Being on the beach is beautiful, taking a swim in the sea even more. But as we know, without alarming, even our favorite place can hide dangers. Just in the last few days, three boys in Rome have died from hydrocution syncope, let’s see what it is and how to avoid it.
Hydrocution syncope is literally a rapid, especially cold, immersion syncope characterized by autonomic reflexes that can also cause death from cardiorespiratory arrest or drowning.
In a much more simple way, we could explain it like this: after two hours in the sun, perhaps playing a game of beach volleyball and on a full stomach, you must avoid diving instinctively into the water, especially if it is cold. You will say, which is obvious. But unfortunately, every year there are many who arrive in the emergency room with hydrocution syncope.
The temperature of our body is around 37/39 ° C, while that of the sea, lake or river, usually around 18. The change is really excessive and the brain goes haywire. If we were to go back to the medical explanation we would say that “the mechanism begins with a vasoconstriction, which in turn causes reflexes at the level of the brain stem. In those moments, both the cardiac and respiratory regulation centers are affected (cardiorespiratory arrest). If, on the other hand, the bulbar centers are not lethally involved, the arrest of circulation and oxygenation still causes a syncope with loss of consciousness ”.
What, therefore, is improperly defined as congestion, is actually the syncope (or syndrome) of hydrocution, or the sudden impact of the skin with cold water that causes a violent and transient vagal reflex that drastically reduces the heart rate and blood pressure.
If this condition lasts more than a few seconds, it can lead to loss of consciousness, thus risking death by drowning.
What to do then to avoid this? Doctors recommend entering the water a little at a time in order to avoid sudden changes in temperature and gradually wetting when the conditions described above are present. And remember, caution is never too much because hydrocution syncope can be fatal.
