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Who the heck - in their right mind, that is - would dive a shell suit with thin undergarments in cold water?
A thick wetsuit is better than a shell Drysuit with thin/ wrong undergarments. I can speak from experience
I believe this is exactly what happened because my mind was clear no confusion or obvious reason to begin to panic and once I ascended it completely went away.This sounds like a reaction the body has when exposed to cold water. As an ice rescue instructor, I teach what is known as the 1, 10, 1 rule. After immersion in cold water there is immediate deep gasps followed by deep rapid breathing, this could take 1-3 minutes to subside. Then you only have about 10 minutes of purposeful movement for self rescue before extremities become too cold and stiff, then up to 1 hour before unconsciousness results from severe hypothermia. It sounds like you had the initial stages similar to an immersion in cold water then as you rose above the thermocline you warmed enough to stop the effect. Just my thoughts.
Both times it happened my mind was clear and I was not in a situation that I feel would have caused me to panic, and both times ascending about 10-15 feet made it go away almost immediately.Why do you think the cold played a role? I'm not saying it wouldn't, but there's a lot going on in the way you describe it.
R..
I believe this is exactly what happened because my mind was clear no confusion or obvious reason to begin to panic and once I ascended it completely went away.
This article states exactly what I was feeling! Like I said earlier I am lucky that I ascended and got out of that situation. Great Article!Our one lake has a spring in it... Surface gets to 66°. Within 6 inches of thermocline the temperature falls to 34°. Dropped below it in a 3mm wetsuit once. Once. The cold water shock is a real condition. Even in milder forms it's still remarkable.
In a catastrophic flooded drysuit this can be lethal. Similar to falling through the ice. (Or just a typical spring Saturday for a Canadian child)
Here's a little more about it.
National Center for Cold Water Safety-Cold Shock
Cameron
Similar to falling through the ice. (Or just a typical spring Saturday for a Canadian child)