Is High temp in swimming pool safe?

Answer 1

According to the British Swimming Association on hypo- and hyperthermia, physical exertion and water temperature, it is indicated that a swimmer is unlikely to suffer heat stroke in water at 37°C (98.6°F). This suggests facilities with leisure pools should be able to operate legally and safely as high as this water temperature to meet the needs of their patrons.

per

http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/protect/pdf/bc-pool-operations-guidelines.pdf

Water draws body heat very quickly if it is too low and it can raise your core temperature of 37°C or 98.6°Fifthe water temperatureis lower or higher than 35°C or 95°F. It is all related to how long you are in the pool and your level of activity, though.

The official Olympic standard for a competitive swimming pool is 25--28 °C (77--82.4 °F).

Remember, the human body generates significant extra heat while exercising, and it needs to shed this extra heat in order to keep the core body temperature at a stable 37°C (98.6°F). Normally, humans sweat, and use the air temperature difference around them to evaporate sweat (an endothermic reaction) and remove excess heat. When swimming, humans still sweat, but cannot evaporate this sweat while underwater. Rather, they have to rely on the conductive heating of the water next to the skin to remove heat, which is much less efficient than the evaporation process. Normally your skin temperature is 33

°C or 91.4

°F.According to Health Canada:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/guide water-2012-guide eau/index-eng.php#a812

"Thermal neutrality in water is reported to occur at 35°C. Below this value, the human body is expected to lose more heat than it is capable of producing."

The reason behind all this is the process that humans use to cool themselves in air is very different than underwater. Air allows for differences in relative humidity to aid evaporation of sweat across a large range of temperatures. However, air has poor conductive heat transfer properties, so if a human ceases to sweat, they can stand quite low temperatures without problem. In the obverse, very high temperatures can be withstood if the humidity is low enough to allow for evaporation of sweat. Note that the most threatening situation for a exercising human in air is whenever the relative humidity approaches 100% regardless of the actual air temperature. When submersed in water, which is a very good heat conductor, but does not allow for sweat evaporation (evaporation being 5-10x more effective at dispersing heat), the human body loses its ability to control heat loss. So long as the body remains submerged, the amount of heat lost is relative the absolute temperature of the water. Thus, there is a relatively small range of temperatures where the amount of heat loss due to conductive heating is roughly equal to the "excess" heat exercise produces. Water hotter than this range means that the body can do nothing to increase heat loss, and overheats quickly. Water lower than this optimal range means that heat loss will continue no matter what the body does, and only accelerates when exercise stops.

A competitive swimmer states: "Much of my life, I've swam continuously for several hours in water as low as 75° F, and swam in competition in 70 F water, but neither was pleasant, and adversely impacted my performance (cramping came much faster). I've also swam in 85° F water, which quickly became tiring as I overheated fast, and have seen fellow swimmers pass out after having to compete in excessively hot pools (above 85° F). Pools which are kept at the mid-80s F to make it pleasant for casual bathers ARE NOT suitable for exercising in.

A good measure of whether a pool is good to exercise in is this: when you first jump in (jump in, don't walk in), the water feels quite cold, and you shiver a fair amount. However, after about 2 minutes of treading water, it should feel only a bit chilly. This chilly feel will go away quickly once you begin swimming, and it will keep you from overheating.

Also, one last caveat - when exercising in a pool (not swimming, but performing aerobic exercises), STAY FULLY SUBMERGED (except for your head). DO NOT stand half-in and half-out of the water. The different heat-removal abilities of water and air make it extremely difficult for you body to regulate its heat properly if you are only partially submerged."

Answer 2

it somewhat depends on the surface area of your body. the more surface area, the faster you heat or cool. a safe swimming temperature will e a temperature that will not drop your core temp faster than your body can heat it back up (or vice versa with heat) however your body has no way to disipate heat quickly (your liver can reheat you pretty quickly), if you stay in water higher than your core temp water long enough you WILL get hyperthermia.

bottom line: 60f-104f

Answer 3

If you are swimming competitively and aggresively, it can make you sick.