To Puke in a Regulator or not to puke in a regulator....That is the question

[Red fins]

what an interesting thread!!!!

ive never had that experence before but as a new diver its good to know.
thanks for the helpfull tips

 

[TracyN]

Of underwater creatures, not people on board getting seasick, right?

LOL! The fish were pretty, the people were not. Hahaha!

 

[Xaryo]

Just make sure you don't eat celery before diving. A reg won't like it if you must be sick.

 

[Garrobo]

Yeah, go ahead and puke, the fish love it.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

There is no teacher like experience. Your post will let others know a technique that worked for you. Thanks for sharing it on scuba board. As an FYI for Gulf and Caribbean divers, the conditions you describe are fairly common in Hawaii, especially from December through April, as the prevailing trade winds come through. We dive anyway, up to a point. Calm seas are better, but when you've gotta dive, and the captain is willing to go, well, then we dive.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Akimbo]

Here is another thread on this subject that may be useful: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/383862-vomiting-underwater.html

Here are my thoughts:

A friend of mine is skipper on a charter boat in Monterey. About 10 years ago at Erick’s Pinnacle he had a diver that puked in his regulator at around 40’. He aspirated some chucks which blocked his airway. As described to me, the diver was aware of his situation and had to make the conscious decision to embolize himself.

Fortunately, he surfaced next to be boat and they got oxygen in him. They got him in the shore based chamber in Pacific Grove and saved his life.

This is one of those situations where you must choose the situation that sucks the least. My take is to remove the second stage with a finger poised on the purge. Position yourself face-down, puke, and shove the mouthpiece in with purge depresses. Obviously, if you get a little warning, head to the surface. Screw safety and decompression stops. My priority is avoid drowning, embolism, and the bends – in that order.

 

[TSandM]

I don't think I would blow off deco stops to get to the surface to puke. I think I'd use the OP's technique, which depends on a diver being pretty comfortable without a regulator in their mouth, and also having a reasonable degree of control of the glottis.

 

[Akimbo]

I don't think I would blow off deco stops to get to the surface to puke. I think I'd use the OP's technique, which depends on a diver being pretty comfortable without a regulator in their mouth, and also having a reasonable degree of control of the glottis.

Fair enough. I might blow off a 10 minute stop at 10' and definitely think hard about skipping 20 minutes worth of stops. The equation also changes if the nearest chamber is 20 minutes or 48 hours away.

It can also depend on your experience with sea sickness — if you are one of those lucky enough to puke once and all is well verses constant dry heaving long after the stomach is empty. Another consideration is aspirating high-acid stomach fluids entirely free of solids can also cause immediate and severe respiratory responses. You really want to make an effort to purge the regulator before inhaling even if your bet is on leaving it in your mouth.

This brings up a related thought. My unscientific observations are that most divers puke on the first or second dive of the day, after a sloppy boat ride exacerbated by Diesel fumes and breakfast at the greasy-spoon on the wharf. The major safety issues with barfing in your regulator are the chunks — both aspirating and interfering the mechanical function of the second stage. The questions are:

1. Is a high-nutrition liquid-based breakfast worth considering?
2. Is it reasonable to assume that the particulate matter in the stomach would be sufficiently diminished by breakfast?
3. Are there reasons beyond culinary satisfaction that a liquid breakfast would be imprudent?

Of course there are many causes of vomiting other than sea sickness and stomach contents. Unpleasant as this may be, it is important to consider. I encourage everyone to recall your worst experiences driving the Porcelain Buss and imagine that at 60'. As always, the prudent answer is often to say onboard and write that charter fee off to a boat ride.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I think that if someone is prone to puking, it is best to only eat things that are easy to puke.

Avoiding fats and meats for breakfast is probably smart. I think most people could probably get by for a day on more easily digestible carbohydrates and these are less worse to puke than some other foods. I've been sick pretty many times underwater, mostly from vertigo on ascent and it is not fun and is dangerous. If you chewed your food well, the material should not clog the exhaust valve and cause the reg to malfunction.

Recommending a liquid diet might be safer, but the diver needs to eat a breakfast (and lunch) that they know agrees with them. Trying something radically different on a diving day may promote indigestion, acid reflux etc.

 

[adelman]

The best way to puke through a regulator is to first make a hand-signal that you are feeling nauseous. We use one that looks like a hand slashing across your throat. When I make this signal, my buddy swims over and promptly offers me a regulator to puke through. Do the deed, and politely rinse the regulator before returning it.