When you gotta go you gotta go...right? ;)

[Sirenita]

I'd like to bring up the question of the whole 'when nature calls' issue ...

Is it normal to pee in your wetsuit? What if it's not your wetsuit?! Why is it that you need to go more than usual? Is it something to do with expansion of pressure in the bladder upon ascent?

I heard a couple of divers joking about it on one dive, they were confirming U/W signals, and decided to make one up for that particular action. But I was a little too shy to question them about etiquette as it was only my OW certification!

Well...looking forward to some interesting replies and stories!
(But please don't take the p*ss)

 

[NadMat]

there are two kinds of divers, those who admit to peeing in their wetsuits, and those who won't admit that they do.
Unless a wetsuit is new, assume it has been peed in at some point.

 

[abysmaldiver]

there are two kinds of divers, those who do it and those who lie about it.

 

[Mark Vlahos]

Yep, entirely normal to urinate in a wet suit. Some more, some less, some not at all, but I think most divers do it at one point or another.

As far as rental wet suits go, well... I leave that up to you, but you should expect that some other diver has been there before you. If that is a huge problem your only option is to buy your own suit NEW and NEVER let another diver use it.

Mark Vlahos

 

[RikRaeder]

When I took my first class in California, our instructor told us

"The water here is pretty cold. That always makes you want to pee. Don't worry about it, just do it in your wetsuit. It'll help warm it up really quickly."

I don't know if it was a joke or not, but I took it to heart (don't think it was a joke). It warmed my suit up really quickly. Pee's about the same as seawater, so what the heck? It was one of the first things I did when I got in on every dive. Dove in Saipan where the water is quite warm and didn't even feel the urge.

A friend of mine dove in Okinawa in November. She had complained that the water was a bit cold. I told her the technique (think it's DIR now ) and SHE took it to heart. Unfortunately, she couldn't wait until she got in and did it on the boat. Don't think the flow dynamics work the same when you're standing on a dive boat, plus the little yellow puddle spreading out from your ankle might be conspicuous. I'll have to ask her about that.

My advice to a more seasoned diver....let it flow, baby, let it flow.

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Everyone pees in their wetsuit. It's no big deal. Urine is sterile. Just flush your suit out a bit toward the end of the dive.

Changing your mindset when/if you go to a drysuit is important though

 

[archman]

It's the other sort of human waste that's more a matter of diver choice.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Just make sure you flush, it's easier in a shorty...

 

[Sirenita]

Oh, that makes life so simple!! Ok, here goes...I admit it...I pee'd in my weesuit. I mean wetsuit. (Forgive me, freudian typo slip there)

 

[RikRaeder]

Jokes on you, Sirenita. We were all lying to try to get you to admit it. Ha!

Sorry, that was uncalled for. I've been researching and it really IS in the DIR book,
except according to DIR you should do it twice.