The amount of garbage is indeed still far too much in Lembeh Strait. But....it is much (80%?) less than it was, let's say, 10 years ago. And the population of Bitung increased 60% in this period. The policy of the local government and the awareness of the population changed dramatically over the years. The sewage from the houses at Lembeh and Bitung is not going into the water; all houses have septic tanks. Until 12 years ago I had my regular ear infections, at Lembeh but also diving other places. But since someone taught me to put some of my own saliva in my ears before the dive, this problem was solved. I am still surprised how “internet guides us through life” now a days. Somebody you never met posts something on a forum. And this, without checking how credible his opinion (not knowledge) is, you change your holiday plans.
Lembeh Water Quality??
- Thread starter maat1976
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Well, if you look it up in Wikipedia you will find that it maybe is not as weird as it sounds. Saliva (spit) contains a lot. Amongst others: Antimicrobial enzymes that kill bacteria.
But indeed no scientific proof what so ever. Anyway, it is cheap and you cannt forget to bring it. Just take care your buddies don not watch you, put some spit on your fingertip and then in your ear.
If I was joking I would introduce the PADI speciality "Buddy spitting".
But indeed no scientific proof what so ever. Anyway, it is cheap and you cannt forget to bring it. Just take care your buddies don not watch you, put some spit on your fingertip and then in your ear.
If I was joking I would introduce the PADI speciality "Buddy spitting".
Just be careful when you're sticking that spit in your ears with your finger that you don't accidentally cut your canal with a fingernail edge.
Frogfishman
Registered
I agree with Indah that the trash in Lembeh is far less than ten years ago. Yes, the Bianca / Police Pier area can be too polluted, but other sites aren't bad enough to complain about in comparison to other popular dive destinations in Indo. In regards to ear infections, no one has mentioned one cause: mangroves. I spent 6.5 years diving Bunaken and saw many more ear infections caused over there than I have from 20 years diving in Lembeh. When the tide falls, the warm, darker tea-coloured water from the mangroves gets pulled out away from the shore, over the reef. I always advise divers that when surfacing, if the surface water is warmer and a different hue than the water more than a meter deep, don't hang around: keep your head above the water surface and once on the boat, flush out your ears with fresh water. That mangrove water, once it dries in your ears, often leads to infection.
TightLines
Contributor
For those of you using drops, what have you found to be effective.
I've seen a few mentions of alcohol and vinegar mixtures. Any more info on ratios and types of vinegar/alcohol?
I've seen a few mentions of alcohol and vinegar mixtures. Any more info on ratios and types of vinegar/alcohol?
dirtfarmer
Contributor
I use 50% distilled white vinegar (5% acidity) and 50% alcohol (70% denatured) with few drops of vegetable glycerin in a 2oz bottle which helps sooth the ears.
Dan
Contributor
I went to a week dive vacation trips in Lembeh twice, in 2011 & 2013 (2-3 X / day) with no ear infection & without rinsing out the ear after each dives. I could be lucky in both times, I guess. Also I've been muck diving in worse situation in Secret bay, Gilimanuk, Bali without ear problem either.
The ear problem I experienced was during my rookie days when I went down too deep before equalizing the ear drums. An experience diver tought me since to equalize my ear drums every 3' (1m) you go down, regardless you feel the pressure (stress) or not, just make that a habit. I never have any ear problems since (knock on woods).
My 2 cent hypothesis is if you keep your ear in neutral pressure on both sides of the ear drums (by equalizing every 3' increase in water column pressure), they will be in relax mode, no stress & healthy condition, they will be more resistance towards any foreign bacterias that try to infect them.
I'm going to Ambon next year. I hope the ears are holding up.
Muck diving under Blue Heron bridge is a breeze due to very shallow diving. I plan to go back there for the 3rd times next year too.
The ear problem I experienced was during my rookie days when I went down too deep before equalizing the ear drums. An experience diver tought me since to equalize my ear drums every 3' (1m) you go down, regardless you feel the pressure (stress) or not, just make that a habit. I never have any ear problems since (knock on woods).
My 2 cent hypothesis is if you keep your ear in neutral pressure on both sides of the ear drums (by equalizing every 3' increase in water column pressure), they will be in relax mode, no stress & healthy condition, they will be more resistance towards any foreign bacterias that try to infect them.
I'm going to Ambon next year. I hope the ears are holding up.
Muck diving under Blue Heron bridge is a breeze due to very shallow diving. I plan to go back there for the 3rd times next year too.
Last edited:
Similar threads
