Too much liquid....

[dlarbale]

All,

A friend of mine informs me that it is possible to over-hydrate prior to a dive - resulting in too much liquid drawing necessary salt/minerals from the tissues and adding to possible DCS risk.

Anyone have a more in-depth explanation of this or proof to the contrary?

Regards - Dave.

Note// My friend was informed by a hyper-baric medical operator so I'm assuming there's some truth in all of this!

 

[DocVikingo]

G'day Dave,

There is a condition called "water excess" or "water intoxication" that results when you take in significantly more water than you excrete, thereby diluting you body's normal electrolyte levels, most notably sodium.

In a healthy diver, however, it's near impossible to drink so much water that such intoxication arises. It's much more common in persons with dysfunction of various organ systems, most especially the kidney.

As an aside, since the brain is quite susceptible to overhydration, changes in behavior & mentation are often the first signs & symptoms. Look for confusion, drowsiness & incoordination. Blurred vision, muscle cramps/twitching, nausea & vomiting, rapid breathing & weakness may also be present.

Given that one is a fit & healthy individual, there is no reason not to stay well-hydrated at all times, and particularly while diving. Along with copious amounts of water, sports drinks are also recommended for the diver. If one tosses down a bottle or two of Gatorade, Cytomax, 10 K, Quickick, Exceed, Allsport, Powerade or similar preparation during each diving day, there should be no worry about electrolyte dilution.

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[jbd]

Back in the early 1980's I remember listening to a segment on the Paul Harvey radio show about a man who drank himself to death---on water. At the time he died he was drinking 35 pints per day. If I recall correctly I think he was in England. It seems there may have been some obsessive compulsive behavior going on.

I agree with DocVikingo that for a healthy person it would hard to be overhydrated enough to cause problems.

 

[dlarbale]

Just received an e-mail from the friend that told me about the over hydration thing....

"What I said was that consuming normal bottled drinking water in excessive amounts was not recommended because in order for the body to 'process' the H2O, your internal organs require a certain amount of salt to be present in the water. In the absence of these salts, your body will 'pull them' from body tissues, temporarily, in order to complete the metabolic process of water absorption.

Normally, this is not an issue as the salts are returned to the donor tissues upon completion of digestion of the water. However, what occurs is a temporary situation which produces effects similar to dehydration; not a cool scene when the Aladin shows 90 minutes of deco.

To get around this, divers should drink solutions high in salt and sugar prior to diving. The doctor recommended simple oral rehydration packets, at two to three times the recommended mix ratio per litre of water. He also suggested simple fruit juice cut 50/50 with clean seawater, in a pinch. If possible, oral rehydration during decompression is also recommended if it can be completed safely.

On a two hour dive, as we all should know, we will 'lose' two litres of water via the tissues of the lungs through the process of rehydrating the breathing gas as a result of the moisture removal filter systems in modern compressors. In water rehydration would minimize this potential hazard.

That's what I told ya."

Hope this clarifies the original post.

Regards - Dave.

 

[Spectre]

Originally posted by DocVikingo
sports drinks are also recommended for the diver. If one tosses down a bottle or two of Gatorade, Cytomax, 10 K, Quickick, Exceed, Allsport, Powerade or similar preparation during each diving day, there should be no worry about electrolyte dilution.

I'm unfortunately not prepared to write this reply, but I wanted
throw it out there anyway. I have ingrained in my mind that you
drink sports drinks after exertion. I don't remember the
why, but it had something to with replacing electrolytes that
haven't been burned up yet.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? And if so, how would
that relate to diving?

-Jeff

 

[rcohn]

On a two hour dive, as we all should know, we will 'lose' two litres of water via the tissues of the lungs through the process of rehydrating the breathing gas as a result of the moisture removal filter systems in modern compressors. In water rehydration would minimize this potential hazard.

Do you have an authoritative reference for the 2 liter number? It is way too high.

Ralph

 

[dlarbale]

Ralph,

I don't have a referance to this. I pressume that someone will have a formula for calculating water loss per litre of air used - I'd be interested in seeing it!

Regards - Dave.

 

[jamespitt]

lardie,
sounds like captain kirk has been putting his non diving to good use... "as we all should know"....... well i do now!
how about a nice cold New before a dive dave?
i am diving wedding cake island tomorrow - opposite coogee and doing some sharkie dive too!!! yippee. christ i hope i remember my 5 point decent - jump in wait for them at the bottom!

James

 

[dlarbale]

Ah the old 5 point descent, do you remember a certain persons attempt at a negative descent - I think it had 5 points...

1) Pretend you understand what a negative descent is when told by your buddy that that's the plan due to a ripping current.

2) 3-2-1 go. Bail over the boat in the normal backward roll fashion and remove mask to clean.

3) Get shouted at by the divers on the boat to descend, finish cleaning mask as if nothings happened. Finally take notice having looked down and seen your buddies hanging to rocks on the bottom.

4) Start descent ignoring shouts to place reg in gob. Get to 2 metres frantically flail around for reg whilst equalising. Place reg in gob and take first breath - thank God that you remembered to turn on your air.

5) Continue descent, fin like a man possesed to reach your buddies. Try to look cool whilst getting nowhere fast by giving the OK signal several times.

Ah how that brings back good memories - and this guys an instructor now!!

Later - Dave.

 

[Liquid]

There used to be an "initiation ceramony" for new students in a boarding school here in israel, in which the seniors molested the new comers. A part of the ceremony was to make the new comers drink a lot of water (and I do mean a LOT, something like 6 litters). It ended up with two dead students, due to exesive drinking. It can be fatal. But still- six litters is a LOT of water to add to the buddy in a relatively short time. When I was in the army, in basic training they made us drink a full can (about 750 cc) of water every hour, and no one had any medical problem with it. For some it evidently wasn't enough however, I think that losing conciousness was the major couse for doctor visits (well, exept trying to get medicall leaves).