Can I throw up under water?
It may be the boat trip, it may be the night before or it may even be some of your buddies but there is always an outside chance that you could feel a bit icky under the water.
It’s really rare, as in really rare – we know of only one Bunny in the last 10 years who has had this issue and that tends to be if their safety stop is a bit too bumpy. Even if you feel a bit seasick on the boat ride out to a dive site, often jumping in the water will alleviate the symptoms.
So what happens if the urge hits you under the waves and is it anything to be worried about? Naturally it will all depend on what is causing you to feel unwell – but rather than dwell on that, we are going to talk about the simple act of vomiting under the waves.
As said, it is exceptionally rare that someone needs to vomit beneath the waves but as you’d expect, equipment manufacturers have thought this through so it’s not a cause for concern.
Concentrate on your reg
Instructor Phil said: “The most important thing to concentrate on is holding your regulator in your mouth – nothing else really matters. Keep your reg in and you’ll be fine.”
“Second stages are more than capable of allowing you to vomit through them and will happily deal with it but when you vomit, you generally reflex inhale which is why you must hold your reg in. That’s it. When finished simply remove your reg, purge it a couple of times and carry on with your dive or abort and return to the surface – whatever you are most comfortable with.”
So is that really it? No gem of wisdom from Phil? No top tip to make Bunny Barf a step above everyone else’s?
“Well I guess if you have the presence of mind, you could always switch to your alternate and keep your primary nice and fresh – or even signal to your buddy that you need air and use their alternate to vomit through – that being said, you may run out of buddies pretty quickly! Oh and yes, one top tip – do it down current from everyone else.”
“But really, just focus on holding your regulator in your mouth and enjoy.”
Anything else that the unsuspecting Bunny needs to be aware of?
“Just be prepared for the volume of fish that come rushing in to clean up afterwards…”
Great. Thanks for that Phil.
So, the advice from us is to just focus on holding your regulator in. Yes, you need to also think about maintaining buoyancy but really, that is not going to be your first thought and is certainly not your main priority. Modern regulators will let you puke, sneeze, cough, hiccup and practically explode before they let you down.
Thanks to Dive Bunnies for the article.
About Dive Bunnies
Dive Bunnies is a state of mind.
We are a not for profit organisation open to anyone who has a love of the ocean (or sea, lake, loch, fjord or any other sizeable body of water).
For clarity we are not a training organisation, although most of our senior members are certified scuba diving Instructors.
We are also not a political organisation but do support conservation projects and organisations – if you’re a climate change denier, then we are not the place for you.
We are scuba divers with a passion for our sport, conservation and life in general and whilst you don’t need to be a scuba diver to be a Dive Bunny, you might find the rest of us a bit boring if you’re not!
All we ask is that you’re friendly, supportive, fun and possess absolutely no ego.
