Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
We're working to fix a technical issue causing problems with our broadcasts. We'll have it resolved as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Swimming Smarts For Kids: Dr. Starbuck Explains

Girl in a swimming pool.
(PD)
Girl in a swimming pool.

Hi! I’m Dr. Jamison Starbuck, a naturopathic family physician. I’m here today with health tips called: Swimming Smarts. I’m going to talk about three things related to swimming but not exactly about swimming.

Isn’t swimming season such a fun time? Hot weather, cool water. Jumping in and out of the river, floating on a raft or just swimming laps in a pool.

You probably know that there are a lot of things to think about when you spend a day on the water. Not just how to move your arms and legs around when you’re in the water, but other things that are important when you go out for a swimming adventure.

One of them is water in your ears. It’s pretty impossible not to get water in your ears – unless you never put your head under the water. A bathing cap or earplugs can help a little, but mostly, once your head gets underwater, the water will go wherever it wants, including into your ears. And that’s a weird feeling isn’t it? Usually it’s just one ear that gets that pesky, sloshing around, water in the ear sound. The water gurgles and burbles; sounds can be muffled. It’s kind of annoying.

Having water in your ear doesn’t hurt, but it’s a good idea to get it out because the ear works best and feels the best when it’s dry.

So how do you do that? You can bend your head over so the ear with the water in it is facing toward the ground. Then tug on your ear lope and jiggle the water out. If this doesn’t work, keep your head bent and hop around on one leg, shaking your head while you hop. Pretty soon you should feel a little water roll out of your ear. The water might even feel hot because it’s coming out of your warm ear.

If that doesn’t work, another trick is to use vinegar. Ask your parents to put two drops of white vinegar in your watery ear. Then lay down with that ear facing down. In a few minutes the water should evaporate or drain out. You might smell a little like a salad, but at least the water will be gone.

Another thing to think about is that old saying about not swimming after eating because you’ll get cramps. Ouch! The idea is that when you eat, it takes a while to digest. If you start to exercise right after you eat, your stomach can hurt and your intestines can spasm and cramp up. Sometimes you might even have to run to the bathroom real quickly.

This can be hard enough when you are on land, but imagine if you were swimming in deep water when that happened? That would be scary, and even dangerous. So after you eat, be sure to rest, walk or play in shallow water for about an hour before you swim in any deep water or water with a current – like a river or the ocean.

The third good plan for swimming is to bring along some warm clothes. It sounds really silly doesn’t it? If it’s 90 degrees out, why take warm clothes anywhere? Well the thing is, when you spend the whole day swimming and playing in the water, you can actually get cold, even if it’s warm outside. There’s actually a medical condition called hypothermia H-Y-P-O-T-H-E-R-M-I-A where the body temperature gets dangerously low.

Don’t worry; kids don’t get this from swimming in the summer. But if you are in the water all day and the weather changes, the temperature drops, the clouds roll in or the wind picks up, you might be pretty chilly and uncomfortable. I recommend you put a sweatshirt, sweatpants and maybe even a pair of socks in your swim bag so you’ll have them if you need them. You know that expression: it’s better to be safe than sorry!

I hope you have a great summer with lots of fun time swimming and playing in and around the water. Be smart and stay safe!

I’m Dr. Jamison Starbuck and I’m wishing you well.

Become a sustaining member for as low as $5/month
Make an annual or one-time donation to support MTPR
Pay an existing pledge or update your payment information
Related Content