The eternal question of wetsuit urination
If it hasn’t happened to you already, it will. You descend to 15 feet, and you’ll feel the sudden urge. You can’t hold it. And there’s no way you can get to a bathroom without spoiling the whole dive. So you consider – if I’m in the water, my urine will just dissipate and dissolve and disappear. Is it OK to whiz in the wetsuit?
The simple answer is “yes”. Take a leak.
The truth is, there is no health risk to watering the neoprene. Many people do not realize that urine – unlike feces - is sterile, unless you have a urinary tract infection. It contains a lot of dissolved bodily waste (mainly nitrates), but poses no health risk to you. The only symptom of wetsuit whizzing is temporary warmth in your vicinity. But beware, if your urine is dark (a sign that it is probably strongly odorous as well), you might get a reaction from other divers, especially if they happen to swim through your “yellowish cloud of warmth.”
As a frequent diver, your best strategy for dealing with this common situation is counterintuitive: drink more water. A hydrated diver can urinate in their wetsuit and their urine will not be dark or smelly. You have surely noticed the difference between your morning pee and your pee after (or during) a long night of drinking. Dehydration is very common, yet minimal dehydration is tolerated and goes unnoticed by most people because of the symptoms are fairly mild. If you are properly hydrated, your urine is clear and odorless. A practical diver should drink plenty of fluids the night before and the morning of a dive, to ensure adequate hydration.
You may hear divers joke about “warming the wetsuit”. The warmth offered by wetsuit irrigation is comfortable, but temporary. Yes, when you pee you will feel warm initially, but in the end it will actually lower your overall body temperature.
You might notice that even though you relieved yourself before the dive, you need to go again when you get down to 20 feet. Why do you need to pee again? You may be experiencing a phenomenon called immersion duiresis: as a response to an increase in pressure, your body feels compressed and your kidneys start to produce urine.
Since you already rinse your wetsuit after each dive, you don’t need to be concerned about odor from your underwater urine. An unrinsed wetsuit develops its lovely stink from algae and crud in the water, not from your urine. Tinkle away!
Tampilkan postingan dengan label scuba vacations. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label scuba vacations. Tampilkan semua postingan
Since the early 20th century, SCUBA diving has gone from an incredibly risky undertaking well out of reach for all but the fabulously wealthy to a relatively safe sport with a rapidly growing participant community.
SCUBA stands for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, so named for the tanks and other gear which divers carry on their backs allowing them to breathe underwater. Although this gear termed “life-support equipment” and a commitment of real training is necessary in order to become safe and proficient enough with it to dive even in a small lake or quarry, technological advancements and improvements in science and engineering have enabled longer times underwater, deeper dives, and reduced danger in this exhilarating activity enjoyed by athletes and nature lovers.
Having originally been popularized by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan, who built the Aqualung (a name still used in Britain to describe Scuba equipment today), Scuba is now enjoyed by millions of people worldwide ranging from locations as temperate tropical waters to under-ice sub-arctic diving for scientific purposes or by adventure seekers.
Many people are unaware of the length of time necessary to attain Scuba proficiency and certification – in the United States, the two major certification bodies are National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) and Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI). Depending on the course, new divers can get certified in as little as three to four days of actual instruction – since the courses are based on performance standards and not on hours of instruction, this number can be higher or lower. Also, if a diver wishes to do more technical and dangerous dives or to use more advanced equipment, more training would be necessary in order to ensure safety.
Anyone who enjoys vacations to tropical areas or who appreciates nature and enjoys the water can now consider Scuba diving, thanks to the advances mentioned in science and engineering, as well as the establishment of standardized certification and training programs worldwide. If you’ve never considered it, much more information is available online to help you decide if Scuba makes sense for you.
SCUBA stands for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, so named for the tanks and other gear which divers carry on their backs allowing them to breathe underwater. Although this gear termed “life-support equipment” and a commitment of real training is necessary in order to become safe and proficient enough with it to dive even in a small lake or quarry, technological advancements and improvements in science and engineering have enabled longer times underwater, deeper dives, and reduced danger in this exhilarating activity enjoyed by athletes and nature lovers.
Having originally been popularized by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan, who built the Aqualung (a name still used in Britain to describe Scuba equipment today), Scuba is now enjoyed by millions of people worldwide ranging from locations as temperate tropical waters to under-ice sub-arctic diving for scientific purposes or by adventure seekers.
Many people are unaware of the length of time necessary to attain Scuba proficiency and certification – in the United States, the two major certification bodies are National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) and Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI). Depending on the course, new divers can get certified in as little as three to four days of actual instruction – since the courses are based on performance standards and not on hours of instruction, this number can be higher or lower. Also, if a diver wishes to do more technical and dangerous dives or to use more advanced equipment, more training would be necessary in order to ensure safety.
Anyone who enjoys vacations to tropical areas or who appreciates nature and enjoys the water can now consider Scuba diving, thanks to the advances mentioned in science and engineering, as well as the establishment of standardized certification and training programs worldwide. If you’ve never considered it, much more information is available online to help you decide if Scuba makes sense for you.
Don’t leave the dock without it
When you pack your gear bag, your checklist probably includes the usual gear and emergency equipment, mask, fins, regulator and one of those kits with a few extra o-rings, neoprene patches and regulator mouthpieces. Here are a few extra things that you can throw into your gear bag that will make your dive more comfortable, confident, and safe.
Citrus beverages
When I surface, the first thing I want to do is get the taste of ocean out of my mouth. As much as I appreciate the smell of the sea and the salty air, I’m not so enthusiastic about having it on my tongue. Water is refreshing, but I find that I can drink a few liters of bottled water and still taste the remnants of the sea in my mouth.
After experimenting with dozens of beverage candidates, I find that Five Alive is hands-down the best cure for oceanmouth. Other citrus juices are good, but none are quite as effective as Five Alive. The better ones were those that contain acidic juices like pineapple and grapefruit.
The juice serves another purpose: rehydration. It seems counterintuitive that spending an hour submerged in water can cause dehydration, but it’s true. The air in your tanks is very dry – necessarily so, since moisture in a tank will rust it from the inside. Just breathing in that dry air for an hour will silently dehydrate you. Drink something when you get back to the boat and you can avoid the symptoms of dehydration such as headache, nausea and dizziness.
Long-sleeved rashgard or cotton shirt
Did you know that the chemicals in sunscreen are poisonous to reef-dwelling marine life? You need to protect your skin from the harmful effects of UV radiation, but you don’t want to slather on the SPF lotion before your dive. Cover up the old fashioned way with a cotton shirt or a long-sleeved rashguard.
Laminated Dive Table Chart
Are you dependent on your computer? Go back and review your certification training and learn how to calculate your residual nitrogen using tables. Computers are great tools, but it behooves every diver to remember how to manage their nitrogen levels without gadgetry.
A “dry bag”
A dry bag needn’t be anything fancy – inexpensive bags with resealable flaps are available at most camping or marine supply stores. They don’t need to be watertight to 100 ft – since you leave them on the boat in your gear bag. My favorite is a bright yellow, rubber bag with a top that folds over three times and tucks into itself for an easy watertight seal. Many divers on a budget will use a variety of disposable resealable freezer bags.
In my dry bag, I keep:
• Tissues – a necessity. After purging my mask a few times, my sinuses get rebellious.
• Cotton Swabs – some gentle attention to get the water out of my ears.
• A photocopy of my identification & passport – just in case
• Band-aids – because I stub my toes on boats
• Everything that was in my pockets – Before donning my wetsuit, my dry bag (by virtue of its sealability) is a good place to keep a cell phone, camera, wallet, jewelry, car keys, etc.
Tell someone where you are going and who you’re with.
Make this a habit, so you don’t need to be concerned when an emergency arises.
First, make sure the dive operator knows who you are, where you are staying, and who to contact in case of an emergency. If you are injured during a dive, the dive operators might whisk you directly to the nearest hospital, medical clinic or decompression chamber. If the medical staff can’t determine your identity, it can complicate your medical attention.
Second, tell someone who isn’t diving with you where you are going. That could be others in your party, the hotel concierge, or a phone call to a relative back home. Tell them the name of the dive shop, your destination, the departure time and estimated return time for your dive excursion. If you know it, include the names of the boat, its captain, and divemaster. If you are traveling alone or diving in a group, write the information down and leave it with the hotel office. If your hotel is near a popular diving spot, they will be used to that sort of thing.
When you pack your gear bag, your checklist probably includes the usual gear and emergency equipment, mask, fins, regulator and one of those kits with a few extra o-rings, neoprene patches and regulator mouthpieces. Here are a few extra things that you can throw into your gear bag that will make your dive more comfortable, confident, and safe.
Citrus beverages
When I surface, the first thing I want to do is get the taste of ocean out of my mouth. As much as I appreciate the smell of the sea and the salty air, I’m not so enthusiastic about having it on my tongue. Water is refreshing, but I find that I can drink a few liters of bottled water and still taste the remnants of the sea in my mouth.
After experimenting with dozens of beverage candidates, I find that Five Alive is hands-down the best cure for oceanmouth. Other citrus juices are good, but none are quite as effective as Five Alive. The better ones were those that contain acidic juices like pineapple and grapefruit.
The juice serves another purpose: rehydration. It seems counterintuitive that spending an hour submerged in water can cause dehydration, but it’s true. The air in your tanks is very dry – necessarily so, since moisture in a tank will rust it from the inside. Just breathing in that dry air for an hour will silently dehydrate you. Drink something when you get back to the boat and you can avoid the symptoms of dehydration such as headache, nausea and dizziness.
Long-sleeved rashgard or cotton shirt
Did you know that the chemicals in sunscreen are poisonous to reef-dwelling marine life? You need to protect your skin from the harmful effects of UV radiation, but you don’t want to slather on the SPF lotion before your dive. Cover up the old fashioned way with a cotton shirt or a long-sleeved rashguard.
Laminated Dive Table Chart
Are you dependent on your computer? Go back and review your certification training and learn how to calculate your residual nitrogen using tables. Computers are great tools, but it behooves every diver to remember how to manage their nitrogen levels without gadgetry.
A “dry bag”
A dry bag needn’t be anything fancy – inexpensive bags with resealable flaps are available at most camping or marine supply stores. They don’t need to be watertight to 100 ft – since you leave them on the boat in your gear bag. My favorite is a bright yellow, rubber bag with a top that folds over three times and tucks into itself for an easy watertight seal. Many divers on a budget will use a variety of disposable resealable freezer bags.
In my dry bag, I keep:
• Tissues – a necessity. After purging my mask a few times, my sinuses get rebellious.
• Cotton Swabs – some gentle attention to get the water out of my ears.
• A photocopy of my identification & passport – just in case
• Band-aids – because I stub my toes on boats
• Everything that was in my pockets – Before donning my wetsuit, my dry bag (by virtue of its sealability) is a good place to keep a cell phone, camera, wallet, jewelry, car keys, etc.
Tell someone where you are going and who you’re with.
Make this a habit, so you don’t need to be concerned when an emergency arises.
First, make sure the dive operator knows who you are, where you are staying, and who to contact in case of an emergency. If you are injured during a dive, the dive operators might whisk you directly to the nearest hospital, medical clinic or decompression chamber. If the medical staff can’t determine your identity, it can complicate your medical attention.
Second, tell someone who isn’t diving with you where you are going. That could be others in your party, the hotel concierge, or a phone call to a relative back home. Tell them the name of the dive shop, your destination, the departure time and estimated return time for your dive excursion. If you know it, include the names of the boat, its captain, and divemaster. If you are traveling alone or diving in a group, write the information down and leave it with the hotel office. If your hotel is near a popular diving spot, they will be used to that sort of thing.
While the mention of scuba diving generally brings to mind the image of some exotic tropical dive locale, the United Kingdom has a number of exciting dive spots just waiting to be explored by divers like you. If you have no issues with cold water diving, the following destinations will leave you breathless. Or something like that…
One of the best dive sites in the U.K. is located in Scotland, in the Sound of Mull. The Sound of Mull is located between the Isle of Mull and the Morven Peninsula. It is an extremely popular destination for U.K. divers because it offers an unparalleled range of diving in very reasonable conditions. The area is cursed with bad weather, which has resulted in countless shipwrecks over the years. Most dives in the area are launched from Tobermory, Lochaline, or Oban. The Hispania is, by far, one of the most popular wrecks in the area, due to the fact that it is still relatively intact and awash in marine life. It is shallow enough to get a good long dive, and visibility is generally very good.
Another phenomenal dive spot is located on the south coast of England, in the waters of Sussex. The Alaunia, a steamship sunk by a German mine in 1916, is one of the more popular diving destinations on the south coast. Although the wreck is considerably broken up, there are still significant parts of the ship left intact. Be on the lookout for a series of portholes to help navigate the site. If you can manage to find the bridge area, you will undoubtedly be pleased to find the anchor still hanging from its chain. The size of the wreck is overwhelming to some degree, and it would take a few separate dives to explore the entire ship. Shoals of bib, spider crabs, and massive lobsters are sure to keep you entertained. See if you can spot a dead man's fingers while you are down there.
Another extremely popular dive is located near Plymouth, where the wreck of the steamship Maine found its final resting place. It can be found approximately a mile off Bolt Head. It was highly noticeable for a number of years, as the masts of the ship broke the surface of the water. The wreck has since been cleared of its mast, with most of the debris swept to its port side. It rests in water that is approximately 30 meters deep. The ship was torpedoed in March of 1917 and, after a noble rescue effort, came to rest in waters within easy reach from Salcombe. While this would be an amazing exploration for any diver, it is not recommended for novice divers due to the strong current. There is a good representation of undersea life, and this destination is sure please anyone who visits.
One of the best dive sites in the U.K. is located in Scotland, in the Sound of Mull. The Sound of Mull is located between the Isle of Mull and the Morven Peninsula. It is an extremely popular destination for U.K. divers because it offers an unparalleled range of diving in very reasonable conditions. The area is cursed with bad weather, which has resulted in countless shipwrecks over the years. Most dives in the area are launched from Tobermory, Lochaline, or Oban. The Hispania is, by far, one of the most popular wrecks in the area, due to the fact that it is still relatively intact and awash in marine life. It is shallow enough to get a good long dive, and visibility is generally very good.
Another phenomenal dive spot is located on the south coast of England, in the waters of Sussex. The Alaunia, a steamship sunk by a German mine in 1916, is one of the more popular diving destinations on the south coast. Although the wreck is considerably broken up, there are still significant parts of the ship left intact. Be on the lookout for a series of portholes to help navigate the site. If you can manage to find the bridge area, you will undoubtedly be pleased to find the anchor still hanging from its chain. The size of the wreck is overwhelming to some degree, and it would take a few separate dives to explore the entire ship. Shoals of bib, spider crabs, and massive lobsters are sure to keep you entertained. See if you can spot a dead man's fingers while you are down there.
Another extremely popular dive is located near Plymouth, where the wreck of the steamship Maine found its final resting place. It can be found approximately a mile off Bolt Head. It was highly noticeable for a number of years, as the masts of the ship broke the surface of the water. The wreck has since been cleared of its mast, with most of the debris swept to its port side. It rests in water that is approximately 30 meters deep. The ship was torpedoed in March of 1917 and, after a noble rescue effort, came to rest in waters within easy reach from Salcombe. While this would be an amazing exploration for any diver, it is not recommended for novice divers due to the strong current. There is a good representation of undersea life, and this destination is sure please anyone who visits.
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