cold protocall. I just started a new job and we are doing a lot of framing of new houses so obviously it is cold here in Alberta. Would this be as good as the cold showers? I only wonder because i tend to work hard to stay warm. Will this negate any benefits?

 

[lainey]

This may sound strange, but I puff a lot (some women do that when they are in labour) when I have a cold shower and it seems to help.

Yeah, I find pipe breathing makes things way easier. I don't have a bath so I tend to stand under the water and do a little dance and sing a little song

 

[Alana]

This may sound strange, but I puff a lot (some women do that when they are in labour) when I have a cold shower and it seems to help.

Yeah, I find pipe breathing makes things way easier. I don't have a bath so I tend to stand under the water and do a little dance and sing a little song

I do cold baths, but I too found that singing helps. Often it is loud and, inevitably, with a tremolo

 

[Nienna]

This may sound strange, but I puff a lot (some women do that when they are in labour) when I have a cold shower and it seems to help.

Yeah, I find pipe breathing makes things way easier. I don't have a bath so I tend to stand under the water and do a little dance and sing a little song

I do cold baths, but I too found that singing helps. Often it is loud and, inevitably, with a tremolo

I'm not doing the baths, but the showers, as lainey is. And, I, too am doing a bit of "dancing" until my body numbs up enough to not need to do it anymore, but lots of turning to make sure that all sides are included in the cold. Do my version of "singing", too. :D Cold adaption and exercise all in one!

I'm now able to just "jump" into the cold showers without starting with warmer water. I still don't know what temperature it is (got a showerhead thermometer on the way), but I do turn read and it hurts my head when put my head under the flow so it should be cold enough.