Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Peeing In your Wetsuit

Why do you always feel like you have to pee in your wet suit!? Like me, most scuba divers feel the need to urinate in their wetsuits. What's wrong with us? Are we drinking too much water? Do we simply have no self control? No! One reason that divers feel the need to urinate in their wetsuits underwater is called cold water immersion diaresis.

Although the total volume of blood in the diver's body has not changed, the volume of blood in his body core (particularly his heart) has increased. This triggers the body's high blood volume management system, which mainly involves increasing the rate of urine production in the kidneys (diaresis) as discussed above. The end result is that the diver pees in his wetsuit. No Big Deal! :)

So don't be embarrassed by your urge to urinate while diving. What's my advice for comfortable diving? Buy your own wetsuit, hydrate yourself before diving so your urine doesn't smell bad, and pee as much as you like. Urine is sterile so you are not going to create a health hazard if you pee in your suit. Simply remember to wash your suit in fresh water after diving (and not in the same rinse tank as the regulators, please!) Everyone else is peeing in their suits, why should you miss out on all the fun?

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