Diving with hangovers

[paddler3d]

Personally, the best tasting beer for me is the one I have after a day of diving. Then I have another one and another one

This is excerpted from the DAN member benefits. Check out Exclusions - Item #9.
9. a diving accident or Injury that occurs after drug or alcohol use unless such drug was prescribed by a Physician;

Just make sure you don't go diving the next day or so after you drink! It could be construed that you may not be covered by DAN if you have an accident!

 

[EGad]

When I was in the Air Force they said "12 hours bottle to throttle" and showing up still drunk or hungover to the point where it affected your abilities was a really good way to end up with "carpet time" otherwise known as standing tall before the Man. That said, I never had to touch the throttle, so a lot of people in my crew position pushed the limits as much as they felt they could get away with. 100% O2 works wonders, especially in less than 1 ATM. (My airframe had about a 300L LOX tank, and some of the guys would try to suck that dry on TDYs to Germany, UK, Vegas, pretty much any good party location.) That said, function is not 100% with a hangover.

In short, a couple beers after a day of diving and staying hydrated probably will be fine. If you're on a vacation and you have to tie one on, do it after the 3rd day when the nitrogen has built up and have an extended surface interval. So more the better if you can get a deco tank filled with pure O2 for that morning so you don't feel like microwaved death when you're out sightseeing. Most dive vacation locales have plenty to see above sea level, so you can still get your midweek drunk on, if you're so inclined. (I think I just talked myself into a thursday Cozumel bar crawl.)

Bottom line, use your head.

 

[ajduplessis]

Drink & Drive, Drink & Dive, Drink & Fly. I can mention a couple more. Just plain stupid. Hangovers, drugs and medicine clouds the mind. The most important tool during diving is the DC between your ears.

Divers tend to get comfortable, arrogant and complacent. These together with alcohol and drugs are the biggest contributor to diving accidents.

Dive the Jedi way.....clear the mind

 

[SkimFisher]

Sounds like a case of Natural Selection just waiting to happen....

 

[DennisS]

When I was in the Air Force they said "12 hours bottle to throttle" and showing up still drunk or hungover to the point where it affected your abilities was a really good way to end up with "carpet time" otherwise known as standing tall before the Man. That said, I never had to touch the throttle, so a lot of people in my crew position pushed the limits as much as they felt they could get away with. 100% O2 works wonders, especially in less than 1 ATM. (My airframe had about a 300L LOX tank, and some of the guys would try to suck that dry on TDYs to Germany, UK, Vegas, pretty much any good party location.) That said, function is not 100% with a hangover.

Bottom line, use your head.

I was a crew chief and remember those day, vaguely. I remember one morning after a long night. I went to the mess hall and had a couple of glasses of V8 for breakfast and then went to the plane. First thing I did was go on O2. I felt nauseaous and ended up puking in the wheel well. They saw the red fluid on a pre-flight and were ready to cancel the flight.

 

[Diver's D Lyte]

Diver's D\Lyte | Performance Hydration Drink for Scuba Divers

 

[black_sea]

Don't Drink and Dive.
Should be a sticky, if I may say so.

Significant evidence of increased risk of decompression sickness, aka the Bends, when dehydrated (aka hung-over)

if you dive drunk or hung-over, you have a higher chance of the bends.

sources:
Scottish Diving Medicine - Decompression Illness

The effects of alcohol on co-ordination, consciousness and mental reasoning are well documented and have obvious implications in the ability of a diver to carry out the tasks necessary for a safe dive. This reduction in ability also applies to a 'hangover'.

Alcohol will increase the chances of developing nitrogen narcosis due to the depressant effect on the central nervous system. As with any CNS condition, intoxication following a dive will potentially mask some of the symptoms.

Alcohol is also a powerful diuretic that will increase urine output and promote dehydration during diving - one of the risk factors in DCS.