Alcohol and diving

[Diver0001]

Well.... to answer the question what alcohol does to the body, I'm not sure how it works for other people but I can't drink alcohol at all... I don't know what happened but somewhere along the line drinking alcohol started giving me a heart arrhythmia. These days if I drink even a small amount of alcohol my body protests wildly, so it's mint tea for me.

R..

 

[Centrals]

Very informative.

I probably should clarify that The drinking happens after the last dive. And it would only be a couple. Not enough to get drunk.

The only drink that I will take after diving is WATER. It will be at least couple of hrs later then I will accept a BEER.

 

[macado]

What does drinking alcohol after diving do to the body? What dangers are there?

People will disagree with me but I don't see a problem with drinking a few beers AFTER diving. Albeit after a short delay to make sure I am not showing any signs of DCS if I have done a lot of diving or aggressive profiles.

The big risk here is dehydration. I use common sense and I take steps and make sure I also drink lots water and don't overdo it on my alcohol consumption. I don't do mixed drinks or hard alcohol but I find 3 beers or so along with water is fine. Go to bed earlier, drink water before bed and in the morning before diving.

Being sick/hungover on a boat is NEVER fun. Been there, done that. I was young and stupid, slightly older but also slightly less stupid now.

In short, don't stress over 2-3 beers. Call it is an early night and drink plenty of water. If you can't limit yourself, don't drink at all.

 

[Scuba-Blue-13]

I'm probably still too new to have much of an opinion or insight, to diving anyway - I've got lots of experience with alcohol.

I will say though that I noticed that the effects of Jamaica's rum punch showed up much faster after a couple of dives than usual this year. Definitely resulted in drinking a lot fewer on this last vacation than any other previous.

 

[Lorenzoid]

That first beer after a day of diving seems so refreshing because you're dehydrated. My guess would be that any exaggerated effects of alcohol after diving are due to dehydration and/or low blood sugar. Eat something and drink some water, then enjoy a beer.