Do you Drink & Dive?

[Tim Ingersoll]

Good idea! Hook me up to a saline IV and let me breathe at an oxygen bar. I could dive 23 hours a day!:getsome:

 

[BillP]

Bubble Boy once bubbled...
What do you guys think about wacking in a litre of normal saline solution IV to rehydrate?

IV hydration is a substitute for when the GI tract doesn't work or when someone needs emergent rehydration. If someone has a functional GI tract and they're not dying, there is no need to go to the trouble, discomfort, risk, and expense of IV hydration. Someone who needs IV hydration probably shouldn't be diving until they recover.

 

[Rick Murchison]

BillP once bubbled...
Someone who needs IV hydration probably shouldn't be diving until they recover.

You aren't prone to a little understatement here, are ye Doc?
Rick

 

[BillP]

I could imagine the scenario of a diver with short gut syndrome due to injury or disease who chronically requires IV hydration/nutrition but still dives, for example.

Hey, it could happen.

 

[Northeastwrecks]

I'll have a couple of cold ones with my dinner after a dive. However, by the time I get to the local decompression station I've already gone through at least three bottles of Orange Juice, so I'm less concerned about rehydration. In addition, since my dives are not particularly local (at least 2 hour drive), I don't have more than a couple.

 

[redwingsfan]

I can appreciate the significance of drinking before diving. I assume that because of DCS and the potential for dulling one's senses, drinking before a dive is imprudent.
But, I'm curious about any science regarding drinking after diving. Is there any? Is there any biological hazards to drinking after diving separate and apart from drinking in general? Otherwise, isn't this whole debate/discussion really just a rehash of temperance vs. social drinking philosophies? Does it have anything to do with diving (aside from reiterating the imprudence of drinking before diving)?

 

[WreckWriter]

redwingsfan once bubbled...
I can appreciate the significance of drinking before diving. I assume that because of DCS and the potential for dulling one's senses, drinking before a dive is imprudent.
But, I'm curious about any science regarding drinking after diving. Is there any? Is there any biological hazards to drinking after diving separate and apart from drinking in general? Otherwise, isn't this whole debate/discussion really just a rehash of temperance vs. social drinking philosophies? Does it have anything to do with diving (aside from reiterating the imprudence of drinking before diving)?

The primary danger of drinking after diving is the same as drinking before diving, dehydration. In my opinion, moderate drinking an hour or 2 after moderate diving is not a problem. Heavy drinking shortly after heavy diving could be.

Tom

 

[tinman]

BillP once bubbled...
The alcohol content of different drinks varies widely, so for simplicity's sake I'll stick with the USDA's definition of a "standard serving" of alcohol of 14 grams. That would be roughly 360ml (12 oz.) of US beer, 150-180ml (5-6 oz.) of wine, or 45ml (1½ oz.) of spirits.

Alcohol is indeed a diuretic. You will excrete about an extra 10ml of urine for each gram of alcohol you consume (10ml/g). In order to become "dehydrated" you must lose more water than you take in. Do the math on the above drinks. If you drink a 360ml beer, you will urinate 140ml due to the alcohol- for a net gain of 220ml of fluid. If you drink a 150ml of wine, you will urinate 140ml of that due to the alcohol- for a net gain of 10ml. If you drink a 45ml shot of tequila without any chaser, you will lose 140ml due to the alcohol for a net loss of 95ml, but if you drink 45ml of rum in a 360ml rum and Coke (with caffeine free Coke ;-) you are back to a net gain of 220ml of fluid.

So (like coffee) no alcoholic drinks will hydrate you as well as drinks without any diuretic effect, but only some dehydrate you. If you continue to drink non-diuretic drinks in the volumes you normally would on a dive trip in addition to any moderate use of alcohol, you are unlikely to become dehydrated. Bill

...Excellent summary,Thank-you. Is dehydration the only concern here?

Besides obvious potential contraindications with any meds being taken, is there any other physiological concerns or interactions that might contribute to diving maladies such as DCI or Micro Bubble formation/deformation. Does nitrogen rich blood predispose one to any risks in combination with post dive alcohol consumption.

 

[Scubaholic]

I got pretty loaded once after diving. I can't recall my exact profile, but I did at least three dives with the deepest 110'. They were all Nitrox dives, planned for a 1.4 PPO.

I had a couple on the way in from the diving grounds, and then discovered that we had an engagement that night so I kept drinking, and I was feeling no pain by night's end. What I can tell you is this: I felt like total crap for two days. I'm not talking about just having a hangover, or a headache. I'm talking about being worthless for two days. So, I drink very lightly, if at all, following dives. Not that I drink heavily the rest of the time. Nitrogen offgassing and alcohol don't mix well.

 

[SM Diver]

Attitudes have changed about drinking and diving since 1956:

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