FWIW, my question arises from a comment made by
@chillyinCanada which was preceded by other posts regarding water temps and wind.
From DAN:
Temperature and Bubble Formation
A number of factors affect the solubility of a gas in a liquid, such as inert gas in your blood after diving. Temperature is one of those factors. As the temperature increases, gases usually become less soluble in water solutions (such as blood). Thermal stress can contribute to bubble formation, which makes it one of the contributing factors in decompression sickness risk.
If you are cold after diving, you will have diminished circulation in your limbs due to blood vessel constriction. Hot tubs (or hot showers) will warm your extremities and restore circulation faster. If your inert gas load is small, the warming will help eliminate gas more quickly because of the improved blood flow. Larger inert gas loads can cause more problematic responses. Since the solubility of gas is inversely related to temperature, tissues will hold less in solution as they warm. Warming tissues with significant gas loads can promote bubble formation. Because superficial tissues warm before the increased blood flow happens, bubbles formed then can be problematic. These develop before regular circulation can remove them harmlessly.
There is no simple formula to compute what constitutes a minor, significant or substantial peripheral inert gas load. The conditions vary based on the individual as well as their thermal protection, physical activity and dive profile.
FROM ME:
After a couple of perfectly normal dives, I was relaxing and reading my book. Eventually, I noticed that I felt quite itchy and then in a bit, my lower back ached. I decided that a shower was just the ticket. A shower to get the salt particles off me that must be what was making me itchy and of course, a hot shower to help my aches. It wasn't long after the hot shower, that my stomach and hips started to be very painful and a look in the mirror revealed the Cutis Marmorata. I was bent. Quite a bit of time had elapsed after the dives and before the hot shower. Of course, my early symptoms were actually warnings of being bent but the shower made the pain and discomfort ever so much worse, for the reasons that DAN explains above.
NOW:
Let's get this thread back on topic please.