Booze, Drugs, And Diving

[BlueTrin]

Let me take a wild guess, it starts with R and ends with an A?

1. Romania
2. Rwanda?

 

[Jcp2]

How are your reefs?

Dry and full of oil.

 

[kaylee_ann]

much appreciated response. i was gonna respond but im not sure that he understood what i was trying to say the previous times.

you are exactly correct i never thought it was “risk free” to drink and dive. just wanted to see what the community thinks about it since i am new.

You’ll find some SB users sometimes lack reading comprehension. LOL

 

[kaylee_ann]

lol i kinda knew it was gonna be spicy. the mod told me to ask questions on my welcome post so….

The mod led you wrong

 

[McmScuba]

I think there is something to the intensifying of effects at pressure. I had one beer during a 1-1.5 hour surface interval while spearfishing in the gulf in about 75-80 feet of water and even though the small buzz appeared to have gone away by the time I jumped in for the second dive I felt the effects intensify immediately as I descended. It felt more like what perhaps 2-3 beers would usually feel like for me but the intensified buzz only lasted a few minutes before going away. Horrible feeling and would not recommend.

There is. I can't find the study right now and check for the details, but the psychomotoric effects of alcohol on the body seem to be amplified with increased pressure. So one drink may really be more like 2 or 3 drinks under water.

Also, alcohol has effects on the cardiovascular system, impacts breathing patterns etc. These things may in turn affect air consumption, incrase the risk of CO2 retention, immersion hypothermia etc.

Even though there seems to be a mostly conservative approach to drinking before/after diving amongst SB members, the reality might look a bit different. There's a study about attitudes toward alcohol consumption among french divers (open access , can easily be found online) that suggests that many divers have a much more lax approach.

 

[BlueTrin]

There is. I can't find the study right now and check for the details, but the psychomotoric effects of alcohol on the body seem to be amplified with increased pressure. So one drink may really be more like 2 or 3 drinks under water.

Also, alcohol has effects on the cardiovascular system, impacts breathing patterns etc. These things may in turn affect air consumption, incrase the risk of CO2 retention, immersion hypothermia etc.

Even though there seems to be a mostly conservative approach to drinking before/after diving amongst SB members, the reality might look a bit different. There's a study about attitudes toward alcohol consumption among french divers (open access , can easily be found online) that suggests that many divers have a much more lax approach.

Alcohol and diving: A cross-sectional study of attitudes towards alcohol consumption among 4322 French divers

The consumption of psychoactive substances, and especially alcohol, in the hours before a dive affects the behavior and performance of divers and may …

www.sciencedirect.com

I am a bit curious: I almost don’t drink alcohol (will only drink socially with work colleagues and fairly rarely) but I’d not have thought that if you had a beer at lunch that could have an effect 4h later on a dive for example.

 

[kaylee_ann]

For some reason I have a naturally high alcohol tolerance. Definitely not diving on it though. Aside from the physiologic factors, alcohol has a way of making you feel like you’re totally un-impaired, when that is…not the case. Even if I can function “normal”, things requiring lots of focus, reflexes and attention to detail (like driving and diving) are no-gos.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Nine pages of don't dive impaired. Nice

Hi, my name is Craig. I am a functioning alcoholic and un-apologetic pot-head. I will be drinking martinis and smoking weed on the hill-tops of Koh Tao in a week. I dive sober. Everything else, not so much.

This is the confessions thread, right?

 

[Lorenzoid]

just wanted to see what the community thinks about it since i am new.

Kudos for asking a question that some of us think about from time to time but don't ask "the community" because we believe we know the answer. And kudos to those who have given serious replies.

The answer, of course, is that alcohol and drugs are "unnecessary" risks that almost everyone in the dive community would advise you against taking, but like other risky behaviors in diving, such as deep bounce dives, there will always be people who will do these things--perhaps surreptitiously--despite the risks or thinking they know how to mitigate the risks.

 

[SlugLife]

For some reason I have a naturally high alcohol tolerance. Definitely not diving on it though. Aside from the physiologic factors, alcohol has a way of making you feel like you’re totally un-impaired, when that is…not the case. Even if I can function “normal”, things requiring lots of focus, reflexes and attention to detail (like driving and diving) are no-gos.

Hi, my name is Craig. I am a functioning alcoholic and un-apologetic pot-head....This is the confessions thread, right?

It may seem counter-intuitive, but the "lightweights" are the lucky ones. Ultimately, that's part of why I don't drink anymore.