when you got to go

[hockeyman]

hi i was wondering im about to buy a wetsuit for the first time can you please tell me about what happens if you have to go out the front during a dive like if you can feel a heat difffrence and also if when you have a thicker wetsuit does it change what will happen when you pee and also when you get a semidry will it go out of the wetsuit or stay inside



thanks alot

 

[mikerault]

Some will always stay behind. Look up the process of charging a wetsuit with warm water before a cold dive...peeing in it is the same only you can do it during the dive...a semi-dry reduces water movement...hence it will probably retain more pee as well...

 

[JcoldwaterIL]

When wearing a wetsuit to keep yoruself warm, you need to limit the waterflow within the suit. Although you can pee in a wetsuit you need to flush it out with water if you want to avoid sitting in pee. So you have 4 choices for under water urination.

#1. Swim around in your pee

#2. pee in the suit then flush it out with the cold water reducing the effectiveness of the suit to keep yoruself warm

#3. Don't pee in your wetsuit

#4 Buy a drysuit with a pee valve

 

[spectrum]

hi i was wondering im about to buy a wetsuit for the first time can you please tell me about what happens if you have to go out the front during a dive like if you can feel a heat difffrence?

If you feel the need then you pee in your wetsuit. If the end of the dive is in sight and you feel you can get out and to a "facility" in time then you can try to hold it. Otherwise it's no reason to be uncomfortable or stressed. Proper hydration and 'immersion diuresis make it almost inevitable for a well hydrated wet suit diver in all but the warmest water.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=27516&postcount=5

If it's near the end of the dive and you really have to go then do it while in the water. You will have a better chance of some flushing and it beats doing it while standing in the parking lot or on the boat. Have a few bottles of water to rinse your torso once you doff your suit. It's all very normal and manageable. If you are well hydrated (fairly clear running urine) the odor will be minimal. A few of those baby butt wipes will negate an residual scent and have you in fine shape for chow with the gang.

When you do pee you will feel the warmth and if you are on the cool side it will be a welcome sensation. The downside is that you have dumped valuable BTUs from the core of your body so it's a fleeting pleasure.

and also if when you have a thicker wetsuit does it change what will happen when you pee

Any wetsuit is impermeable and at the same pressure as the water surrounding you. The sensation of warmth may last a bit longer but that's about it. The thicker wetsuit may be enough to keep you warmer and reduce the likelihood of needing to urinate.

and also when you get a semidry will it go out of the wetsuit or stay inside

If you are in a semidry then by definition flushing is zero to nearly zero so you will marinade in your urine. Still not taboo but cleansing yourself and the suit will be more important and involved. You are getting into pee valve territory here. By the same token the reduced effects of imersion and cold should make the need less likely.

Whatever you do don't let any of this disuade you from adequate pre and post dive hydration. You don't need to drink prodigous amounts of water but read up on the subject and be informed. A search will net you plenty.

Pete

 

[CompuDude]

When you do pee you will feel the warmth and if you are on the cool side it will be a welcome sensation. The downside is that you have dumped valuable BTUs from the core of your body so it's a fleeting pleasure.

Small modification of this point (the rest I agree with):

Winter outdoorsman have learned that peeing actually helps keep you warm.

That fluid does not keep itself warm when the body is surrounded by cool/cold ambient temps... the body burns energy keeping it warm. The less fluid sitting in your bladder soaking up heat, the better.

This is tempered by a different situation underwater, however, unless you like to wet your pants while snow camping. LOL

I read a medical article re this underwater that showed while that fleeting warmth is nice, in the long run it actually makes you a bit colder, so temp should have nothing to do with the decision to cut loose or not. The warmth causes the capillaries in the skin to open up, so as soon as it gets cold again (seconds later) you are hemorrhaging heat until the capillaries close back down. I suspect between the two phenomenons it's something of a draw, from a warmth standpoint. So an empty bladder is best, but there is a drawback where wetsuits and underwater is concerned.

And if you're the type who is ok with just going for it, I'd avoid semi-dry wetsuits like the plague.