campo myth needs debunked
 

Anyone ever heard of pamo?(MOD: He means to say "spasmo" in Dominican Spanish, e-pamo) It means something to the effect of dying after having your body heated up (going to salon, ironing, steam of any kind) and then taking a cold shower, open a fridge, or walking out in the cold rain. Apparently it's a pretty common cause of death in el cibao, since everyone has family members that have died from it (my grandfather was one). Does anyone know if there's an english term for this?

Interesting. I've heard may, but not that one. Good luck.

yes, there is: superstition.

so that is why you never see anybody out in the rain in the cibao... I always thought their bikes were painted with waterpaints... lol

How to kill your wife. Treat her to the salon, and then ask for a cold one from the fridge...

BelgianK

This myth is very common throughout the Caribbean, not only the DR campos. I have heard it many times along with supposed anecdotal evidence.

So I'm guessing the cheesy jokes are just a way of saying that you have no idea..?

Anyways, thanks cbmitch for the response and I'll look into it more.

Hyperventilation?

Sudden hypothermia?

I'm pretty certain the correct term is "espasmo/espasmAR".

This is a common myth here as it doesn't not appear to be based on science given the multiple first aid training I've had over the years. I attribute it to the power of suggestion and the mind, in other words people here believe being hot and then being exposed to cold air or water will hurt them and thus their mind cause their mouth to spasm(typical symptom).

In fact when I first moved here my extended family through the wife tried to prevent me from doing it and even used to watch me run the hose over my head after doing exercises or running in the middle of the day waiting for me to go crazy. In the end they gave up. My wife still believes in it - for her anyway, jeje. My father in law and a couple of cuñados no longer believe in it and seem to be much happier when it really gets hot. http://www.dr1.com/forums/images/smilies/happy.gif

I've also talked to at least one doctor about this who believed in it. There is a supposed injection to prevent this from happening that many women who work in salons take. I expect it is just salt water. http://www.dr1.com/forums/images/smilies/happy.gif Such is the power of the mind.

It is very common here and most believe that if you expose your body to cold after being hot then you will die, or be at risk of death. This would include opening the fridge after ironing, or whilst sweating. However like many superstitions there is some basis in fact as going from heat to cold can cause shock and even death as sudden change to cold water constricts the blood vessels and can affect the heart. When I was a diving instructor in the Mediterranean where the water is much colder than here, we would always advise divers to put their wrists into the cold water before diving off the boat, especially if they had been in the sun for a while. I doubt that opening the fridge after ironing would have the same effect, but I can see where it comes from.

Matilda

AWESOME POST, btw, lots of doctors in La Vega believe in it apparently, not sure why.

it's a miracle that finnish people have survived so far, with using sauna and then running out in the snow, eh?
this is why i am calling BS. espasmo only happens in the imagination http://www.dr1.com/forums/images/smilies/happy.gif

once we had a visitor, she wanted few things ironed so she offered our maid 10 dollars to do it. so it happens it was raining frog that day. our maid responded firmly that she will not risk her life for 10 dollars. you should see my friend's face, flabbergasted! http://www.dr1.com/forums/images/smilies/happy.gif

You beat me to the "going skiing, hitting the sauna and rolling in the snow" ritual that many friends of mine used to do (no not even Finnish, by the way). I think that debunks the myth of bad things happening if after you blow dry your hair you open the refrigerator door.

There is a danger far worse than death which can befall a man exposed to cold temperatures:



then:

Seinfeld - The Shrinkage - YouTube

Shrinkage is far more real and debilitating.

I looked it up on the internet, and as far as I can tell, it refers to a narrowing of the heart arteries going from one extreme temperature to another. In other words, it pretty much is a heart attack...

I doubt opening a fridge after ironing would be able to cause it, but hey, in this heat anything can happen...

DV8, although I used to love sauna's, loads of people have suffered heart attacks in sauna's. That is why they recommend visiting a doctor before you use them...

BelgianK

Yea my wife and her family always tell me not to go to the fridge when I am sweating or after she has irined she asks me to go I just laugh and show them I am still very much alive!

i think body's limits can be pushed further than a small difference of temperatures delivered by sauna.
have you heard about cryogenic cabins? the body gets exposed to the temperatures as low as -190 degrees celsius for up to 3 minutes. if your heart can take that then surely little sauna heat is no challenge...

I remember my grandfather telling me about the king of Spain who dropped dead because he drank cold water after a vigorous game of pelota vasca, and guess what - it's a myth:
El agua fría tras un ejercicio físico intenso: verdades y mitos >> La Doctora Shora >> Blogs EL PAÍS

its called bollocks

My grandmother believed that if you ate sancocho,which is served hot and then drank ice cold water
afterwards a person you would die.Therefore she would always drink cool water after eating anything
hot.