Wet Suit? Dry Suit? Help I'm Allergic to Neoprene

[Azza]

Wet Suit? Dry Suit? Help I'm Allergic to Neoprene

Hi everyone,
I'm doing research because I'd like to get certified to dive. I just opened my first book & hit a my first snag. I was reading all about the equipment I'd need, when the book mentioned Wet Suits, Dry Suits and the like. All of which are mostly made of Neoprene. I'm highly allergic to the material. I cannot have it anywhere near my skin (I’ve tried having something cotton b/w me and the material too and that didn't work).

So... my question to all of you out there. Does anyone else have this problem? How did you solve it? Any Ideas?

Thanks!
AMG

I wish I was allergic to neoprene. Then I could convince the missus I really need that DUI trilam suit...

 

[joecad]

Wet Suit? Dry Suit? Help I'm Allergic to Neoprene

Hi everyone,
I'm doing research because I'd like to get certified to dive. I just opened my first book & hit a my first snag. I was reading all about the equipment I'd need, when the book mentioned Wet Suits, Dry Suits and the like. All of which are mostly made of Neoprene. I'm highly allergic to the material. I cannot have it anywhere near my skin (I’ve tried having something cotton b/w me and the material too and that didn't work).

So... my question to all of you out there. Does anyone else have this problem? How did you solve it? Any Ideas?

Thanks!
AMG

I have a military version of one of White's Drysuits, it's a trilam suit, w/ neoprene seals (latex is available as well). It's my cold water suit, but they also make tropical drysuits, check them out at:
http://www.whitesdiving.com/index.php?id=39&cid=47

 

[kidspot]

Summer Time in Hawaii a lycra suit may be enough - our water temps get into the mid 80's - right now it's the coldest time of year and water temps are 75-77 too cold for my skin, so I switched to a 3mil. Course it also depends on how many dives per day,etc.. Have fun though and I hope you find a good solution

Aloha, Tim

 

[tangfish]

Buy a trilaminate drysuit with latex seals. No neoprene involved....

You're in NY, so you wouldn't want a wetsuit anyhow.

I have the same problem as you and I have a MUCH worse reaction to latex than I do neoprene (which usually has a nylon outer-layer). You should find out if you are allergic to latex before you invest heavily in a drysuit. Another thing, if you are indeed allergic to latex, the more you are exposed to it over time, the worse your reactions will become. A good thing to do to test it out is to tape a piece of latex or neoprene to some part of your skin that you don't mind having react for a few hours or overnight and see what happens. This is a cheap test before you go and buy an expensive suit.

 

[todive4]

I used to have this cool tylos suit that was really stretchy and I dont think had neoprene, but I may be wrong. You might wanna look into it cuz it would be perfect for warm water diving since it insulates about as well as a regular 3 mm suit.

 

[Rice]

you might want to look into a polarfleece suit.
I have one and love it. It's as warm as a 3mil, and has no boyancy swing with depth as well as no boyancy. try it, for warm water, at least above 72 it's great!
rice

 

[Scuba_Kim]

Any idea for what to do about exposure protection for the head? My husband has a neoprene allergy and I'm trying to figure out how to keep his head warm. We'll be diving in water that is 45-65 degrees. Thanks for any suggestions you may have!