In anticipation of Epiphany bathing, which will traditionally take place throughout Russia on the night of January 18-19, experts from a number of specialized ministries and departments gave their recommendations. Thus, the Ministry of Health warned that before diving into the font, alcohol and smoking should be avoided, as well as a heavy meal. According to the deputy head of the department Oleg Salagai, this can harm health.

“It is strictly forbidden to take alcohol before bathing. This is connected not only with general issues of culture and attitude to bathing itself, but primarily with the need to protect health. Do not smoke before or after swimming. It is advisable that the meal was about two hours before swimming. Right before swimming, it’s better to refuse a serious meal, ”wrote the deputy head of the Ministry of Health in his Telegram channel.

Those who have chronic diseases, Salagai advises to consult a doctor before bathing. Those who have caught a cold or feel unwell should refrain from this tradition at all, the deputy minister warned.

Salagai also advises swimming in those places that were specially prepared for this. So, in Moscow, the authorities approved 46 sites for baptismal bathing. This was reported in the press service of the mayor of the capital. They are safe, equipped with heating points and emergency personnel will be on duty next to them.

“All sites will be equipped with safe runs to the water, hot water and heating points. Rescuers, police officers and ambulances will be constantly on duty near the fonts. Militiamen will begin to patrol reservoirs in order to prevent swimming in unequipped places, ”the report says.

The list of equipped swimming areas includes both artificial fonts (small wooden pools), which were placed near temples, chapels and in parks, as well as separate places on ponds. These places are equipped with safe runs to the water, non-slip paths, locker rooms, mobile toilets and information stands. For motorists will be equipped with temporary parking.

Epiphany bathing at these points will begin on January 18 at 18:00 and end in a day. The most equipped bathing spots among metropolitan districts will be in New Moscow - 16. The authorities of the capital expect that more than 200 thousand people will take part in bathing. Last year, this figure reached 190 thousand.

The press service of the capital’s mayor also announced that a special program will be organized in Sokolniki Park: “Here you can not only plunge into Jordan on the Nizhny May Pond, but also listen to the performance of the monastery’s choir and also take part in traditional Russian folk winter games. The holiday in Sokolniki will begin at 21:00 on December 18 and end at 02:00 on January 19. "

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In connection with the upcoming baths, Rospotrebnadzor said it had conducted sampling and laboratory studies of water. More than 80% of them are in compliance. At the same time, the department warned of the danger of swimming in the hole for a number of categories of citizens, especially for children, pregnant women and the elderly.

“According to long-term statistics, on the first day after baptismal baths in hospitals, the number of patients who have suffered a heart attack and stroke is increasing,” Rospotrebnadzor emphasized.

The department said that bathing in ice water for people with diseases of the cardiovascular, nervous and genitourinary systems, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory diseases, inflammatory diseases of the nasopharynx and endocrine diseases is categorically contraindicated.

In Rospotrebnadzor as well as in the Ministry of Health they warned that drinking alcohol is contraindicated before bathing.

At the same time, the control department published a list of recommendations for those who intend to plunge. First, make sure your blood pressure is normal before diving. Secondly, experts advise rubbing the skin, stretching and staying in the air. Thirdly, you need to go into the water, and not dive forward with your head - otherwise you can get a sharp spasm of the vessels of the brain and lose consciousness.

In the font itself, Rospotrebnadzor advises staying no more than one minute to prevent hypothermia. It’s worth going out, holding onto the handrails, or with the help of others. Immediately after bathing, you need to dry yourself with a towel, put on warm clothes.

“It is not recommended to stay on the street, you should go into a warm room and drink a warming drink,” the Russians asked Rospotrebnadzor.

“Systemic winter swimming promotes healing”

In turn, the Ministry of Emergency Situations also gave recommendations on how to safely organize baptismal bathing. The recommendations of the ministry are in many respects similar to those given by Rospotrebnadzor. The agency warns against diving into the water from the ice, and also urges not to carry animals and not to accumulate at bathing places.

“Systemic winter swimming helps to improve the health of the body, but diving into the hole once a year is a great stress for the body,” the Ministry of Emergency Situations emphasized.

Rescuers also remind that when you emerge from the water there is a risk of banging your head on ice.

“When sinking to the bottom in a small hole, the danger is also in the following: not everyone knows how to sink vertically. Many descend at an angle, shifting toward the edge of the ice. At a depth of 4 m, the displacement from the starting point can reach 1-1.5 m. When you come up with your eyes closed in a small hole, you can “miss” and hit your head on the ice, ”the department warned.

It is worth adding that the head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion on the Russia 24 television channel, recalled that immersion in an ice hole is not a necessary attribute of celebrating the Baptism of the Lord: “This is not a requirement of the Church and not a church sacrament or rite.”