What wound responsible caffeine use be?

[bluebanded goby]

I'm wondering what would be a responsible level of caffeine use on diving days.

Obviously, no caffeine use at all is one healthy option. I gave up caffeine altogether for several years, but reintroduced a few sodas a day back into my habits in the last year.

On the one hand, significant caffeine use on a diving day may leave you dehydrated and pose a risk of DCS and other problems.

On the other hand, if you do normally use caffeine but abstain on a diving day, you could end up with a caffeine headache, which you might mistake for something else (subclinical DCS?).

I was thinking, therefore, that as a usual practice I might have a cup of tea or possibly a coffee immediately on waking up on a diving day (just to drive off possible caffeine headache), and then switch to copious bottled water for the rest of the day.

Does that sound like a prudent approach? If not, would anyone care to lay out a plan (besides total abtention) that would be better? Thanks for any comment.

 

[WreckWriter]

Originally posted by bluebanded goby
I was thinking, therefore, that as a usual practice I might have a cup of tea or possibly a coffee immediately on waking up on a diving day (just to drive off possible caffeine headache), and then switch to copious bottled water for the rest of the day.

That's what I do, seems to work fine. I think as long as you don't overdo it a bit of caffiene is fine for average divers doing average dives. If you're doing exceptional dives, limit it to one cup for sure.

Tom

 

[MSilvia]

I find that if I don't worry about it, that works pretty well for me.

Some days I'll have a small, medium, or large cup of coffee in the morning, and some days not. Some days I'll feel like drinking 5 diet cokes, some days I won't want caffine at all. I'd say have a drink with caffine if you want one, but don't overdo it.

I don't think there's any need to make a point of drinking it, unless you really find the symptoms of a day's withdrawl are severe enough to bother you. I have trouble imagining that though, as I've only ever felt them on rare occassions (like grad school crunch-time) when I was coming off of several days of using caffine as a sleep substitute.

Still, different bodies react differently. Do what you're comfortable with, and as always... stay hydrated.

 

[Grajan]

Everyone is different. I have a no caffeine rule on dive days.

Apart from the general issues of dehydration etc - if the S$%t hits the fan underwater the ONE thing that is going to save your butt is staying very, very calm.

I think that caffeine, in any quantity, works against that - maybe it is a trivil effect, maybe not - but every little helps when you are in a bind.

It really is no great sacrifice compared with the pleasure of diving.

Graham

 

[MSilvia]

Everyone is different, so it's a decision best made on the basis of your own experience and judgement.

I think we can all agree that it's best to keep it to a minimum on dive days in any case.

 

[AndeeGee]

Hello,
I'm a new diver and I tend to drink alot of tea and diet cokes. I had no idea that this might be a problem - could someone please briefly explain this to me.
thanks for your help
andeegee ;o)

 

[Uncle Pug]

...is not to eliminate caffeine but to install a P-valve in your dry-suit

 

[John Reinertson]

There are no conclusive studies on this subject. There are theoretical reasons why caffeine is not ideal.. It is a stimulant and it acts as a diuretic.

In moderation, the effects are modest and the risks should be modest.

If your routine is to have a cup or two of coffee each morning, I wouldn't be afraid to buddy with you.

If you can find someone to fund a study, I'd be happy to do two weeks in Bonaire with caffeine and two weeks without and report on my findings!

lacking that, moderation is a good rule of thumb, and a one or two cup limit or a two or three pepsi limit seems reasonable.

Don't stint on the water and reduce the dose if you have any tendency toward anxiety.

Drink brown water in moderation and dive in clear water.

John

 

[BillP]

Howdy bluebanded goby:

A rehash of a response to an earlier question on the board about caffeine follows:

There are several considerations with caffeine and diving. Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, a GI stimulant, and a diuretic.

Typical caffeine content of various drinks*:

Pepsi Cola 0.10mg/ml
Dr. Pepper 0.11mg/ml
Coca-Cola 0.13mg/ml
Mt. Dew 0.15mg/ml
Jolt 0.20mg/ml
Tea 0.28mg/ml
Coffee 0.71mg/ml

There is recent literature (see elsewhere on the board) about the potential risk of mixing pseudoephedrine (Sudafed)- another CNS stimulant- with diving, particularly with nitrox, due to the possible increased risk of O2 toxicity and seizures. I haven't seen anything specifically about caffeine's CNS stimulating effect and diving but I would suppose it would have the same theoretical concerns.

Caffeine stimulates acid secretion in the stomach and reduces the tone of the lower esophageal sphincter muscle between the esophagus and stomach in some people. Not a good combination when you might already be seasick.

Caffeine is a diuretic. It makes you pee. If you lose more fluid than you take in (for whatever reason), you become dehydrated. Dehydration increases the risk of DCS.

OK, now I'm gonna depart from the "conventional wisdom" about caffeine and diuresis for a minute here. Caffeine is indeed a diuretic. It makes you pee about 1ml of fluid per mg of caffeine. Coffee has (roughly) 0.71mg of caffeine per ml. So for every 1 ml of coffee you drink, you will pee about 3/4 ml of fluid. For an 8 oz (240ml) cup of coffee, you will pee an extra 170-180ml of fluid. So despite the mild diuretic effect of caffeine, you're still 60-70ml of fluid ahead. If you drink coffee instead of water you will not be as well hydrated, and if you start off dehydrated (as many divers are on multi-day trips) you will be less likely to rehydrate effectively if you drink coffee instead of water. But if you drink coffee in addition to the water you would normally drink on a dive trip to maintain your hydration, the coffee won't dehydrate you. Other caffeinated drinks would have even less effect than coffee.

Personally, I drink coffee in moderation on dive vacations because I like it.

HTH,

Bill

*Amounts of caffeine vary by country for soft drinks and by method of preparation for coffee and tea.

 

[AndeeGee]

thanks for your replies,
I get the idea about caffine now.
take it easy

andeegee