How do women feel cold water swimming affects their menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms?

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine how women felt cold water swimming affected their menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms. STUDY DESIGN: An online survey that asked women who regularly swim in cold water about their experiences. The survey was advertised for 2 months on social media. Questions related to cold water swimming habits and menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms were analysed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Quantitative and qualitative data including; frequency of menstrual and menopause symptoms, the effect of cold water swimming on these symptoms. RESULTS: 1114 women completed the survey. Women reported that cold water swimming reduced their menstrual symptoms, notably psychological symptoms such as anxiety (46.7%), mood swings (37.7%) and irritability (37.6%). Perimenopausal women reported a significant improvement in anxiety (46.9%), mood swings (34.5%), low mood (31.1%) and hot flushes (30.3%). The majority of women with symptoms swam specifically to reduce these symptoms (56.4% for period and 63.3% for perimenopause symptoms). Women said they felt it was the physical and mental effects of the cold water that helped their symptoms. For the free text question, five themes were identified: the calming and mood-boosting effect of the water, companionship and community, period improvements, an improvement in hot flushes and an overall health improvement. CONCLUSION: Women felt that cold water swimming had a positive overall effect on menstrual and perimenopause symptoms. Studies on other forms of exercise to relieve menstrual and perimenopause symptoms may show similar findings.

Perceived Impact of Outdoor Swimming on Health: Web-Based Survey.

BACKGROUND: Outdoor swimming in lakes, lidos (outdoor pools), rivers, and the sea has grown in popularity in many countries, including the United Kingdom. Many anecdotal accounts indicate improvements in medical conditions, which are considered a consequence of outdoor swimming. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to better understand outdoor swimmers' perceptions of their health and the extent to which participation impacted their existing self-reported symptoms. METHODS: A survey was conducted to investigate outdoor swimming behaviors and reports of any diagnosed medical conditions. Medical conditions were coded into categories, and descriptive statistics were generated regarding the outdoor swimmers' behaviors and the effect that outdoor swimming had on their medical symptoms if any. The medical categories were clustered into five larger categories based on their prevalence in the current sample: mental health; musculoskeletal and injury; neurological; cardiovascular and blood disease; and other, which comprises inflammatory, immune, endocrine, and respiratory conditions. RESULTS: In total, 722 outdoor swimmers responded, of whom 498 (68.9%) were female. The probability of outdoor swimming having some positive impact on health across all medical categories was 3.57 times higher compared with no impact (B=1.28, 95% CI 0.63-1.91; P<.001), 44.32 times higher for the mental health category (B=3.79, 95% CI 2.28-5.30; P<.001), 5.25 times higher for musculoskeletal and injury category (B=1.66, 95% CI 0.52-2.79; P=.004), and 4.02 times higher for the other category (B=1.39, 95% CI 0.27-2.51; P=.02). Overall, outdoor swimming was associated with perceived reductions in symptoms of poor mental health (χ22=25.1; P<.001), musculoskeletal and injury (χ22=8.2; P=.04), cardiovascular and blood (χ22=14.7; P=.006), and other conditions (χ22=18.2; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity in the form of outdoor swimming is perceived to have positive impacts on health and is associated with perceived symptom reductions in mental health, musculoskeletal and injury, and cardiovascular and blood conditions. This study cannot provide causal relationships or provide mechanistic insights. However, it does provide a starting point for more targeted prospective intervention research into individual conditions or categories of conditions to establish the impact in those who choose to start outdoor swimming.

Determining the accuracy of zero-flux and ingestible thermometers in the peri-operative setting.

Accurately monitoring peri-operative core temperature is a cornerstone of good practice. Relatively invasive devices such as oesophageal temperature probes and pulmonary artery catheters facilitate this, but are inappropriate for many patients. There remains a need for accurate monitors of core temperature that can be used in awake patients. This study compared the accuracy of two core temperature thermometers that can be used for this purpose: the 3M Bair Hugger™ Temperature Monitoring System Zero Flux Thermometer and the CorTempR™ Wireless Ingestible Temperature Sensor. Readings were compared with the oesophageal probe, the current intraoperative standard. Thirty patients undergoing elective surgical procedures under general anaesthesia were recruited. The ingestible sensor was ingested prior to induction of anaethesia, and post induction, the zero-flux electrode attached above the right eyebrow and oesophageal probe inserted. During surgery, the temperature on each device was recorded every minute. Measurements were compared using Bland-Altman analysis. The ingestible sensor experienced interference from use of diathermy and fluoroscopy in the operating theatre, rendering 39% of its readings unusable. These were removed from analysis. With remaining readings the bias compared with oesophageal probe was + 0.42 °C, with 95% limits of agreement - 2.4 °C to 3.2 °C. 75.4% of readings were within ± 0.5 °C of the OTP reading. The bias for the zero flux electrode compared to oesophageal probe was + 0.02 °C with 95% limits of agreement - 0.5 °C to 0.5 °C. 97.7% of readings were within ± 0.5 °C of the oesophageal probe. The study findings suggest the zero-flux thermometer is sufficiently accurate for clinical use, whereas the ingestible sensor is not.Trial registration The study was registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov , NCT Number: NCT02121574.

Open water swimming as a treatment for major depressive disorder.

A 24-year-old woman with symptoms of major depressive disorder and anxiety had been treated for the condition since the age of 17. Symptoms were resistant to fluoxetine and then citalopram. Following the birth of her daughter, she wanted to be medication-free and symptom-free. A programme of weekly open (cold) water swimming was trialled. This led to an immediate improvement in mood following each swim and a sustained and gradual reduction in symptoms of depression, and consequently a reduction in, and then cessation of, medication. On follow-up a year later, she remains medication-free.

Extreme preconditioning: cold adaptation through sea swimming as a means to improving surgical outcomes.

The practice of sea bathing for its health benefits was popularised by Richard Russell in Regency Brighton during the 18th Century. Although the cures he claimed it could effect seem a little far-fetched today, as with many historical remedies, there is much to be gained from revisiting such theories in the light of modern medical research. In this paper I will draw parallels between the surgical stress response and the response to cold exposure and hypothesise how a programme of sea bathing may be used to enhance postoperative recovery and reduce preoperative complications.

Broadening medical horizons.

In the rush to acquire ever more and detailed knowledge, the medical profession appears to have forgotten that there are other academic disciplines, the study of which would benefit both doctors and patients.