Chills Day After Diving

[H2Andy]

i have little body fat, and get cold easily. i am 37 and in good health.

i have noticed lately that the day after a dive, i usually have a
little bit of a chill, just a little bit of shivering, and i notice
that i go cold the whole day.

can my body be chilled a day after a dive or am i imagining this? and why not the same day of the dive, why the day after?

also, if it is happening for real, does it mean anything?

thansk in advance!

 

[Robinhood]

i have little body fat, and get cold easily. i am 37 and in good health.

i have noticed lately that the day after a dive, i usually have a
little bit of a chill, just a little bit of shivering, and i notice
that i go cold the whole day.

can my body be chilled a day after a dive or am i imagining this? and why not the same day of the dive, why the day after?

also, if it is happening for real, does it mean anything?

thansk in advance!

The key is to drink beer until you are nice and toasty! Sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm still diving wet, so I get a bit cold during deco and immediately after getting out of the water, but I've never heard of chills through the next day. Maybe its a reaction to not being back in the water...must be born to dive I guess!!!

 

[beche de mer]

i have little body fat, and get cold easily. i am 37 and in good health.

i have noticed lately that the day after a dive, i usually have a
little bit of a chill, just a little bit of shivering, and i notice
that i go cold the whole day.

can my body be chilled a day after a dive or am i imagining this? and why not the same day of the dive, why the day after?

also, if it is happening for real, does it mean anything?

thansk in advance!

It's not typical, but it could be a mild dose of salt water aspiration syndrome.

The more typical full-blown pattern is described here:

http://www.scuba-doc.com/saltwasp.html

If this sounds a bit like you, it would be worth having your second stage checked.

 

[H2Andy]

hhmm... no... forgot to mention all my dives this year have been in fresh water
(the springs of Florida).

 

[AmyJ]

Well, I wish I could say I have little body fat..... haha, but not the case... however, I find that I am quite chilly after diving... even through the next day (I only dive warm water too). I have no idea why.... but I just put on the sweats (in the tropics) and let people laugh....

I know this isn't helpful... sorry. Just thought I'd comiserate. (is that how to spell that word??)

Let's see what the meds have to say...

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

Isn't getting chilled easy a sign of age? You need to get rid of the sweater vest and move up to a nice cardigan.

Marc (with snow on the roof but a fire in the furnace )

 

[scubagirl15]

Not only do I feel chilled, but I'm also finding that my tolerance for cold has gone down since I started diving.

Anecdotally, it seems this is not unusual. I've spoken to several dive professionals who have had to increase their exposure protection over the years. They seem to think repetitive diving (whether cold or warm water) just saps the body of heat retaining capability. Whether that is medically supported will have to be left for the the scientifically qualified to answer.

FLL Diver, I have to believe age *has* something to do with it! For instance, my alcohol tolerance has also decreased, although I think that can be rectified with disciplined practice.

 

[DandyDon]

I'm looking forward to a Dive Physicians response on this! But maybe I can throw some info out for chat until we get one. A lot of this is personal theroy, though...?

ANDY, you recently lost body weight, didn't you, or did I remember that from someone else. If your body has not acclimated to the lessor body mass yet, that could be part of it?

But here is a really interesting read about being cold in water, "the diving response," etc: http://scuba-doc.com/hypoth.htm I'm sure I've read this before, but I remember on my last trip to Catalina Is Calf, after diving off of Roatan - I hit what I felt was cold water and GASPED! Spooked me for a moment.

Anyway, from that: "The diving response is more evident in the very young (infants and toddlers); it consists of a slowing of the heart beat, a decrease or cessation of respiration and a dramatic change in the circulation of the blood with circulation only to the most inner core of the body, the heart, lungs and brain." Okay, we like slowing our breathing, as this extends our air, but it would also play into the external cooling. Yet, the more experienced you get in those cool spings, the more your body relaxes, and your body core temp decreases - taking more than a day to rebuild itself.

Wear more thermal protection, especially on your head. Drink hot liquids. Six hours after you finish diving, do some aerbobics.

What do you think.

 

[H2Andy]

thanks don, good food for thought there.

and everybody else, thanks as well, except for FLL Diver whose little vodoo doll effigy
is just about to meet Mr. Blender