Regulators changing mouths

[shurite7]

It is ironic how people are reluctant to accept the primary reg, yet they are willing to rent a reg that has been used by numerous other people before them. When working in the tropics I've seen people puke in the reg only to see the reg given to another diver on the next outing. I've never heard any ask a dive operator if the mouth pieces on the rental regs are sanitized.

 

[jgttrey]

Just don't think about it. Seriously. I've done six million air share drills in various classes, almost all primary donate.

It's a little gross if you dwell on it, I admit. So don't dwell on it. Give it a little swirl in the water before you put in your mouth and tell yourself you washed the spit off. Best you're gonna do. Think of it as team bonding.

 

[happy-diver]

During air sharing we held onto each other and took our own regs in and out
no swapping.
The instructor blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
So we did it again, held onto each other, deliberately got all tangled
swapped regs 6 times breathing purging messing around but
we never breathed the other guys reg

The instructor this time only blah blah
and everyone was happy and laughing

The story may be different if the other guy was a gal

Forced to use other peoples regs is just ridiculous
and shows how backwards are really the agencies

germs or not

 

[rjack321]

How many people sick with a communicable disease are actually diving?

Most ambient water is dirtier than you think, not unlike soil.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I know I have gone diving even though I had a scratchy throat or some other sign of a possible cold coming on.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I assume you meant this for land drills and not in the water 'cause of the drowning part in the latter. I doubt any agency specifically has a rule about this because diving is gross anyway.

No I did not mean land-drills. I meant in water practice with air-share. I can totally identify with people's objection to take someones reg in their mouth during dry land drills. When you are in the water then it is less of a concern and your priorities need to be different.

Does NAUI prevent instructors from doing air-sharing with primary? I was told that some agency(ies) frown upon that for sanitary reasons?

 

[W W Meixner]

I have noticed that some people are not comfortable in taking another person's reg in their own mouth during an air-share. I have always done real time air shares and my understanding is that chlorine water, sea water and even fresh quarry water washes away any germs that you might be concerned with. Is it a realistic concern or are we suffering from "germ-paranoia" here? Are there agencies that actually prevent people from sharing regulators during air share during training?

CS...

Have done lots of air sharing exercises over the years...have heard lots of stories about OOA dive partners lunging for their buddies regulator...to a point of pulling it out of their partners mouth...

Have never heard of spittle/saliva being a concern over the frantic thought of the possibility of drowning...

Ask your girl-friend if she's worried about your germs the next time she has her tongue half-way down your throat...

May not be the sport for Howie Mandell...but it has never registered on my ''germ concern'' list...

A good excuse to have your own redundant bailout...if someone elses germs are a concern...

The cleanliness of the water at the favorite dive site is of far more a concern than a little saliva...

Best...

W...

 

[tursiops]

Is there ANY evidence that this is a problem?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Is there ANY evidence that this is a problem?

My guess is no. But it's also my guess that most people who were planning to do air-share drills using the primary donate method would do something else instead if they suspected they had a cold or flu. It's the common cold or flu I'd be most concerned about; if a diver had a serious communicable disease, they would probably be aware of it.

 

[dalee2]

I would rather inject myself with AIDS than stick some strangers disease riddled regulator in my mouth.