Question Neoprene Suit Sterilisation Recommendations

[oakendal]

Where on/in your body was the MRSA infection?

Best regards,
DDM

Hi there DDM!

It was only my lower legs, nothing above the knee or below the ankle.

In addition, the swab test results just came back today, it turns out it was actually “Group A Beta haemolytic streptococcus”. Was prescribed flucloxacillin last week - seen major improvement and the wounds are properly scabbing and closing. I won’t be in the water for a while.

Thanks.

 

[oakendal]

Vikron is what we use for aquarium diving, but that is intended to prevent fish disease cross contamination. Not sure how it would do against MRSA. https://syndel.com/product/virkon-aquatic/

You also might want to swap to a smooth skin-in freediving wetsuit to make things a bit easier to clean. But definitely NOT an open cell suit!

So I’ve had my current suit about half a year now, plenty of deep dives with it. Does that make it easier to clean?

About the smooth skin suit, do you have recommendations for brands? I’ve never really looked at freediving equipment before - are they okay thermally for all-day instructing and deep diving up to 40?

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[sea_ledford]

So I’ve had my current suit about half a year now, plenty of deep dives with it. Does that make it easier to clean?

About the smooth skin suit, do you have recommendations for brands? I’ve never really looked at freediving equipment before - are they okay thermally for all-day instructing and deep diving up to 40?

Thanks again for all your help.

Once I switched to free diving suits, I never looked back. Warmer, more comfortable, generally use higher quality neoprene than scuba suits, but prices are all over the map. I used them for 4 years while guiding dives daily in Hawaii.

For a lot of brands you can order the top and bottom in separate sizes or thicknesses depending on need. Most of them these days are open cell on the inside, so basically lined in tiny suction cups. Probably not what you want, but possibly easier to sanitize than a regular nylon-in suit, certainly easier than a fluffy inside suit. There are also coated open cell suits that have a layer of ceramic type material on the inside. That might be a decent in-between option. The coating does eventually wear off in high movement areas (armpits, elbows, back of the knee and neck). I'm currently using a suit from Waihanna that is ceramic coated.

I did find this one that is a smooth skin reversible one:Evolve Hybrid Reversible Wetsuit
Oceaner might do full custom suits that you could order smooth skin in and nylon out.
Long ago I had a JMJ custom suit that was skin in as well. Looking at their website now, I can't tell if they still do that or not.

You do need to lube these suits to get them on. That turns a lot of people off, but I find them way easier to get on than a standard scuba suit, and I'm generally faster even with needing to spray the inside.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Hi there DDM!

It was only my lower legs, nothing above the knee or below the ankle.

In addition, the swab test results just came back today, it turns out it was actually “Group A Beta haemolytic streptococcus”. Was prescribed flucloxacillin last week - seen major improvement and the wounds are properly scabbing and closing. I won’t be in the water for a while.

Thanks.

Hi! Thanks for the additional info. Group A beta hemolytic strep is pretty much everywhere. It's considered normal skin flora on humans. It can be a bad actor in that it's one of the organisms responsible for necrotizing fasciitis, but it also causes milder diseases like strep throat and the skin infection you had.

There is a difference between sanitizing and sterilizing. You won't be able to sterilize your wetsuit; the best you can do is sanitize it with one of the methods mentioned above. What was your doctor's reason for telling you to sanitize your wetsuit before every dive? Do you have a condition that makes you more susceptible to infections?

Best regards,
DDM

 

[oakendal]

Hi! Thanks for the additional info. Group A beta hemolytic strep is pretty much everywhere. It's considered normal skin flora on humans. It can be a bad actor in that it's one of the organisms responsible for necrotizing fasciitis, but it also causes milder diseases like strep throat and the skin infection you had.

There is a difference between sanitizing and sterilizing. You won't be able to sterilize your wetsuit; the best you can do is sanitize it with one of the methods mentioned above. What was your doctor's reason for telling you to sanitize your wetsuit before every dive? Do you have a condition that makes you more susceptible to infections?

Best regards,
DDM

That’s reassuring to hear.

My doc said to sanitise it at the end of the day after the dives so that it can be as clean as possible for the next day. He’s not a dive doctor, so could be wrong / ineffective advice. That’s why I thought I should ask in here anyway.

Thanks

 

[oakendal]

Once I switched to free diving suits, I never looked back. Warmer, more comfortable, generally use higher quality neoprene than scuba suits, but prices are all over the map. I used them for 4 years while guiding dives daily in Hawaii.

For a lot of brands you can order the top and bottom in separate sizes or thicknesses depending on need. Most of them these days are open cell on the inside, so basically lined in tiny suction cups. Probably not what you want, but possibly easier to sanitize than a regular nylon-in suit, certainly easier than a fluffy inside suit. There are also coated open cell suits that have a layer of ceramic type material on the inside. That might be a decent in-between option. The coating does eventually wear off in high movement areas (armpits, elbows, back of the knee and neck). I'm currently using a suit from Waihanna that is ceramic coated.

I did find this one that is a smooth skin reversible one:Evolve Hybrid Reversible Wetsuit
Oceaner might do full custom suits that you could order smooth skin in and nylon out.
Long ago I had a JMJ custom suit that was skin in as well. Looking at their website now, I can't tell if they still do that or not.

You do need to lube these suits to get them on. That turns a lot of people off, but I find them way easier to get on than a standard scuba suit, and I'm generally faster even with needing to spray the inside.

You’re the best! Thanks for this well of information, definitely got some stuff to look into it seems.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

That’s reassuring to hear.

My doc said to sanitise it at the end of the day after the dives so that it can be as clean as possible for the next day. He’s not a dive doctor, so could be wrong / ineffective advice. That’s why I thought I should ask in here anyway.

Thanks

Thanks! I could see the rationale for sanitizing it daily if you're colonized with a virulent strain of group A strep and you're diving every day - the wetsuit could become a harbor for the bacteria. It doesn't grow particularly well in that environment from what I understand but I'm not a microbiologist so my knowledge is limited. You'd want to make sure that whatever agent you use isn't harmful to your skin. When used as directed I can't imagine that Milton's tablets would be. You would want to follow manufacturer's instructions for mixing so that they're effective.

Best regards,
DDM