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.

I always thought the whole no swimming for two hours after lunch thing was a ploy by my mum to get me to take a siesta. I think it's poppycock that you can't swim after eating. How cold are we talking about with this water? I think if it's cold enough to cause problems after eating then it's probably too cold to swim in anyway. I got hypothermic after 8 minutes in water that was 3 degrees (was in dry suit but it flooded) and I had just stuffed my face with bacon sarnies and hot tea. The cold water was the problem, not the food IMO.

I'm confused about the vomitting and the bowel stuff.

Vomitting has nothing to do with the bowel in any circumstance (well any circumsyance that might be remotely relevant here).

The truth doesn't lie somewhere in between - the whole "cold water blocks your intestives" rubbish is just that - rubbish

When you digest your stomach requires a lot of blood, if during the digestion you exercise or your body has sudden change of temperature, part of this blood needs to go on the peripheral areas of your body, leaving your stomach short of the blood needed for the digestion. So this cause a block of the digestion.

This is a medical fact, but I don't know whether that would only cause you to faint or vomit (so potentially dangerous if you are alone swimming in the sea) or actually can be worst and you could even die.

Also I don't know how long takes to digest, I guess it will depend on how much you eat, Italians say 3 hours (they have big lanches) and Americans 1 hour and Australians 2 hours.

When you go into cold water blood is diverted from the periphery to keep the core warm (although if it is extremely cold it can also be diverted from the digestive tract as this would be a non essential function). Excercise (of any tyoe) also diverts blood from digestive tract). This may slow digestion...but it will not block it.

Risk of vomitting would only be present whilst food is still in stomach - over half of a solid meal is cleared by about 3hrs - but it can take up to 10 hours to clear the stomach completely (which will of course have been filld by teh next meal). And then of course it goes on into the bowel which can take another 72hours in some circumstances.

Given that you always have food passing though your bowel (unless you are fasting)that would preclude swimming at any time if a bowel blockage is the concern. Also - given that the food doesn't even pass into teh bowel until 2-3hrs after a meal the peak time for such a supposed bowel blockage would be after 3 hours just as the italians are heading into teh sea IYSWIM.

So I think that we can safely discount bowel blockage as a result of reduced blood flow as a risk.

If risk of vomitting would only be present whilst food is still in stomach - over half of a solid meal is cleared by about 3hrs, like SlightlyMadSimnelCake was saying, then the Italian theory would be correct.

What does happend to your body if you need to vomit but you don't manage? That' is apparenty the cause of death, I have been told by a Doctor in Italy.

It is possible that Doctors in Italy have some cultural influences but there must be a bit of truth or a margine of risk, that this can happen.

It is cause of death if you vomit but aspirate it into your lungs. Not particularly common.

Yes but given that stomach is never emoty you could never go swimming.

But it's not correct, there are 2 different thigns here
1 - you shouldn't exercise on a full stomach, true, bad for digestion, might make you sick etc etc
2 - Swimming in very cold water after coming out of a warm environment can cause heart failure due to the shock, you not beign able to swim properly, and therfore drowning. Which is why you shoudln't jump into deep pools of water (only the top metre or so is warmed byt eh sun) without knowing the temp of the water.

Unless someone is exercising vigourously in the water the 2 should have nmo bearing on each other.

Plus, surely the water around the uk is a hell of a lot colder than that roudn Italy?

Message withdrawn

Vale, accept the fact that on this one small matter the Italian opinion is, quite simply wrong. Comfort yourself with the fact that you are better dressed and more stylish in every way than we Brits, your food and wine is incomparable and your art and architecture is sublime. Give us our one area of superiority!

Anyone spot the missing comma?

,

Yes, there it is!

Hi Blue Stocking,

I am so surprise that culture could influence science so deeply. In Italy as in England, there are also good Universities and good Hospitals. England certainly does better in science research.

I am not here to win an argument, I was really concerned and I am actually looking for reassurance.

I was hoping someone could provide me an article of a reputable source, such as NHS or something like that.

Someone linked ot this earlier

this has more info about exercising after eating and difference of 'vigourous' swimming and playing in sea

Vale, I'm only teasing. The way medicine is practised, and medical advice is given, is deeply culturally influenced. I can see you have a serious dilemma on your hands and am not sure how you can solve it. If I were you, I would probably keep my son out of the water after lunch while the grandparents were around, simply because I always prefer a quiet life.

Vale, if you look back at the link that Kathy posted at 12.37, this is a summary of the evidence for or against eating before swimming. It is produced by the National Library for Health in England. They are very thorough in their research for these articles.

Basically, they say there is no robust evidence for or against. This strongly points to the cultural aspect of these "rules". No studies have been carried out on the effect of swimming after a heavy meal.

They go on to quote a study on general vigorous exercise and eating which suggests that you may feel more nauseous if you take part in vigorous exercise (of any type) after eating.

They then go on to summarise the opinion of the National Medical Officer of Surf Life Saving Australia who emphasises the importance of not drinking alcohol before swimming, but is less prescriptive about eating. He is of the opinion that people who are going to take part in vigorous exercise in deep water or surf should leave time after eating, but general water play after eating is safe. He also makes the point that people with cardiac problems should be careful.

No hard and fast evidence-based rule though.

(link again)

Hi,

I have found these articles below:

Q. How soon can we swim after eating? Usually a baby can swim one hour following a meal. Older children should wait two hours ideally but an hour as a minimum.

and

Is it necessary to avoid swimming for three hours after a meal? "It all depends on what you've eaten," says Marielle Ledoux, a professor in the Department of Nutrition at Universite de Montreal................Parents may keep their children out of the water after a meal because of a false belief that there's a link between digestion and fainting while swimming. Ledoux explains that the real cause of fainting in the water is the heart's reaction to the shock of the cold water on very hot skin. It is true that body temperature rises during digestion, increasing the risk of shock, but this can happen even several hours after eating. A lengthy sunbath can have the same result. Ledoux adds that a rise of even a few degrees Celsius in body temperature can cause dizziness, heatstroke and even death.

I was hoping someone could help me to find an article written by reputable source a British reputable source, someone who is an authority on the subject!

Thanks Shona,

i hadn't seen your last two post about National Library for Health in England, when I sent my last post I will read the article.

I agree it seems the way medicine is practised, and medical advice is given, is deeply culturally influenced.

This is really the best you're going to get in terms of an evidence-based answer, and even then it's largely opinion.

Marielle Ledoux's answer seems to agree with the 2001 study quoted in the Attract answer.

(Sorry, that one was actually produced by NHS Wales - same high quality, thorough research though!)

i think the heart/shock thing happens when you dive into very very cold water, rather than gradually working your way in as you normally do at the beach.

I think there is a lack of articles on NHS site etc, as it's not something that people worry about over here, there's no need to reassure them IYSWIM