I keep getting ugly neck squeeze marks from the latex seal

[fnog]

I have a total of 16 dives on drysuit now, including the initial 4 for training. I get almost every time nasty neck squeeze marks, but never had anything on the wrists. Only once or twice I felt a little pressure on my testicles because I was late to inflate. I never got any other squeeze or bruises on other parts of my body.

Yesterday I had to perform the rescue ascents from 40m exercises for the CMAS 3*, so I had a tendency to stay with an under-inflated suit, to avoid any trouble controlling the speed of ascent. And I also kept the suit under inflated at the descent, in order to be as fast as my head-first wetsuited instructor and buddy. However, I have marks on my neck every time, even when doing relaxed purely recreational buddy dives. The red-blueish mark on my neck is not very sore, it is less painful than a sunburn, but it is quite a social inconvenience.

My habit is to inflate the suit almost every time I equilibrate my ears during descent. Is it often enough ? While at the bottom, I sometimes dump by raising my arm (the dump valve is on the forearm) because I prefer to be held by my BCD and feet, and have not too much in the feet. I leave the autopurge open to the max, except at the surface while doffing gear for the rubber boats. Oh, and I often look inside holes in the rocks, searching for critters with my head down and feet up.

All in all, I do not feel any discomfort except *after* the dive. The first time I had this I even believed that it was caused by the rubbing of salty water rather than a squeeze.

I will welcome any advice to fix this annoyance. Currently I am considering to put on my neck a collar of 2mm x 30m neoprene to interpose in between the latex and my skin, would it have any chance to help ?

 

[Yoyodyne-88]

Some tightness/discomfort is kinda par for the course.

If your suit neck seal is not burping or leaking when you are vertical, the seal may be tighter than you really need. Latex seals can be (carefully) trimmed to make a larger opening. Go easy on how much you take off.

I originally had a DUI neoprene neck seal but it didn't. (Seal.)

 

[PfcAJ]

I was late to inflate.

I had a tendency to stay with an under-inflated suit

I also kept the suit under inflated at the descent

Start with running enough gas in the suit to loft the undergarment.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

I concur with the above postings, your neck seal may be just a tad too tight. Start by trimming 1/2 of a ring off of the seal, throw just a bit more air in the suit and reassess from there.

 

[WhiteSands]

Think your neck seal may be too tight. The bruising could also be caused by friction or stretch on your skin when you turn your head. Some vaseline on the seal before you don the suit will help.

Also, when you don the suit, try to pull the seal down to below your Adam's apple. I normally try to pull it as low as I can while still having enough silicone/rubber in contact with my neck to seal properly.

 

[TSandM]

In fact, it isn't uncommon to get latex burns from neck seals. Some people get them all the time, and others of us only get them occasionally, either when water conditions are wrong or when we have to crane our necks a lot. Lubricating your neck can help -- using a water-based lubricant like KY is easier on the latex, but I have used Bag Balm (an emollient used on cow udders) and actually gotten the burns to heal even while I was continuing to dive. I've never been able to get a straight answer as to whether the Bag Balm shortens the life of the seal, but since my skin oils eat them pretty fast, I wouldn't notice anything but a huge effect.

I don't believe the amount of gas you have in the suit has anything to do with this. I run my suit quite loose for warmth, and the one time I got really bad latex burns I was diving in Southern California, where the water was comparatively warm, and I had on light undergarments.

 

[fnog]

Thanks for all the tips. Here is a bit more facts just in case.

This is a seal that I trimmed already (my neck is 40cm around so I could almost faint from the original size). It is loose enough that I can burp it by tilting my head forward and sideways, which is convenient if I need faster dump than the cuff valve allows. It is not so loose that it rubs my skin when I turn my head left and right. I always sprinkle fair amounts of talk powder. I do not shave on dive days. The seal (or today, the mark) is positioned well under my adams' apple.

So far it seems that I could:
1) use some cow udder, some KY jelly, bioseal or such. Failing that, get a neoprene collar (but where ? I did not find any online. Diving Concepts' website seems cracked. Guess I will have to got the DIY route.)
2) pay attention to inflate really often

 

[Diver0001]

I have marks on my neck every time, even when doing relaxed purely recreational buddy dives. The red-blueish mark on my neck is not very sore, it is less painful than a sunburn, but it is quite a social inconvenience.

If you're married it could become more than a "social inconvenience" LOL

Seriously though, I do have a couple of comments. Personally I haven't seen you in the water so I can't verify this with direct observation. However, I've been diving dry for 30 years and instructing drysuit diving for a about 10.

a) It would seem from what you said that you don't have full confidence in your control over the suit. You would seem to be diving in a severe squeeze, which I would normally see when the diver is deeply concerned about becoming inverted and/or making an uncontrolled ascent. This can significantly limit your mobility and if I were your instructor I wouldn't have let you out of the pool with a fear of putting air in the suit. I would have taught you not to fear inversion instead. That said, I can only go on what you wrote, and I'm aware that I'm making assumptions. I would obviously need to see you in the water to be sure if this is the case.

b) given what I said above, I personally believe it would be insane to take you to 40m in such a squeeze. The marks on your neck are probably not a function of the suit but a function of your handling of the suit. I know this sounds harsh but learning begins with becoming aware of what you don't (yet) know. You would appear to be developing a habit of diving in a severe squeeze. There are causes for this and effects. One of the effects you seem to have identified (bruises on your neck). You would appear to be, from what you wrote, as yet unaware of the causes.

c) a third possibility, although it isn't overly common, is that you have an allergic reaction to latex. This can be a real concern and even if you are NOT diving in a squeeze you can develop bruise like symptoms on your neck (see photo). One sure-fire way to know if this is the problem is to put on the suit and watch TV for an hour on your sofa. That way you'll never be in a squeeze and you'll be able to know for sure if your problem is an allergy or diving related.



R..

 

[Hatul]

You can try the Apollo Bio-Seal
Apollo Sports: Dive Gear: Bio Seal