Avoid hot showers right after diving – this simple habit could help prevent Decompression Sickness (DCS). Most divers already know the essentials of post-dive safety: ascend slowly, complete your safety stop, stay hydrated, and avoid flying too soon after a dive.
But there’s one sneaky factor many divers overlook – the tempting, relaxing hot shower you run to after surfacing. As comforting as it may feel after a cold dive, that hot shower might actually increase your risk of getting bent.
Why Hot Showers Can Be Dangerous Post-Dive
After a dive, your body is still off-gassing nitrogen – slowly releasing the extra nitrogen absorbed under pressure. The aim is to let your body safely eliminate it through your lungs without forming bubbles in your tissues or bloodstream. This is where things get risky.
A hot shower increases your skin and body temperature, which causes vasodilation – the widening of blood vessels. This sudden increase in blood flow can speed up the movement of nitrogen through your body, encouraging it to form bubbles before it has a chance to be safely exhaled.
These bubbles can lead to Type I DCS, also known as skin bends, which typically show up as:
An itchy rash
Marbled or mottled skin
A strange, burning sensation under the skin
Localised joint or muscle aches
These symptoms often go ignored or are mistaken for “angin” or typical fatigue from diving – but they may be early signs of decompression sickness.
Is There Real Evidence?
Absolutely. Reports of skin bends are not uncommon among divers who take hot showers shortly after a dive. In many cases, the pattern is consistent: diver completes their dive safely, returns to shore, takes a hot shower, and within the hour – the itching or discomfort begins.
Interestingly, this form of DCS tends to affect women more frequently than men. One theory is that bubbles tend to form more easily in fatty tissue, and women naturally have more subcutaneous fat, especially in areas like the thighs, hips, and chest. This might explain why women divers sometimes report strange skin patterns or discomfort that seems unrelated to any equipment or dive issues.
The dive may be over, but your safety isn’t. What you do after surfacing matters just as much as what you do underwater.
– Scuba Malaysia
So, What Should You Do Instead?
✅ Avoid Hot Showers for At Least 30–60 Minutes After a Dive
Your body needs time to safely release excess nitrogen after diving. Allowing 30 to 60 minutes before exposing yourself to significant heat – like a hot shower, sauna, or even intense sunbathing – gives your system enough time to continue off-gassing properly.
✅ If You Must Shower, Keep It Lukewarm
Use water that’s just comfortable enough to remove saltwater and grime, but not hot enough to raise your skin temperature noticeably. If you feel the steam rising or your skin turning red, it’s too hot.
✅ Hydrate and Rest First
Focus on drinking plenty of water and staying relaxed. Your dive may be over, but your decompression process continues well after you surface. Avoid anything that could interfere with this delicate balance.
The Bigger Picture: Don’t Undo Safe Diving Habits
You’ve done everything right.
✅ You followed your dive profile.
✅ You completed your safety stop.
✅ You stayed within your NDL.
✅ You logged your dive.
✅ You even calculated your SAC rate.
Don’t undo it all with a 10-minute hot shower. DCS doesn’t always hit like a hammer. Sometimes, it sneaks in gradually – and before you know it, your relaxing dive trip turns into a painful experience, or worse, ends in a hyperbaric chamber.
Remember: DCS is preventable. But prevention isn’t just about what you do in the water – it’s also about what you do after you surface.
Final Thoughts
Hot showers may be part of your post-dive routine, especially after a cold day in the water. But if there’s one habit worth changing for your safety, it’s this one. You can always enjoy a steamy soak later in the day – after your body has had time to settle and decompress naturally.
It may seem like a small detail, but in diving, it’s often the little things that make the biggest difference.
So next time you’re tempted to hop into a hot shower right after your dive, remember this simple rule:
Rinse, don’t roast.
Original Articles : https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1By3a83BMP/
Author: https://www.facebook.com/denso79 (Azzudin Abdul Aziz)
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