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The Consequences Of Cold Water Immersion: Impacts And Treatment, Patrick J. Buck Ph.D., Commander William Roberts, Commander Ken Minehane

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

This paper documents a demonstration project conducted by the authors under the auspices of the Irish Naval service. It explores and describes in detail the consequences that cold water immersion can have on the human body. Further, this study investigates post immersion treatment and survival challenges and proposes appropriate casualty care regimes with specific focus on ‘post rescue collapse’ and ‘afterdrop.’ Observations of individual differences in response are reported.