ABSTRACT
Cold water can, somewhat arbitrarily, be defined as water at a temperature of less than 15°C. Immersion in cold water represents one of the greatest stresses to which the body can be exposed and immersion is the second most common cause of accidental death in many countries of the world. However, it is a relatively hidden killer with many of the over 3000 immersion-related deaths that occur each day worldwide going unnoticed. Despite the fact that drowning kills more children than many high-profile diseases, it receives a fraction of the attention and funding obtained for these conditions.
