thirsty and thirty feet under water

[Natasha]

Gasman is 100% right. Very well said indeed. I drink a ton of water all the time. Not just when I'm diving. And the dry mouth problem isn't mine. Thank God! Too many other things to think about and see down there.
Drink up!
:sunny:

 

[Mario S Caner]

Drinking water underwater isn't very complicated... fresh water from a bottle or bag that is. Just remember to take your time, relax and think about what you are doing before you start. Keep your regulator handy and drink slowly. It's easiest when you are on the bottom or in physical contact with a wall or line or eaven a big rock. It's best if you practice in the shallow end of a pool first.

Hydrating yourself prior to the dive and in between dives is a no-brainer, drinking water during the dive is generally practiced by divers doing 6, 8, 10 hours and more dives. If you are a technical diver or an aspiring one, than this isn't something new to you.

Course, if you really want to avoid dry mouth, look into picking up a rebreather.


Sea you in the Deep... the Very Deep, Dark, Cold Blue!

 

[Jonathan Starr]

My OW instructor taught me to always drink a bottle or two of water before a dive, and drink another one when I come out along with some fruit. This has served me well.

Back in the '80s when I used to free dive and spearfish a lot, we would sometimes bring water, some shoyu and a tube of wasabi along, and enjoy some still-wiggling sashimi while still out on the reef.

Aloha,

Jonathan

 

[keralucu]

IMHO - you can NEVER drink enough (fresh) water!

 

[scubakat]

Ahh.... but yes, there IS a such a thing as too much water under specific conditions. http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1671.51282 . I've seen reports of ravers doing ecstacy & marathon runners dying from water intoxication. But since neither of those activities are really compatible with SCUBA I don't think we have anything to worry about .

-kate <-- running to the water cooler for her 3rd liter today.

 

[keralucu]

Kate - when I wrote that I did wonder whether anyone would come back with the ecstasy thing... but you're right, when diving it doesn't apply!

 

[kevinmd]

Gotta jump in here...

When diving, as with any exercise, it is vital to drink plenty of fluids and stay well hydrated. Diving and other water-based activities are somewhat misleading in the amount of fluids we lose to the environment. When diving, you will lose large amounts of fluids to the very dry air. You see, you must have moist (near 100% humidity) air to move the gasses across the membranes in your lungs. So what the air supply does not give (moisture) the body adds.

Now, on the subject of rehydration...

Water is the best -- little doubt. However, most people cannot drink large quantities -- they don't find it palatable. Several suggestions: use the sports drinks, but dilute them by 1/2 to 1/3. I drink Gatorade at 1/3 strength, and I find myself drinking fluids more aggressively than without flavoring. Additionally, the sugar in the Gatorade helps fuel your efforts. If you don't want Gatorade, try adding a small amount of pure lemon juice to the water. Studies have showed that humans strongly prefer fluids with a citrus taste. Do not neglect to eat while diving, humans are accustomed to eating and drinking -- and water intake is much higher with a meal than with fluids alone.

Water intoxication or symptomatic dilutional hyponatremia is real, I've treated it. It is caused when your intake of water exceeds your kidneys' ability to clear the free water, thus driving down the sodium levels in your blood. Your gut is much more effecient at absorbing fluids than your kidney are in clearing it. Current recommendations are not to exceed about 1.5 quarts of water per hour and do not exceed 12 quarts per day. (That's three gallons of water!) Watch for nausea and vomiting. If you feel nasty and vomit once, it is probably heat exhaustion -- rest, cool off in the shade and drink some fluids. If the vomiting persists (more than twice in two hours, could be hyponatremia -- get it checked out.) In the most severe cases, victims will have seizures and death. However, if you drink water in an intelligent fashion as outlined above, you will most likely stay out of trouble. This is pretty common in the Army where rehydration is heavily emphasized and sometimes the soldiers get a little over vigorous. One patient I treated at 1:00 pm for this had had 2.5 gallons of water in six hours.

As always, I provide this information for your education only and this does not constitute a physician-patient relationship. If you have any questions, I urge you to check with your personal physician.

 

[jimbo]

As a marathon runner and a diver, IMHO, you can't drink too much water. Most people are normally dehydrated and it's often the cause of headaches......

 

[L. Smallman]

I too try to drink plenty of water on a daily basis and of course before and after diving. However, I still have a bad time of dry throat (like needles in my throat) when I am diving. I just got back from Grand Cayman and while diving there just before hitting the water, I popped a throat lozenge in between my cheek and gums and Voila! no more dry throat. If this works for other dry throats out there, Great! If you swallow the lozenge and choke on it, please don't mention my name.

Laura

 

[jobowker]

jimbo, you're right about the headaches. I used to get a lot of non diving related headaches, to the point where I had to see a doctor on several occasions. Even prescription stuff like midrin and vicadin (not sure about the spelling) only dulled them. They were usually during the week, so the belief was that they were stress related, or possibly an issue with looking at a computer screen all day. I tried all kinds of stuff to stop them. My doctor had me keep a headache diary, and that's how it was solved. During the week, a have a good amount of coffee every morning ( a good diuretic) and not much else to drink during the day. Now I take a water bottle with me to work every day, and over the course of the day, drink about one liter of water while at work. No more constant headaches, and the occasional one is taken care of with any sort of over the counter aspirin/tylenol/caffeine combo.

This is completed different from diving related headaches. We all know that dehydration increases the risk of DCS, and that headaches & fatigue can be symptoms of DCS, but I'm talking here about headaches when I haven't been diving in days.