Does your throat get really dry when you dive?

[Pitchblack70]

Oh yeah, me too! (Brand new diver here...) Noticed the other day that my mouth was getting dry. Didn't know it was a common occurrence...

 

[PhilF]

This has happened to me on almost every dive and I keep well hydrated. I try to have a bottle of water waiting for me after every dive.

 

[Elysian]

I've never used the biofilter, but they do say it helps with dry mouth.

biofilter

 

[charlesg3]

I drink tons of water and have a metal regulator... not sure if any of those help but I don't usually have a problem. I am a bit sick now with a cough and on my last dive my throat got a little dry and I had quite the coughing fit underwater. It is good to know my reg can handle that.

 

[Starlet]

I sometimes get a dry throat which makes me cough but like someone here said, I try hard to gather saliva and swallow that during the dive. Otherwise, I think it's just a matter of not eating anything that will make you thirsty before the dive and drinking a fair bit of water beforehand.

Cheers
Starlet

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Since we're all divers here...and many of us dive from boats...and some of us are prone to seasickness...I'd like to point out that one of the well-documented anticholinergic side effects of antihistamines is dry mouth/throat. This is probably more relevant to those taking Dramamine (dimenhydrinate), but Bonine (meclizine) and the scopolamine patch can also cause dry mouth.

Damned if you do...damned if you don't, eh?

 

[Kellykins]

it's because you're sucking air through a small hole =\! Type thing...!

 

[SCUBASailor]

That's got me curious, now. This might be better suited on a technical forum, but it applies here, somewhat. Do the compressors dehumidify the air before it flows into the tank? It would seem like the air must somehow be dehumidified, otherwise the temperature drop as it flows from the high tank pressure to the low hose pressure would cause the moisture in the air to condense, accumulating in the hoses (just as an air conditioner coil does). Is the rate of airflow just too slow to achieve any significant cooling? Does this condensation happen and I don't realize it?

 

[LouieLouie]

It would seem like the air must somehow be dehumidified, otherwise the temperature drop as it flows from the high tank pressure to the low hose pressure would cause the moisture in the air to condense, accumulating in the hoses (just as an air conditioner coil does).

You're right, scuba compressors include one or more filters and water separators to dehumidify the gas. Compressed air that is not sufficiently dry may cause first and second stages to freeze and tanks to corrode severly. Here in Norway, breathing gas is required by law to contain maximum 50 mg/m3 water for 200 bar and 30mg/m3 for 300 bar, which roughly translates to a relative humidity @20C/68F of 0,3% and 0,2% respectively. In other words extremely dry.

 

[Ed Palma]

Is the rate of airflow just too slow to achieve any significant cooling? Does this condensation happen and I don't realize it?

If you increase air-flow (such as purging, or during air sharing situations), couple that with cold water, the adiabatic cooling can lead to freezing of the regulator leading to further free-flowing.