What to do if you drink sea water

Many people like to go to the beach to play during holidays or on weekends. Looking at the blue sea, the whole mood will become very happy, and all the troubles seem to disappear. Swimming at the beach, enjoying the feeling of the sea water hitting the body, and listening to the sound of the waves in the ears, this feeling is not to mention how wonderful it is. But if we accidentally drink sea water while swimming, what should we do?

The clear sea water looks pure and flawless, but there are a large number of viruses in the sea water, which are mainly planktonic viruses. Planktonic viruses refer to some bacteriophages that infect bacteria, cyanophages that infect prokaryotic algae, and eukaryotic algae viruses that infect eukaryotic algae. People have always ignored viruses in seawater and looked down on these “little guys” until the 1990s, when people gradually realized the important role of planktonic viruses in the marine ecosystem.

Although there are a large number of viruses in the ocean, the effects of these viruses on their hosts occur randomly. Because, whether it is the virus or the host, their autonomous movement ability is not very strong, they can only "go with the flow" by following the movement of the sea water. These viruses selectively invade bacteria. Specific viruses can only infect specific bacteria.

This is because the adsorption proteins on the surface of the virus have a specific binding relationship with the receptors on the surface of the host cells. Just like "one key opens one lock", viruses can only adsorb and invade suitable bacteria. Therefore, even if there are a large number of viruses in the ocean, they will not "eat up" all marine life.

It is difficult to avoid drinking sea water when swimming. There are waves up to 3 feet high even when there is no wind. Even people who are good at swimming will inevitably drink a few sips. If you want to drink less seawater when swimming in the sea, you should mainly do the following: when your head is out of water, use your mouth and nose to blow air outwards, and raise your head a little bit, so that you will not easily drink seawater.

If you drink a mouthful of sea water and it stays in your mouth, you can spit it out; if you drink a little, it will not cause any harm. If you drink too much, because sea water contains bacteria and is bitter and astringent, it is best to take some anti-inflammatory medicine when you get home and you will be fine.