Epiphany Ice Dips May Harm Men’s Health, Urologists Warn

Epiphany ice bathing may be harmful to the male urogenital system, warned urologist Murodzhon Kakhorov.

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Epiphany bathing, January 19-20, 2016 - panoramio

Cold Shock and Hidden Risks

The doctor emphasized that immersion in icy water represents a significant strain on the body, even for people who consider themselves completely healthy.

"Sudden exposure to cold triggers a stress response: blood vessels constrict, heart rate accelerates, and blood pressure rises. These changes are short-lived, but they are precisely what carry potential risks,” Kakhorov told News.ru.

For men, the urologist continued, the danger lies in the abrupt disruption of blood circulation in the pelvic organs. Hypothermia can provoke inflammation, exacerbate latent urological conditions, and, with regular cold-water immersions, reduce the reproductive system's resistance to infections.

Who Should Avoid Ice Bathing

Kakhorov urged men who have previously suffered from prostatitis or other urogenital diseases to be especially cautious. According to him, ice bathing is permissible only after proper preparation, gradual cold conditioning, and consultation with a general practitioner.

Epiphany ice bathing, which for many believers has become an integral part of the January 19 celebration, sparks heated debate among doctors every year. While the tradition is perceived as a symbol of spiritual purification, for the body such a ritual can become a severe physiological shock.

Religious Meaning Versus Physical Stress

According to Honored Doctor of Russia and television host Alexander Myasnikov, a single immersion in icy water has nothing to do with health improvement. He stresses that Epiphany bathing is primarily a religious practice and should not be regarded as a method of strengthening physical health.

Myasnikov notes that tolerance to cold develops only through regular and systematic hardening. Episodic plunges, on the contrary, can provoke adverse reactions, especially in people unaccustomed to sharp temperature changes.

"If you plunge once a year, there is no talk of health benefits. In any case, Epiphany bathing is a religious procedure. Spiritual, if you will. Any improvement here can only be spiritual. There is no physiological basis to claim that a person gains physical hardening,” he explained.

Origins of the Epiphany Ice Bathing Tradition

Epiphany ice bathing is a folk tradition involving immersion in an ice hole or open water on the Feast of the Epiphany on January 19. It is not prescribed by church canon and originated within popular culture. Christians participate exclusively on their own initiative.

The practice emerged as a remembrance of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan River. In historical literature, the custom is often linked to rural traditions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when villagers believed immersion in consecrated water would cleanse sins committed during the festive excesses of the Christmas season.

However, this belief is considered a theological misconception. According to Orthodox teaching, sins are forgiven through the Sacraments of Baptism and Repentance. Immersion in an Epiphany ice hole is neither a substitute for Baptism nor for Confession, and the widespread notion of spiritual cleansing through triple immersion remains erroneous.