Spreading communicable diseases via regulator

[Javik]

If you or your diving buddy have herpes simplex, which involves "cold sores" on the lips, inside the mouth, or the back of the throat, is it possible for this infection to be spread via the regulator mouthpiece?

This question also similarly applies to mononucleosis and the various other sinus/mucous communicable infections like influenza or coronavirus.

For out of air conditions it seems to be common to offer your main regulator to the other person. But in order to minimize the spread of disease, apparently the octopus should always be offered to your buddy instead.

It would seem that the octopus regulator should also ideally be dip-sanitized on land in alcohol, bleach, or hydrogen peroxide, after someone else has used it. But of course nobody does that.

 

[tursiops]

https://www.divetech.com/post/diving-in-the-era-of-covid-19

 

[Edward3c]

If you or your diving buddy have herpes simplex, which involves "cold sores" on the lips, inside the mouth, or the back of the throat, is it possible for this infection to be spread via the regulator mouthpiece?

This question also similarly applies to mononucleosis and the various other sinus/mucous communicable infections like influenza or coronavirus.

For out of air conditions it seems to be common to offer your main regulator to the other person. But in order to minimize the spread of disease, apparently the octopus should always be offered to your buddy instead.

It would seem that the octopus regulator should also ideally be dip-sanitized on land in alcohol, bleach, or hydrogen peroxide, after someone else has used it. But of course nobody does that.

The main regulator is mine, if my buddy needs assistance they can use my octopus (that's what its set up for).

 

[michael-fisch]

I disagree most strongly!
In an out of air situation, the standard of care is to give the regulator that has been working perfectly (your primary), and then take the spare reg that is hanging around your throat for yourself, since you checked it at the start of the dive it should still be working 30 minutes later.
What the panicked out-of-air diver doesn't need is problems with the donated reg!
If you are not willing to assume buddy duties for others, dive alone!
Michael

 

[Javik]

Personally I believe the practice of "buddy breathing" from a single regulator should be taken out of SCUBA instruction classes, because you might as well be sticking your tongue straight into the mouth of your buddy breather.

Of course buddy breathing is worth keeping in mind as an emergency fallback when all else has failed, but sorry random buddy I am partnering with for the training class, I don't know you well enough to want to share microbiomes with you.

 

[Edward3c]

I disagree most strongly!
In an out of air situation, the standard of care is to give the regulator that has been working perfectly (your primary), and then take the spare reg that is hanging around your throat for yourself, since you checked it at the start of the dive it should still be working 30 minutes later.
What the panicked out-of-air diver doesn't need is problems with the donated reg!
If you are not willing to assume buddy duties for others, dive alone!
Michael

The process you favour is quite appropriate for confined space diving. I know it’s been heavily pushed by some divers. The reality is most divers were taught to donate or take the secondary

With COVID-19 you are increasing your likelihood of, either, spreading or catching it by using the same reg.

 

[saxman242]

With COVID-19 you are increasing your likelihood of, either, spreading or catching it by using the same reg.

For training perhaps...

In an actual out of air scenario, the likelihood of that being the case is so minuscule, it's really not even worth giving a second thought.

I'd be more worried about the immediate threat of a non-working octopus (how often do you see oblivious divers dragging them through the sand?) than the ridiculously small chance of COVID transfer.



And hey, shouldn't the diver be test breathing off of both regs on the dive anyway to verify functionality?

 

[tursiops]

Personally I believe the practice of "buddy breathing" from a single regulator should be taken out of SCUBA instruction classes

You may be confusing your terms.
Buddy breathing is the practice of only one working regulator between the two of you, and you each take one or two breaths and hand it back and forth. This practice is not in any recreational scuba classes I am aware of; it still exists only at the professional level.

What you are concerned about is the OOG person taking the working regulator for the mouth of the donor, and not giving it back while they (presumably) surface together. In this case, only the OOG diver has the minuscule chance of catching something from the donor; the alternative is to drown. The donor has no extra jeopardy.
In the case of donating the alternate air source, rather than the primary reg in one's mouth, common practice varies (as seen in this thread). Either way, the donor is in no extra jeopardy.

If you are so incredibly concerned about disease transmission, you may want to rethink scuba diving or at least random buddies.

 

[Edward3c]

Personally I believe the practice of "buddy breathing" from a single regulator should be taken out of SCUBA instruction classes, because you might as well be sticking your tongue straight into the mouth of your buddy breather.

Of course buddy breathing is worth keeping in mind as an emergency fallback when all else has failed, but sorry random buddy I am partnering with for the training class, I don't know you well enough to want to share microbiomes with you.

BB isn’t taught by any agency I know of for OOG situations. It might by used as a confidence builder.

 

[caydiver]

We have always cleaned our regs with Detol or a similar product. We learned it from guys in the industry. When we got involved with an op, it is what we used to clean rental gear, guests gear and our own gear. Then it was left to completely air dry before going in a the locker. It was in reality cleaner than the gear most people rinsed in a tub and shoved in their bag wet until the next day. Yuck. We did the same with snorkels. We sometimes saw some fairly horrid mouthpieces coming out of bags. Proper cleaning should always happen even before Covid 19.