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Why Drink Coke after open water swimming
Minor cuts and abrasions should be covered before swimming in open water.
Avoid open water swimming if?
You should refrain from open water swimming if you have any deep cuts.
If you have been unwell because your immune system is likely to be reduced and is needed to make you better again.
If you suffer Flu like symptoms or head aches after open water swimming then consult your doctor and tell him you have been swimming in open water.
Discuss the possibility you may have contracted Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) from infected water you have been swimming in. You don’t necessarily have had to swallow it to have become infected. Drinking straight after swimming without rinsing out your mouth could result in digesting the bug
Eating straight after with unwashed hands that may have bacteria on can also be swallowed with the food.
Wells disease found in rat’s urine can cause chronic fatigue syndrome which can also lead to depression
Ironmate’s Preventative measures when open water swimming to stay healthy include
Wash your hands after open water swimming. – You can use a bacteria hand wash.
Rinse out your mouth before eating and drinking anything.
Take a thorough shower after open water swimming.
Drink 100ml of coke as it can neutralise harmful bacteria.
Try not to avoid bacteria & germs completely we all need to test our immune system from time to time otherwise when we our immune system is tested we cannot cope.
Our immune system has friendly bacteria in our gut that are ready to send and remove any harmful organisms.
How it may work is coke contains phosphoric acid which works in the same way as the hydrochloric acid produced by our stomachs to reduce the chance of the infection causing a problem
Certain acid resistant organisms like cryptosporidium will not be stopped by coke or stomach acid.
ANTIBIOTICS
Taking antibiotics often causes diarrhoea because it depletes the number of friendly bacteria in the gut.
Also with fewer bacteria your ability to assimilate and break down foods is reduced.
Probiotic drinks or live yoghurts also help the natural friendly bacteria in our gut especially when and after taking antibiotics.
Urban myth
Holme Pierpont National water sports centre Nottingham 1985
We drank coke for energy after the cold swim. The ones that drank coke did not get ill a few that did not felt unw ell afterwards.
We drank coke for energy and t o pick us up mentally as pre wet suit days we were suffering from hypothermia.
Gatorade and other energy sports drinks simply did not exist back then.
The club house selling Coke were then more than happy to tell us all that Coke could kill the bugs and as a result they could sell more drinks!
Once Ill
The National Institute of Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE)
Children who have mild diarrhoea and vomiting should be given water or rehydrating salt solutions and not carbonated drinks and fruit juice.
The above information is only a guide so use your common sense.
Never swim alone.
Mark has been competing in Triathlon for 28 seasons and open water swimming for longer. He has finished over 400 triathlons world wide in 18 countries and has literally trained and raced thousands of times in Rivers Lakes Canals Ponds, Streams, swimming pools and oceans all around the world.
He probably has as much experience as any long distance swimmer with keeping safe and healthy.
The above is from our experience.
To the best of our our investigations -No national or international drinks company has ever invested in tests to establish if coke cans be useful in killing bugs for obvious reasons.