A swim should leave you relaxed and comfortable; if it does
not, you have stayed in the water too long. Take a shorter swim next time. Long swim, have someone row along beside you
or go with and long good swimmer. And be sure both of you know life-saving technique.
The most expert swimmer can get a cramp-and if he does, he would drag you down
unless you know how to avoid desperate clutches and how to tow him to shore. No
matter how well you swim, stay close to shore if you are swimming to an isolated
spot. Any races you may have won in high school or college will not protect you
against cramps.
Don't try to swim a long distance the first few times out.
Your swimming muscles may have lost strength through inaction; give them time to
get strong again before you tackle rapid currents, heavy seas, or long distances.
Before diving in a new place, test the water for depth and hidden logs or
rocks. Lakes and rivers change in depth depending upon rainfall; md in salt
water, high and low tides have to be considered.
Find out for yourself whether
your dive should be a shallow one-rather than risk a broken neck. If you have
trouble with sinuses or ears, give up diving and under-water swimming.
Excessive water in the nose may wash away secretions that help protect against
infection.
In addition, infections may wash into the sinuses through
the nose or may even reach the middle ear through the Eustachian passage from
the throat.
