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.

vale i am searching for you.

so far nothing medical but found

this

Yes, you are right this document produced by NHS Wales,should be a reliable source.

Yes this sounds reliable and sensible too. Thanks.

Now another cultural difference clarified:

does not drying your hair with hot hairdryer after swimming/bath etc gives you what italians call 'cervicale' meaning a future (in old age) sever pain at the base of the head and neck where the cervical part of the spine.
I think it's rubbish but I'm very biased as never have used a hairdryer.

what do you all think?

That sounds similar to the Scottish old wives' tale (maybe British) that sitting on a cold step gives you piles .

Oooo interesting. I don't believe a word of it - but my mother has never used a hairdryer in her life (well may have done briefly as a raucus teenager - apparently she used to use a household iron to straighten her hair). She now has arthritis in her neck vertebrae (whcih she had by teh age of 45)

I remember hearing that you could die from drinking a glass of cold water too fast - vagal inhibition or something - any Drs on here? Also that you could murder someone by pouring ice cold water into their ear!!

My mum always told me that if I went out with wet hair I would catch pneumonia.

Actually she still does.

And she is a doctor!

So vale there's a good english "cultural" horror story, as told my a doctor!

Oh I have heard the one about getting piles from a cold step as well. I didn't question that one

Italians are essentially afraid of the cold, especially where I live in Sardinia.

My mother used to tell me off, if I didn't dry my hair with the hairdrier in the autumn-winter-spring, because gives you rheumatism and she still does!

In winter toddlers are taken from the car inside the nurseries with their head wrapped in a blanket and wear hoods until May!

When I used to live in London I used to spot Italian tourists on the tube from a distance, because they were the only one wearing hoods, scarfs and gloves.

It is funny!

ROFL vale. Are there any famous arctic explorers from sardinia?!!

It's a bit like in the UK people (IMO) are essentially very uncomfortable in hot weather even though they pretend to love it. Holidays are one thing but when people have to work and it's over a certain temperature then there's a lot of whinging!

TBH (and I know loads of people will disagree with me) we're esentially built for sitting on windswept beaches fully clothed in drizzle in mid summer "making the best of it"

shambolic 'tis true. Italians don't do cold very well (hence the numerous phobias of drafts, wet hair etc) as British don't so hot very well.

I love it in the UK when you suddenly have a really hot day and everyone wanders around looking baffled.

If it's a weekend it's a cue for people suddenly to dress really randomly/badly/inappropriately and go around proudly sporting heavy sunburn (if a teenager). It's always the back of the calves that seems to catch it

I wanted to say that!
On the contrary on a hot March sunday in Italy you see families strolling the city centre with hooded puffed parkas, scarves, sunglasses with children with hat scarf and gloves!