Swimming at the beach - How long after eating can I go back in the water?

[Vale]

Hello,

I have got a health/cultural problem. I am Italian and my husband is English and we live near the beach and we disagree in how long after eating you can safely go back in the water.

My parents are seriously worried for their 3 years old grandson and this is causing arguments at lunch and dinner parties.

On various Italian websites is recommended to wait 3 hours after eating, because you could feel sick in the water (and it is not safe), but also if you were not to manage to vomit you could actually die.

On the America websites instead regard this theory as an old wives tales.

I cut and paste a couple below:
americanredcross.com/services/hss/aquatics/FAQ.htm#Q3
www.babycenter.com/404_is-it -true-that-children-shouldnt-swim-right-after-eating_10304428.bc
www.medicinenet.com/script/ main/art.asp?articlekey=47368
www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/health/28real.html
health.d iscovery.com/videos/dr-know-swimming-after-eating.html

Have you got any reputable British website source on this subject?

thank you.

Hi,

Apparently is the sudden change of the body temperature that can block your intestine I have been told. So if you don't manage to vomit you can actually die.

So you could also die by drinking very cold water.

lol how do you not LAUGH when they say all these things?!

This looks quite sensible.

I have never heard of the 3 hours thing before, but it's a common belief here that you should wait for 1 hour.

eh?

old wives tale I think

It seems sensible in public swimming pools, because my 3 year old often chokes on the water and is a little bit sick

but in the SEA unless you are leaving your 3 year old to do long-distance swimming by himself, I cannot possibly imagine a risk

It is only a problem if you are planning to actually SWIM as opposed to paddle and splash around. TBH I think the only thing that would happen is a bit of cramp.

In any case I would have said 20 mins (that is the rule I always used to use for swimming in a pool).

Agree it's an OWT

Snopes
Medicinenet.com

In Italy at lunch time we don't have just a sandwich, but we have a full meal (plate of pasta, meat, salad, fruit etc..)

I guess if you eat just a sandwich half an hour is ok, but if you eat a full meal is better to wait at least 2 hours.

Unless the water is really, really warm like in a swimming pool, and therefore you don't have sudden change of your body temperature.

Well I do wild swimming and we swim in really cold water so by that theory should be particularly vulnerable, but British wild swimmers are generally agreed that eating is not an issue. (Drinking alcohol, on the other hand, is....)

Vale - you can eat as much as you want to before going swimming - it will NOT kill you. Neither will drinking cold water (????). A change in external temperature does not affect your body temperature - unless of course you are talking about really really cold water - when hypothermia would kill you - not some strange tightening of your intestines.

Have your EVER heard of this happening to anyone in real life????

Vale I've got the same cultural issue and don't know the answer.
A friend (37 yo) had this last week in italy: he had a massive lunch. He then went somwhere where it was really cold. He started having cramps that were so bad he couldn't move with acute lower back pain to spread later to all the back. ambulance was called and he stayed in hospital for a few hours covered in blankets to warm the body. He then was fine. He was told that the blood that the body sends to the stomach for the digestion is sent to the rest of the body hence blocking the digestion causing such cramps. this is what can happen if you swim (cold water) after a big lunch. the problem is of course that if this happens while you are swimming you probably drawn (sp?).

I'm not a reputable website however and being italian I might be biased.

I know of the cultural difference in that in italy you'll bathe the kids before dinner not after.

Vale please keep me posted as I've been wanting to know for a long time. also join us here. someone might help.

apologies for almost incomprehensible english: I've got two children trying to make me play with them at the same time.

must go.

very interested in this.

Have none of you noticed the hordes of agonised, cramping bodies cluttering up British beaches between one o'clock and two o'clock? How much longer can we Brits can go on ignoring this massive public health scandal?
OP, this is total rubbish. If you were planning to swim a mile, it might not be a good idea to do it right after a full roast dinner with apple crumble and custard, but a three-year old can eat his little lunch and then go and paddle without the slightest ill-effects.

I have never heard of this in my entire life!

In that case wouldn't we all be in agony and in hospital every winter, everytime we stepped from a centrally heated builiding after eating a meal?

It is really really silly.

Really. Think about it

thanks to everyone.

I agree with you till a certain extend.

We are not only worried for the 3 years old boy, but we are also worried for his dad, that loves snorkelling on his own.

The change of temperature your body has when you step from a centrally heated builiding after eating a meal it is different from when you submerge yourself into the cold water.

But it is true that if that was true there would be a lot more casualties on British beaches between one o'clock and two o'clock!

Doctors say in italy that the things that may vary the outcome are:

• how cold is the water and how sudden is the change of body temperature.
• how much you eat
• how much you exercise

The most worrying thing is that they say that you are lucky if you manage to vomit, because the body temperature changing suddenly may cause your intestine to block?!?!?

Oh this was on QI. It is a huge myth but I grew up with it so I know how hard it is to get your head around the fact that it is completely made up.

I've never heard of the intestinal blockage thing though. It sounds like one of these things that people make up as an answer to "but why is it bad to go swimming after a large meal?". We were always told you'd get cramp.

Btw, I bet if you asked any doctor who believes this they wouldn't be able to tell you exactly when they developed this belief. It'll just be one of these things everyone "knows"...

poppycock

How cold is the water you are talking about Vale? I have read a lot about the effects of cold water on the body and never seen anything about blocked intestines, but cold water can be dodgy if you're not used to it. If you're worried about your dh can you get him to wear a wetsuit?

This conversation is really helpful, I am sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

We need to consider our different lifestyles and habits.

British eat a lot less at lunch and wear wetsuits because your water is really cold. Could be this the answer?