Rule on hot showers after diving

[yle]

I seriously doubt that anybody has been reading the post from 2006 for the past 12 years. Be that as it may, feel free to have the last word today.

Tarponchik gets an exemption here; his criticism of the old post is justified for two reasons:

1. The thread was resurrected by Joe above (Post #13), which means a lot of people will be reading this thread for the first time.

2. The post being criticized is complete nonsense and people reading the thread for the first time should be made aware of this. New divers need to know that not everyone that posts advice on SB knows what they're talking about.

 

[Kharon]

Seems to me increased blood flow is a good thing ... so for me, a hot shower or soak in a hot tub is way better for finishing off what little decompression I have left than "shaking the pop bottle" by shivering uncontrollably after any dive

If you are shivering uncontrollably (or even a little) the worst thing you can do is take a hot shower or jump in a hot tub, and it has nothing to do with DCS. YOu will bring all blood to the surface & extremeties and chill your core. Far better to warm the core with hot tea or soup.

I wouldn't worry about taking A shower after a dive, there are a lot of more serious risk factors to worry about especially being cold which contstricts blood vessels which limits your offgassing rate.

Read the above reply. Drink something hot or eat some soup.

If you’re cold after a dive you shouldn’t take a hot shower or bath either, the heat will dilate your blood vessels and can drop your blood pressure enough to give you shock, it will also circulate cold blood in from the extremities which can drop your core temperature again.

+++1. Basic first aid re. hypothermia is heat the core, not the surface, other than adding insulation to prevent further heat loss.

 

[tarponchik]

If you are shivering uncontrollably (or even a little) the worst thing you can do is take a hot shower or jump in a hot tub, and it has nothing to do with DCS. YOu will bring all blood to the surface & extremeties and chill your core. Far better to warm the core with hot tea or soup.

Read the above reply. Drink something hot or eat some soup.

+++1. Basic first aid re. hypothermia is heat the core, not the surface, other than adding insulation to prevent further heat loss.

Leaving DCS aside, you are contradicting CDC recommendations for hypothermia treatment: Warm the center of the body first—chest, neck, head, and groin—using an electric blanket, if available. You can also use skin-to-skin contact under loose, dry layers of blankets, clothing, towels, or sheets. And warm drinks only come next on their list. So taking a hot shower seems like a substitute for an electric blanket.

You are probably confusing hypothermia with frostbites here.

 

[60plus]

Take a look at
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4854784/Diver-swelled-double-size-getting-bends.html

 

[TMHeimer]

I don't worry about DCS as my winter dives are maybe 20 minutes at 10-15' and that's it today. I hop right into the shower, but use warm, not hot (or really warm) water. Therefore you don't get the pain that comes from hot water on really cold skin. You figure that and a lot of other "cold" stuff when living years in Northern Manitoba. But I wouldn't jump in the shower after a deep(er) dive.

 

[Steve_C]

So taking a hot shower seems like a substitute for an electric blanket.

Not saying it is or is not a substitute but in addition to temperatures there is the issue of heat flow. A person in 50 degree water looses heat much faster than a person in 50 degree air. An electric blanket, covered with cloth, will probably transmit heat at a slower rate than being immersed in water at the same temp.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Not saying it is or is not a substitute but in addition to temperatures there is the issue of heat flow. A person in 50 degree water looses heat much faster than a person in 50 degree air. An electric blanket, covered with cloth, will probably transmit heat at a slower rate than being immersed in water at the same temp.

It's my understanding that immersing electric blankets is a very bad idea.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.. I'm bound to get moderated.

 

[Kharon]

It's my understanding that immersing electric blankets is a very bad idea.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.. I'm bound to get moderated.

Hope not. That was too funny.

 

[divin'dog]

It's my understanding that immersing electric blankets is a very bad idea.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.. I'm bound to get moderated.

Hahaha... It's good to get a dose of humor once in a while... Keeps us on our toes and reminds us to keep things in perspective.

 

[scagrotto]

Far better to warm the core with hot tea or soup.

I hear that sort of advice a lot, but I'm skeptical. Let's say that I weigh 150 pounds (not since high school, but the math will be easier) and am mostly water. Let's also figure that my temperature has dropped to 95ºF (i.e. probably warm enough to safely ingest fluids) and I can ingest tea or soup at 140ºF (upper limit of reasonable suggestions), resulting in a temperature difference of 45ºF. I hear that a pint's a pound the world around, and maybe I can manage a pint and a half of tea or soup. That's 1.5 pounds, or 1% of what I once weighed. If half of my weight is in my torso hot tea or soup might raise my core temperature by 0.9ºF. Eventually.

Of course it has a beneficial emotional effect, and the localized warming in and near the esophagus and stomach might be useful, but I doubt it really does that much to raise my temperature. And AFAIK the authoritative advice always says to just sip fluids, not quickly drink a pint and a half.

So taking a hot shower seems like a substitute for an electric blanket.

When you're even mildly hypothermic peripheral circulation is reduced. When you're severely hypothermic peripheral circulation is reduced big time, and the blood in your extremities can get chilly. Suddenly having that cold blood show up in your core is not good, and it's dropping your core temperature even more that's the problem, not dropping it again. That's why protocols are to warm the core without dilating the peripheral vessels and letting that cold peripheral blood return to the core quickly. If you're severely hypothermic but not dead yet suddenly reducing your core temperature by another few degrees could change that.

A warm shower probably isn't as bad as wrapping an electric blanket around the entire surface of the body,
but it's not an effective way to concentrate warming on the head and torso and has a good chance of dilating the peripheral blood vessels. Whether the blankets are electric or not, the limbs should go outside them.

Of course very few of us are going to get more than fairly mild hypothermia from diving.