The Importance of Hydration While Diving

Keeping the body hydrated is always crucial for its proper functioning. Correct hydration while diving is even more essential if we consider that, while diving, we do liquid exchanges inside our body, which do not take place on the surface.

Why Maintaining Proper Hydration While Diving Is Vital?

Our body’s water and minerals help us to regulate temperature, eliminate waste and lubricate the joints. They are crucial for the functioning of every cell in our body. Without water, the heart and kidneys would stop.

When we become dehydrated, our physical performance decreases, fatigue and confusion increase, the level of consciousness is affected, even in severe cases of dehydration, shock, or death could happen. While it is true these consequences can affect anyone, dehydration, in addition, increases the scuba diver’s risk of suffering a Decompressive Illness (DE)

This is the reason. In addition to having impaired faculties, a dehydrated diver will suffer a reduction in blood plasma, which is closely related to gas exchange. The slowed blood flow will slow down the rate at which our body removes dissolved nitrogen, and we already know what happens when nitrogen molecules remain inside our body and we ascend. Don’t we?

How Do We Get Dehydrated When We Dive?

First of all, we will say that when we eliminate more liquid than we drink, dehydration happens. So, not only do we lose water but also lasting minerals. Therefore, we need to drink enough water, as well as avoid, as far as possible, unnecessary losses to maintain hydration while diving.

According to DAN, three things increase a diver’s dehydration.

Except for consuming plenty of fluids before diving, we can do nothing more to prevent this phenomenon.

3. Breathing Compressed Air.

Breathing compressed air forces our body to lose twice the water vapor as breathing at the surface. The explanation is simple. Compressing air removes humidity, regardless of the mixture you are using.  When you breathe air from a bottle, it is dry. However, to carry out the gas exchange, our body needs the air to reach the alveoli at body temperature and be saturated with 100% humidity. Do you know where we get this water? From your reserves.

When Should I Drink to Maintain Hydration While Diving?

It is important to drink plenty of fluids without waiting to be thirsty. In fact, thirst is an alarm mechanism in our bodies. When we are thirsty, we are already dehydrated and have lost 3% (in children) to 7% (in the elderly) of water. We are supposed to consume 1.5 to 2 liters of water a day, but we know that the risk of dehydration increases with diving, so we should increase the dose.

At the end of the dive, our body is eliminating nitrogen and as we have seen before, water is important for this process, so water intake must continue to be important. Avoid eating salty foods and opt for fruits and vegetables that are also rich in water.

Do you have any questions about hydration while diving? Write to us and we will answer you.