Half a glass of wine for a liveaboard?

[blackice]

Hi there,
I just went to a briefing last night for a live aboard that I'm going on next week.

The group leader suggested that we all buy a bottle of wine duty free as we enter the country, so that we can have a drink at night.

He said half a glass with dinner will help with sea sickness and help you to sleep.

Now my first reaction was that if I'm on a dive trip I would prefer to not drink anything with alochol in it as I thought it would increase the risk of DCS.

I don't suffer from sea sickness (touch wood) but my wife does so I'm interested on if this is a stupid idea of the tour leaders or it has some merit?

Is the amount so small that it will not have any effect or will it increase the risks?

=-)

 

[fins wake]

The question of the vasodilatory and other effects of alcohol are perhaps better posed on the 'dive medicine' section of this forum.

As for myself, as a newbie diver I was taught to avoid alcohol, tea and coffee straight after a dive. Well, I still don't drink alcohol straight after the dive, but I'm not averse to a bottle of beer of two several hours after the dive. As for the tea or coffee, I broke that recommendation almost immediately.

That doesn't mean that the recommendation was exaggerated! I do limit my alcohol consumption after diving and I've frequently noticed the effects markedly after a day of diving, particularly in the tropics. I assume this is partly due to dehydration - so I drink a lot of water when diving and also before drinking any alcoholic beverages - and partly to the effects of the heat, but I don't discount other effects either.

Drinking wine (or beer) in the evenings on liveaboard trips and the like is very common, I don't think it has any effect on sea sickness (I would imagine it would exacerbate it if anything) but it is the tool of choice for social bonding ...

Personally I would easily drink a half-a-glass or slightly more (within reason) most evenings - unless there was a bad ascent, unusually much fatigue or similar - but certainly not go on any binges. I would refuse to dive with a buddy who was hung-over or even still inebriated in the morning. I personally believe anybody in this state definitely is more susceptible not only to DCS but to other diving injuries.

It goes without saying one should drink no alcohol at all between dives. That's a matter of unflinching principle.

EDIT: Typo 'beer' for 'bear'

 

[agstreet]

blackice once bubbled...
Hi there,

I don't suffer from sea sickness (touch wood) but my wife does so I'm interested on if this is a stupid idea of the tour leaders or it has some merit?

Is the amount so small that it will not have any effect or will it increase the risks?

=-)

Realistically, half a glass of wine with (or after) dinner isn't going to have any effect on DCS susceptability. But if it bothers you, then I'd suggest either skipping the wine, or making sure you (or your wife) drinks an extra glass of water or two the next morning.

As for the merit of drinking a bit of alcohol to counteract seasickness and help you sleep, I'd say it may or may not help with seasickness (and could make it worse for some people), but usually helps with sleeping. YMMV, of course.

 

[Dr Deco]

Dear blackice:

Alcohol and DCS

Beverage alcohol in small amounts does not have any appreciable effect on DCS incidence to my knowledge. Some research was published on the beneficial effects in severe cases (changes the surface tension) but the study is largely discounted on the basis of methodology. [The rats were almost dead.] :upset:

One must remember that ethyl alcohol will eventually lead to a decrease in blood volume because of increased urination. This is a bad effect for decompression sickness since it decreases nitrogen washout and thereby will increase the risk. Increasing the intake of water counteracts it.

Other Effects

As indicated already, seasickness can go either way with alcohol. There are better treatments available.

Sleep is often disturbed by alcohol. An individual will fall asleep quickly but awaken in an agitated and/or unrested condition.

Dr Deco :doctor:

Readers, please note the next class in Decompression Physiology :grad:
http://wrigley.usc.edu/hyperbaric/advdeco.htm

 

[Diversauras]

Could be that one is just as sea sick but with the wine one might not care quite as much....

 

[BigJetDriver]

fins wake once bubbled...
Drinking wine (or beer) in the evenings on liveaboard trips and the like is very common, I don't think it has any effect on sea sickness (I would imagine it would exacerbate it if anything) but it is the tool of choice for social bonding ...

I would refuse to dive with a buddy who was hung-over or even still inebriated in the morning. I personally believe anybody in this state definitely is more susceptible not only to DCS but to other diving injuries.[/I]

It goes without saying one should drink no alcohol at all between dives. That's a matter of unflinching principle.

EDIT: Typo 'beer' for 'bear'

DAN statistics bear out the truth of Fins Wake's remark about increased susceptibility to accidents, injuries, and, DCS!

Certainly, having half a bear (roast or otherwise) would bloat the stomach and lead to a very uncomfortable dive!!!=-)

 

[pdoege]

I've seen people who have consumed "massive quantities" on a liveaboard with no adverse affects other than a hangover.

Not wise, but it doesn't seem to guarantee a DCS hit.

So I don't think a small amount of wine is going to matter one way or the other.

Just a datapoint,
Peter

 

[Windwalker]

I know the question is the effect of half a glass of wine; however, if sea sickness is a consideration, are there any problems with using a motion sickness drug like dramamine? and does it have any negative characteristics that could contribute to DCS?

 

[Dr Deco]

Dear Readers:

Sea Sickness

I suppose that one should refrain from diving if they are seasick. Dramamine is good for some people but it makes most individuals quite sleepy. That is not a good condition at all for diving.

Alcohol and DCS

The sensitivity or resistance of individuals to DCS is a relatively well-known effect. Many individuals can sustain much larger [calculated] nitrogen loads than others and not have DCS problems. This is especially easy to observe when decompression to altitude is performed, since we know that the gas loads are the same (i.e., saturated) in all bodies. This is real and not by calculation.

If an individual has a “hangover,” it does not necessarily imply that they are dehydrated and thus have reduced perfusion. [Although you could certainly suspect that.] I would surmise that either the gas loads were small or they were in the resistant portion of the bell-shaped “susceptibility curve.”

You do not really want to find out where you lie on that distribution curve when you are out to sea on a boat. :boom:

Dr Deco :doctor:

Readers, please note the next class in Decompression Physiology :grad:
http://wrigley.usc.edu/hyperbaric/advdeco.htm