Vomiting during a dive

[Spray25]

Has anyone ever vomited at depth? I have been experiencing vertigo at depth and wonder what happens if I vomit. What are the effects on your regulator? Does it continue to function.

 

[JamesK]

It will still work fine. just make sure you keep the regulator in your mouth. hold it in if needed.

 

[brendanrtw]

If you ever do vomit underwater, just sit back and watch the show. The feeding frenzy can be impressive!!

:yummy:

 

[g2]

Food poisoning hit me while on a dive in Thailand. Vomited so much that the exhaust valve in the second stage finally clogged up, so I switched to the octo.

Actually, if you're warm, comfortable, and neutrally bouyant it can be better (well, not as bad) than vomiting above water. No smell, no mess, no groaning noises... just swim away. And the fish do love it!

 

[beaker]

If you're gonna vomit, vomit through your backup...

 

[Piscean]

Anyone who is ill enough to be vomitting at depth due to foodpoisoning or something is probably so dehydrated, that he or she should be more worried about getting DCS if they go anywhere near the no deco limits, so if you are that ill, think really carefully about whether you should be diving at all and think water, water, water.

Having said that, I have vomitted a mouthful once due to seasickness and that was no problem. I just forgot to take a breath before removing my reg to rinse it - oops!! Everything was OK in the end though.

Piscean.

 

[Spray25]

Originally posted by Piscean
Anyone who is ill enough to be vomitting at depth due to foodpoisoning or something is probably so dehydrated, that he or she should be more worried about getting DCS if they go anywhere near the no deco limits, so if you are that ill, think really carefully about whether you should be diving at all and think water, water, water.

Having said that, I have vomitted a mouthful once due to seasickness and that was no problem. I just forgot to take a breath before removing my reg to rinse it - oops!! Everything was OK in the end though.

Piscean.

I have not vomited before, but I have been having issues with virtigo that I am trying to correct. In the mean time I wanted to know what would happen if I should happen to vomit.

 

[boydski]

I've actually feed the fish several times. I have a tendency to swallow air while at depth, which then "unswallows" as I ascend. Holding on to your regulator so your gag reflex doesn't accidently spit the reg out seems to work pretty well.

Once your reflexes subside, I find switching to my Octo for a minute allows me to rinse any remaining chuncks out of my primary. It may be psychological, but it seems cleaner after rinsing.

The fish do seem to get very friendly!

 

[g2]

Originally posted by Piscean
Anyone who is ill enough to be vomitting at depth due to foodpoisoning or something is probably so dehydrated, that he or she should be more worried about getting DCS if they go anywhere near the no deco limits...

As Boydski mentioned, pressure changes can affect your body in strange ways. In my case, I was kind of queasy before the dive but attributed it to seasickness. The pressure of 60ft triggered it all. Afterwards -- when I had also fouled the octo -- I knew there was something seriously wrong and stopped diving...

...and medevac'd myself to Singapore.

g2

 

[g2]

Originally posted by Spray25

I have not vomited before, but I have been having issues with virtigo that I am trying to correct. In the mean time I wanted to know what would happen if I should happen to vomit.

If you haven't taken apart a regulator second stage, have someone show you: the vomit simply passes through the exhaust-T. Keep the regulator in your mouth and breathe normally. Food can get stuck in the exhaust valve, which may make the regulator "breathe wet", but you should be able to just rinse (or scoop) it out after the dive. If it gets clogged severely, switch to your octo.

No worries!