OP
erparamedic
Vampire Girl......er Dork
redrover:
I would think that there could be quite the difference.
Hot showers post dive= getting bent??
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I would think that there could be quite the difference.
SparticleBrane
Contributor
76 with a short and you'd be cold??? Geez...
OP
erparamedic
Vampire Girl......er Dork
SparticleBrane:
Yup.... I'm just cold-natured, I guess. I usually dive 72-85 degrees in a full 3 mil. That keeps me comfy. But 76 in a shorty, I'm guessing I might get chilled.
I dove 68 degrees the end of September in a 3 mil... and froze my arse off. 34 minutes was all I could handle of that dive. Was cold the rest of the day!
PairofMedics
Guest
You know, its a good question. I have to admit, I never even though of such a posibility. My husband and I went diving at the devils den in ocala and it was FREEZING! Its publisized that its 72F year round, but it had to be colder than that, not to mention the ambient air that day was freakishly cold, 40F. Since babysitters are hard to get, we went ahead with the dive but afterward I went into the blistering hot showers to get relief from the mind numbing cold. I am sure they wondered what happened to me, but figured it out when I came out of the showers glowing red. I haven't gone on a spring dive since, and probably won't again - in my personal opinion, it was boring compared to the ocean......Regardless, back on topic, we are also reserved for an epcot dive, please let us know how it goes!
H2Andy
Contributor
there has been some talk of the possibility that a hot shower can increase your risk of being bent ... but there's really no hard data on it
i know we've talked about this in the past, and the answer has been "no one really knows"
my "guess" is that if you take a short hot shower after a dive, you'll be ok (i certainly have never had any problems)
however, if you've pushed the dive in terms of nitrogen loading, fast ascent, etc., maybe a hot shower can be the last "straw" that breaks the camel's back
i know we've talked about this in the past, and the answer has been "no one really knows"
my "guess" is that if you take a short hot shower after a dive, you'll be ok (i certainly have never had any problems)
however, if you've pushed the dive in terms of nitrogen loading, fast ascent, etc., maybe a hot shower can be the last "straw" that breaks the camel's back
I agree with Andy regarding the camel's back way of looking at things.
Theoretically, like a can of coke releasing more boubles when warm.
However, knowing that your core temperature will most likely be at 98.6 F even though you feel cold from the environment, what are the chances of a warm shower raising your core to 102 F? And if it did, the difference would be 3 degrees F which equates to 2 degrees Kelvin, and less than 0.66% change in absolute temperature.
Considering the relationship of PV = nRT, one might argue that there might only then be a 0.66% change in the volume of nitrogen bubbles released?
I know this is not the correct relationship of nitrogen in solution in the tissue, but might be a theoretically close enough way of trying to quantify the risk?
Any other thoughts? I would be interested if anyone comes across literature / studies / findings on the topic. I am sure others would be too.
Theoretically, like a can of coke releasing more boubles when warm.
However, knowing that your core temperature will most likely be at 98.6 F even though you feel cold from the environment, what are the chances of a warm shower raising your core to 102 F? And if it did, the difference would be 3 degrees F which equates to 2 degrees Kelvin, and less than 0.66% change in absolute temperature.
Considering the relationship of PV = nRT, one might argue that there might only then be a 0.66% change in the volume of nitrogen bubbles released?
I know this is not the correct relationship of nitrogen in solution in the tissue, but might be a theoretically close enough way of trying to quantify the risk?
Any other thoughts? I would be interested if anyone comes across literature / studies / findings on the topic. I am sure others would be too.
"One study (mentioned, but not cited ) on one of the boards did indicate that Doppler-detectable gas bubbles
were released into the blood stream after rewarming, but that this did not provoke decompression
sickness. (Dr. Michael Powell, NASA physiologist, PhD)
Dr. Richard Vann, in the chapter on Mechanisms and Risks of Decompression in Bove's 'Diving Medicine",
p.156, under perfusion effects - describes warm water immersion increasing nitrogen elimination and
decreasing DCS from 90% to 20% in oxygen breathing before altitude decompression. Exercise reduced the
incidence from 63% to 0%. Cold water immersion caused an increased incidence of DCS. The question of
rewarming is entirely different and has different answers when immersing in hot/warm water for the treatment
of hypothermia. Fears of an afterdrop of the core temperature with arrhythmias has been uppermost.
However, Yancey Mebane, in Bove, Diving Medicine , p.211 states that recent studies show that the
hypothermic diver may not experience cooling of the heart when immersed limbs and all in a hot bath. DCS is
not mentioned as an increased risk.
In opposition to the above, heating of the skin is said to cause vasodilation of the skin vasculature with a
shift of blood from the muscles to the skin and a resultant decrease in nitrogen off-gassing (Michael
Powell, PhD - scuba boards, no references cited.
As a matter of fact - I have searched Medline in every way imaginable for references to support the assertion
one way or the other and can not find any support either way.
I may be wrong on this but I can not imagine not taking a warm shower after a cold dive. If heated water
were bad - we most likely would have seen a marked increase in DCS in cold water deep divers who use
heated water in their suits. I suspect that the truth lies somewhere in the middle - as is usually the case.
If any of you know of any studies that back up the assertion that hot tubs or hot showers increase the risks of
a decompression accident - please let me know. "Consensus" reports are good for guidelines - but still are
subjective educated conjecture if not backed up by good RCTs. ."
source = http://www.scuba-doc.com/apr3002.pdf
were released into the blood stream after rewarming, but that this did not provoke decompression
sickness. (Dr. Michael Powell, NASA physiologist, PhD)
Dr. Richard Vann, in the chapter on Mechanisms and Risks of Decompression in Bove's 'Diving Medicine",
p.156, under perfusion effects - describes warm water immersion increasing nitrogen elimination and
decreasing DCS from 90% to 20% in oxygen breathing before altitude decompression. Exercise reduced the
incidence from 63% to 0%. Cold water immersion caused an increased incidence of DCS. The question of
rewarming is entirely different and has different answers when immersing in hot/warm water for the treatment
of hypothermia. Fears of an afterdrop of the core temperature with arrhythmias has been uppermost.
However, Yancey Mebane, in Bove, Diving Medicine , p.211 states that recent studies show that the
hypothermic diver may not experience cooling of the heart when immersed limbs and all in a hot bath. DCS is
not mentioned as an increased risk.
In opposition to the above, heating of the skin is said to cause vasodilation of the skin vasculature with a
shift of blood from the muscles to the skin and a resultant decrease in nitrogen off-gassing (Michael
Powell, PhD - scuba boards, no references cited.
As a matter of fact - I have searched Medline in every way imaginable for references to support the assertion
one way or the other and can not find any support either way.
I may be wrong on this but I can not imagine not taking a warm shower after a cold dive. If heated water
were bad - we most likely would have seen a marked increase in DCS in cold water deep divers who use
heated water in their suits. I suspect that the truth lies somewhere in the middle - as is usually the case.
If any of you know of any studies that back up the assertion that hot tubs or hot showers increase the risks of
a decompression accident - please let me know. "Consensus" reports are good for guidelines - but still are
subjective educated conjecture if not backed up by good RCTs. ."
source = http://www.scuba-doc.com/apr3002.pdf
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