Cotton Mouth???

[MikeJacobs]

KZMAN once bubbled...
SNIP...
I just returned from diving So. Fla. and had really bad cotton mouth, especially with multiple dives. I stayed plenty hydrated, but at times it really distracted my enjoyment. Since my return, I decided to purchase an Apollo prestige ex-2000, (a-107b).

We're doing a lot of shore dives and approaching two hours underwater - dry mouth is a little problem and I was attracted to an Apollo ad in Diver Training Magazine. It claims to cure dry mouth, fatigue and headaches.

See http://www.apollosportsusa.com/products-regcomp.html#moisture

"MMTB" (more money than brains)? Searching for humidity yielded this thread. Kewl. So, some questions...

First, is there a NEED to filter tank air and, if so, from what (to establish how effective the filter should be)?

Next, as long as a person is properly hydrated, which we usually are, isn't exposure to a little dry air good for us?

Finally, I got headaches when I started diving agian after years off, but I've apparently adapted and they're gone. Drymouth is just a little problem - not worth money or the filter hassle. Post dive fatigue is something I'd like to "cure" however, and a couple hundred bucks is certainly worth it IMO. But can the hydration/filter actually deliver "significantly"... does anybody have experience with it?

Perhaps this should be another thread and, if so, feel free to start one. Thanks in advance!

 

[Charlie99]

MikeJacobs once bubbled...
We're doing a lot of shore dives and approaching two hours underwater - dry mouth is a little problem and I was attracted to an Apollo ad in Diver Training Magazine. It claims to cure dry mouth, fatigue and headaches.

See http://www.apollosportsusa.com/products-regcomp.html#moisture

Comparing the amount of moisture held by the wick to the 80cu ft of air in a tank, I don't see how it can make a difference. What am I missing?

I find a simple rinse, gargle and spit a few times during the dive prevents cotton mouth. If doing a 90 minute or 2 hour shallow dive, I'll just take along a foil juice pack or two to drink.

 

[JohnCollins]

And I never remember drymouth being an issue. I used to use a Dacor 360 with an XLE 2nd stage, all brass, with metal fins inside the second stage, and I was never dry.

I just did 2 dives in Cancun with my new Scubapro MK16 and S550 2nd stage. . .all plastic. . . and I felt like those horses you see dragging tourists around on city tours. Slime hanging from their mouths.

I think it's a part of diving life these days. Unless they bring back brass second stages again, I think Charlie99 has the right idea. Bring along a couple of juice paks or learn to live with dry mouth.

Compressed air in tanks is dry. That's a fact. Exhaled air is moist. Also a fact. It used to condense on my old brass second stage, also a fact. When I'd inhale, I'd recapture some of that condensed moisture.

Exhaled moisture in the breath won't condense as well on plastic parts. Fact. Ergo, learn to live with dry mouth. No way around it.

I miss my brass second stage. *sigh*

 

[wetnorm]

>Humidty is important for comfort, perhaps for safety. I, too, dislike dryness.
>Having a soft-pak soda at 100 fsw sounds cool; BUT I read the swallowing motion closes the airway.... violating rule #1 of SCUBA to NEVER HOLD YOUR BREATH. I guess if your buoyancy control is better, then forget rule #1-- NOT!!!.
>Dry mucosa doesn't flex and barotrama then may cause minor bleeding from the dry sinuses, or the eustachian tubes to stick closed -- ouch! Lung damage... who knows, but your body's high blood flow probably rewets the alveoli at the expense of dehydrating other tissues.
>I'd like to be able to do the math and know that the Apollo filter holds enough moisture to last at least 40 of the 80 cu. ft., surely it can't hurt, I thought. Better ask the pro's, I thought, if it could hurt, or damage the SCUBA or diver.
>I asked Genesisscuba.com if the Apollo can be safely used with my/their (sealed) GS2000. The reply is that it is not necessary to filter any more their 1st stage filter does, and that any aftermarket modification will increase resistance and decrease the reg's performance.... I wonder if they avoided the moisturizing benefit, though. At least, no damage.
>>>On the side, I am waiting to hear why they won't bless this reg for nitrox. I may return this new reg for one truly nitrox compatible, or is this just legal defensivity.
>So with MMTB, I will try one in Coz.
I'll keep you posted.

 

[shrwdtech]

Norm,

Who at Genesis Scuba replied to your question?

Curious.

Thanks.

 

[ppilot]

How in the world do you drink a juice pack underwater?

 

[wetnorm]

RMI Scuba<KIves@raymurray.com was the address line.

He also stated that the GS2000 is nitrox ready out of the box (which differs from the package insert's caveat to use only with air.)

He provided help on other issues.

 

[wetnorm]

>I used this humidifier on two two-tank dives of approx 45 minutes duration each, Monday in Cozumel, and Wed. in Cayman, and a single shallow dive Fri. in the Bahamas. I did not experience any problems with dry mouth, unlike during my certification weekend ( 2 dives each the previous Sat and Sun).
>The Apollo did not appear to reduce the airflow from my Genesis 2000 either, despite depths of 25-105 fsw. Of note, I am a novice, but can honestly say I can't imagine an easier breathing reg set-up. My pals experienced harder inspiratory effort at 100 fsw on their rentals.
>I can recommend its effectiveness and apparent ease of use. >Long term, I don't know how it would affect servicing or the function of the 1st stage. For instance, is there the risk of moisture back-flowing?

 

[Charlie99]

ppilot once bubbled...
How in the world do you drink a juice pack underwater?

The only trick is to take the straw out of the plastic wrapperwhile still in the boat. Rubber band it to the foil pak and put them in your BC pocket. .

When thirsty, simply take it out, poke the straw in, and sip.

The foil pack collapses as you drink. With juice boxes, and even more so with 1/2 liter plastic bottle of water, after you take a couple sips the container will expand back and suck in seawater. The foil pack doesn't do this. (Yes, I know you can bubble air back into the water bottle and keep out the saltwater, but that exceeds my level of underwater coordination.)

 

[MikeJacobs]

Charlie99 once bubbled... SNIP...When thirsty, simply take it out, poke the straw in, and sip....SNIP

Awesome but it was difficult to believe for me as well! I'll try it sometime... but how will I know I'm not getting a stomach full of punch flavored seawater?

The small sports bottles work as well, any size that will fit in your bc pocket or a pouch. The thing you have to remember is to drain the bottle or you'll (a) open it to seawater as soon as you stop or (b) pinch your taste buds in the stopper when you re-seal it. Maybe with practice you could open & reclose a bottle in your mouth, but it's painful to get pinched and I haven't been able to yet.