An old wives tale?

Question

An old wives tale indicates that after eating heavy meals people shouldn't shower or bathe immediately, is this true? If so, how long should a person wait?

Answer 1

DON'TS after eating a meal:

Number 5. Don't bath - Bathing will cause the increase of blood flow to the hands, legs & body thus the amout of blood around the stomach will therefore decrease. This will weaken the digestive systean in our stomach.

Number 8. Don't swim - Swimming causes cramps and could cause vomiting. Wait atleast 15/30 minutes after eating to swim.
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Answer 2

You got it wrong. It's you shouldn't go swimming after a big meal. Here is the answer from a physician.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=47368

This myth seemed almost universally accepted when I was a child and is still believed today. The myth involves the possibility of suffering severe muscle cramping and drowning from swimming on a full stomach. While it’s true that the digestive process does divert the circulation of the blood toward the gut and to a certain extent, away from the muscles, the fact is that an episode of drowning caused by swimming on a full stomach has never been documented. Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the American Red Cross makes any specific recommendations about waiting any amount of time after eating before taking a swim. There’s a theoretical possibility that one could develop a cramp while swimming with a full stomach, but a person swimming in a pool or controlled swimming area could easily exit the water if this happens. As with any exercise after eating, swimming right after a big meal might be uncomfortable, but it won’t cause you to drow

Answer 3

Hi i think there is some truth in this,as your body needs time to digest your food,especially after a heavy meal,i think the saying comes from people getting cramp going swimming after a heavy meal,i know personally i would not feel like either after eating a large meal,i would just want to go to kip,hope this has help a bit,kind regards Kathy

Answer 4

You're referring to the myth that if you go swimming after eating a meal, you'll get stomach cramps and die.

That, too, is an old wive's tale. There has never been one documented instance of this happening.

Answer 5

That's totally false. It falls under the same heading is not swimming for 1 hour after eating. The theory was that you would cramp up and drowned. That isn't likely to happen. You can get a cramp and drown while swimming even if you haven't eaten. And you could die in the shower from slipping and hitting your head. But these things don't happen because you have eaten recently.

Answer 6

My mother used to tell me that I couldn't go swimming directly after eating. It has some truth to it. It depends how deep you dive into the water.
Just your normal swim is OK. It is basically an old wives tale.
I have never heard of the shower and bathing bit though.

Answer 7

i'm not really sure why that would be true. they say not to swim after eating because that can cause cramps, but you're not really exerting any physical energy when you're bathing or showering. I would think showering wouldn't be a bad idea just because that's relaxing and everyone wants to do that after a big meal.

Answer 8

The old wives tale is that you shouldn't go swimming after eating.

Answer 9

I never heard it like that. I heard you shouldn't go swimming after a large meal. Not true though or at least not for me. I used to get out of the pool eat, and back into the pool i'd go. Never sunk to the bottom or anything like that. My Grandmom would be the one saying you shouldn't go swimming for at least 15 minutes after you eat. Why? I don't know.

Answer 10

I think that goes back to the days of Middle Ages castles where people showered or bathed almost every week in the summer and never in winter. They had a lot of justifications like this one for not washing.