This could save your life.
BOOST.
Absolutely vital information to have if you live where the waters freeze over.
I especially appreciate this guy's commitment to actually showing the steps himself. That cold-shock response is a bitch and willingly subjecting himself to it couldn't have been fun.
I don’t live anywhere near water like this, but I am still memorizing this knowledge because:
* I might use it in a story someday.
* Any knowledge that staves off the dying is good knowledge.
Some kids passed away today in my region from falling in icy water, so thought it was important to boost.
I might add that once you're on solid land please seek shelter and medical attention immediately, especially if you have preexisting conditions.
Shock like this fucks your whole body and internal functioning up, so if you have, for example, heart problems then this could exasperate those issues.
If this is unavailable to you at the time, then still get to warm shelter immediately and begin the process of slowly rewarming yourself like how they would with frostbite or hypothermia victims. Notify medical professionals once you are safe.
[Revised video description, with spacing added: A video of a person with long hair worn in a ponytail behind their head. They're standing on a frozen lake, looking for a spot with relatively thin ice.
They can be seen testing out different spots before letting the ice underneath their feet purposefully break, after which point, they sink into the cold water.
The person almost immediately starts breathing heavily, and their entire body is shivering from the cold. While remaining stuck in the hole in the ice, they then begin explaining to the camera, "Ok, so this is the cold shock response, which really can be mitigated, if you just relax and realise it's going to pass."
Between their words, they start performing breathing exercises, and their body can be seen visibly coming down from the initial shock. As the camera zooms in, they continue to explain:
"And after it passes, you'll be able to do the second part of your self rescue. So I spread my arms out, so that I didn't get fully emerged, and that gasp response didn't make me inhale water.
"So I've survived my cold shock response. Now to get out, instead of trying to pull myself straight up, I'm gonna start to kick my feet and raise them up behind me, and then kick."
After following the steps they've just explained aloud, the ice behind them starts to break, and the person can be seen slowly sliding forward onto the ice. They proceed to explain:
"Now I'm on flat ice. And I don't wanna stand up now. I'm gonna ease myself forward, until I feel like I'm on stronger ice, test it, and start to move towards shore."
At this point, they test the ice by striking at it firmly with their elbow, pushing themself up onto their forearms and knees, and pressing down with more of their weight. As the ice holds, they quickly proceed to crawl forward on their forearms and knees. /END]
NOTE: If you are not wearing gloves or any insulative gear to protect your hands, try not to touch the ice with your bare hands more than absolutely necessary.
As in the example, even when on your "hands and knees", so to speak, place your weight on your forearms(assuming you have sleeves covering your skin) to avoid losing more body heat via skin to ice contact.
Clothing material is critically important, and so is knowing what to do if you fall into more open water. If you're on or around ice or a body of water of any kind, it's always best to be prepared. Wear a life vest/life jacket whenever possible.
The above video is tantamount, but as tumblr chudobs added above, it's important to know what to do next!
I have actually added onto this post previously, with additional steps! I'd like to expand on some of the tips I added last time here:
Getting any wet cotton you may be wearing off of your skin is critical, as is securing shelter from the wind. Even a very simple lean-to or huddling behind a snowbank, shrubbery, etc is better than nothing.
If you can safely build a small fire** to bring your body temperature up, don't sit too close to it. Huddle in closer to it little by little. If you can use it to dry any of your inner wear or gloves, do so.
Do not build a fire inside of a building. Even if there is a fireplace and you can clearly see all the way up through the chimney, you still cannot be certain it is safe to ignite a flame in that enclosed space. Instead, close the flue* and check any windows and doors to ensure they're tightly shut.
*There should be a knob on or around the chimney that you can turn until the chimney is blocked. If you could previously see through it or feel a breeze coming down through the fireplace, you should be able to tell when it is closed.
**I'm sorry the resource for fire building isn't really transcribed. I'm not really sure how to walk someone through such a skill verbally, unfortunately. I will add to this post if I find a decent resource with simple step by step instructions that are entirely verbal/non-visual.
ONCE AGAIN FOR EMPHASIS: IF POSSIBLE, NEVER GO ON OR NEAR A LARGE BODY OF WATER, FROZEN OR OTHERWISE, ALONE.
Description by @bewitched-gremlin and @rimurutempest
Information under the post by @rimurutempest - thanks a lot for them!!