Do Not Pee In Wetsuits
Advice and request from a working divemaster.
Here are the reasons why I do not, and will never pee in a wetsuit during a recreational dive. And would ask that you don't either.
#1 It's gross
#2 I dont want to touch your piss.
#3 I'm Cold / DCS
#4 Sharks!!!
I used to pee in my wetsuit, and I loved reciting to people that scoffed at it, the old adage that "there are two kinds of divers....". I've since found that this is simply not true. There is a third type of diver, myself included, that are pretty adamant about not doing it.
Reason #1: It's gross
When I began working as a professional divemaster I was still peeing in my wetsuit. I was told by a couple of my co-workers that had been in the industry for years that I shouldn't. The first was my capt. Bob, and he put it very nicely. If I worked in an office, I would have a work suit. Probably Armani. Why would I want to piss in my Armani. I wouldn't.
Outside of popular belief, you can smell urine when you come back on the boat, it does not all flush out. Wetsuits are designed to keep water in. If you are diving a semi-dry, a thicker mil, or a properly fitted suit, this particularly applies to you. When you come back on the boat we can all smell you. Once I went into the classroom at our dive shop after a day of diving, and there were a couple of divers from that morning in there. Needless to say I felt very sorry for the instructor and other students that had to be confined to such close quarters with someone who obviously had a very well-fitting suit.
Reason #2: I don't want to touch you piss.
As a working divemaster I do have to touch your wetsuit after you piss in it. At our shop we wash people's gear for them, which I never mind doing, granted they haven't pissed in their wetsuits. If it's a rental then I definitely have to touch them. All piss is not sterile, as the movie Dodgeball so eloquently pointed out. Diseases can be transmitted through urine. Almost all diseases can be transmitted through blood, which can be found in trace amounts in urine much more often than people realize. At the end of the day all those wetsuits get rinsed together and thus contaminate all the others. Even though we use a disinfecting solution, nothing short of laboratory sterile procedures will rid a wetsuit of all contaminates. Please remember your divemaster when you piss in that rental wetsuit and then hand it to him/her with one leg inside out and the other right side in, so they have to go reaching through the leg/crotchal region of the wetsuit to right it before hanging up. Not to mention thinking about the next person that will be wearing that suit. I would love as a divemaster, for us to break down this stigma in the industry that it is OK to pee in rental wetsuits, just because they are not your own. If you dont do it in your own suit, don't do it in mine. And if you do do it in your own suit, still don't do it in one someone else has to wear too.
Reason #3: I'm Cold/DSC
A couple of reasons many people cite as why they pee in their wetsuits is that (1) they are cold and it warms them up, and (2) They are so hydrated from trying to avoid DCS they can't hold it any longer. I have a gripe about this (as you can probably imagine by now). By pissing in your wetsuits you release a large amount of your personal body heat via your urethra into the surrounding water. Sure it feels good on your skin for a moment, but don't you think it would do a lot more for your core body temperature staying inside of you. I do. Another affect any warmth (above 90 degrees) be it water, air or your piss has on the body is that it dilates both pores and blood vessels. The is a physiological reaction your body creates to cool you off when your too hot. You are creating a body reaction that is designed to help you lose heat, not retain it. By peeing in your wetsuit or putting hot shower water in your wetsuit before a dive, you are actually doing the opposite of what your intent is. In conjunction we all know being cold increases your chances of DCS, so I won't get into details of that here.
Reason #4: Sharks!!!
Ok, don't get me wrong... I love sharks as much as the next guy. Everybody loves a shark. And im not trying to promote any kind of fear mongering, or anything like that. But... there are many articles, experiences and facts out there, that point to the possibility that maybe mammalian urine attracts sharks. And could possibly maybe even incite mistaken attacks. I know this comment is going to open a whole can of worms with people saying "I've been pissing in my wetsuit for years and a hardly ever see sharks! Shouldn't i have them following me around everywhere I dive?" The answer to this is NO. I'm not saying that if you piss in the water you'll immediately be attacked, or even see one. But the fact remains that sharks have an olfactory sense that remains one of the most advanced ever to be in existence. If they can pick up a few drops of blood, they most certainly can smell the few cups of urine you or a seal might squeeze out during a dive. I've seen oceanic white tips go ape for a few whiffs of some pilot whale poo. I do a dive called a blackwater night dive on a very regular basis. This is easily the scariest (and absolutely coolest) dive I have ever done. It essentially involves doing an open ocean drift dive in the middle of the night miles away from shore over about 8000 ft of water. I once pissed on that dive and was chased from the water by 3 oceanics. Until it is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that urine doesn't attract sharks, I will never ever again piss on that dive ever.
With all this said, I should say That I piss on almost every dive I do. I however wear the only wetsuit i think suitable for pissing in. A 3mm Vest. Once there's neoprene covering my legs I will no longer pee during a dive. Some simple ways of making things easier on yourself. I would never tell a diver not to properly hydrate, but do it wisely. Hydrate well before the dive so you will have to urinate prior to getting into your wetsuit. Then just before the dive feel free to again have a drink. Just know that that drink you just took will be waiting to find it's release in about an hour. Generally a perfect amount of time to get out of your wetsuit before going. If you need a little help getting things flowing before the dive, often times just jumping in the water will cause a sudden urge to go, granted you're diving somewhere where you can get in the water without a wetsuit. If you feel as though maybe you're holding up the group's diving by doing this first, I assure you your divemaster will more than be grateful that you are not peeing in the rental wetsuit he has to wash later, and that you may have inadvertently reminded some others in the group that they could go before donning their suits.
With all this said, there are of course exceptions to everything. Whether you choose to pee or not pee in your own wetsuit is entirely up to you. But I hope to have shed a little light on what others around you may be thinking. And I hope I've spoken for all the divemasters out there that are worried about being "rude" or "inappropriate" when asking people not to piss in rental wetsuits.
Thanks for the time.
-Joshua
