Rinse Tanks/bacteria?

[Nursediver]

As a nurse, i received the H1N1 and flu vaccines and never got sick this season, even with sick patients with H1N1 and sick staff members by my side. We just returned from a dive vacation and both my husband and I were beginning to feel sick on the last day. Now we have full blown flu. Possible culprit?

Rinse tank bacterial contamination.

Every diver is rinsing their mark/snorkel and regulators in the same tank. After reading a thread on scuba board about divers getting conjunctivitis (pink eye), sometimes every single diver who used a given tank, caused me to research this topic.

Bacterial Contamination in Rinse Tanks

This is a good article that may get you thinking about using the fresh water shower at your resort or your liveaboard, or your room sink/shower to rinse gear you place in your mouth or near your face.

Something to think about.

 

[blue steal]

Good article Nursediver. I think I will start rinsing my mask, snorkel, Regulator/Oct/spg, back in my room or in the freshwater shower.

 

[Damselfish]

Not every diver - I never use communal rinse tanks for masks, regs, or snorkels. And I always have a bottle of drinking water on a day boat so I can use a squirt of that to rinse my mask too.

 

[sctom]

Thank you for the post Nursediver. Great info.

 

[scubafanatic]

I NEVER use a communal rinse tank for masks/regs.....I'll use the boat deck shower or bring a couple bottles of fresh water in my dive bag to rinse masks....I have had to use a communal rinse tank for wetsuits at the end of the day, or rinse off a BC at the end of a trip but of course, everything gets a proper cleaning/soaking/disinfecting once I'm safely home and can do a proper job of it.

 

[DeputyDan]

Was recently in Saba.

No rinse tanks - everything cleaned by water hose!

 

[fisheater]

Agreed.

I NEVER use communal rinse tanks. The mask tanks are ESPECIALLY suspicious. I don't see a need. I put the anti-fog on, jump in the ocean and then rinse my mask. Done.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Might these communal dunk tanks be a somewhat local custom? Or perhaps I've never seen it because I've only dove off small boats (as in, Capt, DM/Instructor/Guide and 4-5 divers). I rinse my mask in the ocean. The rest of my gear doesn't get rinsed till we're back on shore. Then it gets rinsed with a hose or in the shower.

It's also worth bearing in mind two things:
1 - Travel is inherently stressful to the body, which weakens your immune systems ability to fight off infection.
2 - Pathogens (both viral and bacterial) vary by locale. Just as one example, there are literally thousands of strains of the influenza virus. So even if you've developed an immunity to your local strains, the exposure to new varieties, coupled with the inherent stresses of travel, make you more likely to get sick while traveling.

 

[Stu S.]

This is in South Florida:

When we get back on the boat, a helper says "pass me your mask". He then sticks it in the "mask bucket" of warm water along with the mask of every other diver. What's the purpose of this? Would you want your toothbrush in there, too?

Same goes for rinse tanks getting off the boat. I'd like to remove salt from my regulator before a 3 hour ride home. A lady puts in her wetsuit and mysterious bubbles form on the surface of the water. I ask about it and she says "Oh, those are just the residuals". Does that mean urine?

Would you put such water in a cup and drink? No. My regulator does not go in it.

 

[DandyDon]

Agreed.

I NEVER use communal rinse tanks. The mask tanks are ESPECIALLY suspicious. I don't see a need. I put the anti-fog on, jump in the ocean and then rinse my mask. Done.

Yep! The problem tho, if you let sea water dry on your mask, regs, etc - it's like a thin layer of Portland cement; ocean water is very hard as well as salty. It's often a challenging call, depending on the boat setup and all...

1: Cameras: yeah I'll use a camera tank on a boat and try to help keep masks from going into it as some are not so careful, then soak it again in Reverse Osmosis water in my room later with a half-gallon, light weight plastic cooler I pack.

2: Masks: I never use the bucket before a dive, rinsing in the ocean like you, but after a dive - tempting. Later soak it in the room in the above cooler after the cameras with some alcohol added.

3: Regs: Too cumbersome to rinse separately, as much as I'd like to. Instead, soak mouthpiece in mouthwash.

4: Wetsuits: Often rinse them in the shower as I rinse myself but regardless of where I find best to rinse - spray with urine remover available for pet stains. :blush: