Drinking Alcohol after a dive?

[Zundanc3]

I have heard drinking alcohol before a dive is not recommended due increased risk of DCS.

However, I have seen dive-instructors and dive-masters drinking alcohol without regard immediately after a dive.

If alcohol is considered bad before a dive, why is it okay to drink alcohol after a dive?

Does alcohol help off-gas or anything?

Are there any physiological diving related benefits of alcohol after a dive?

Or, is alcohol just as bad after a dive?

If it is bad after a dive too, how many hours after a dive is it safe?

And, for that matter, how many hours before diving should you stop drinking?

 

[ffestpirate]

Actually, drinking before and after a dive is not recommended. I have only your welfare in mind. Therefor, please send all of your alcoholic beverages to FFESTPIRATE c/o scubaboard. And please make a note on the package: This is not rum Jenny.


Actually, if you enter alcohol into the search box at the top of the page, you'll probably find no less than 100 threads discussing this subject

 

[shellim123]

I think alcohol AFTER a dive is a personal preference BTW..I have also heard snorkels make GREAT beer bongs

 

[ffestpirate]

I think alcohol AFTER a dive is a personal preference BTW..I have also heard snorkels make GREAT beer bongs

Nice

 

[dlndavid]

so snorkels do have a place in diving

btw: shouldn't this be in the basic scuba discussion forum?

 

[ffestpirate]

No. Once we began using snorkels for beer bongs, it goes straight to DIR

 

[Zundanc3]

I too would like to drink after diving.

And, by-the-way, you would still need a large funnel attached to the snorkel to make it a DIR beer bong. (A snorkel barely holds 8oz)

Also, I did do a Scubaboard thread search for alcohol but most of the posts were in the Humor, Games, Clips, Yarns and Tales forum. Not really helpful.

There were a couple posts which stated, "alcohol is not good before nor after a dive due to its dehydrating effect" and some other broad general statements.

However, none of my questions above were really seriously answered in detail.
(How many hours before and after diving should you avoid alcohol?)
Any serious replies, please?

 

[ffestpirate]

They have a lot of data that says that alcohol will dehydrate you, can mask effects of DCS, and may even increase your risk for DCS. Speaking from personal experience, almost everyone that I dive with will drink almost religiously as a post dive ritual. I think it is like every other time you drink. Do not drink to excess, know when to say when. If I were to do a decomp dive, I would probably wait to drink. Short of that, Shelli was correct. It is a personal choice.
BTW I'm impressed that you know how much beer a snorkel will hold
Now, let the onslaught begin..........

 

[dlndavid]

Try posting this question here to get a better response http://www.scubaboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=15
Or is there something about Hawaiians I don't know

 

[Zundanc3]

There are also references to "alcohol thinning the blood" "which helps the nitrogen to come out faster" ??? and the term "deco beer" or "deco drinks" used in some of the alcohol threads. Which would almost lead you to believe that it's an accepted practice amongst dive-professionals.

Would it be okay to make a duplicate post in "Ask Dr. Deco" or the "DAN" forums?
(Some mods/members hate that)

Also, with the number of threads that came up with the word search for "alcohol",
it's pretty sorry how many folks seem to actually have that word in their alerts