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Practical First Time Scuba Diving Tips

3 Gross Facts About Scuba Diving

Scuba diving is a wonderful and amazing sport letting us see the beautiful coral, reefs and marine life underwater. However, as I say in this video of first time scuba diving tips, it is not all manta rays and whalesharks!

There are a few unpleasant facts about scuba diving that I would like to share with you because I wondered about these issues when I first started diving. And I figured if I had these questions, other divers probably do also.

So this video with first time scuba diving tips is more about the practical, real life realities of diving - rather than the more technical type diving tips that I usually share. However I think the practical side is equally as important as it will answer some questions you may not even know you had. But as you continue to dive, you will definitely  have these questions, LOL.

So let's watch the video as I share some of the realities of diving:

Transcript: First Time Scuba Diving Tips (and more info)

So, yes, I admit it. There is a gross side of scuba diving. It's not all manta rays and whale sharks. So if you're scuba diving for the first time or on your first few dives, let's lay it all out in the open today. Some not so pleasant facts about scuba diving.

Hi, I'm Dianne from scuba diving smiles.com. So let's get started with the least gross fact about scuba diving.

And what is that? That's saliva. Yes. Good 'ol spit. If you're on the dive boat, you going to probably see some divers spitting in their mask and I've done it many times myself. And why is that? That's because if you don't have a defogger to use and the dive boat does not have anything for you to use to help your mask from defogging, what's the next best thing? It's good ol' spit.

You know, spit in your mask and it really does work. Spit in your mask, rub it around and then you rinse it out. And that's gonna help your mask stay clear on your next dive.

Let me warn you about one thing, though. If you do spit in that mask, never put it in the rinse bucket, especially a rinse bucket for cameras. If you want to see a diver get mad, put that dive mask in that bucket that's clearly labeled rinse bucket for cameras.

So what you want to do depending on the boat, of course, after you spit in your mask, you rub it around, take some sea water, splash it in your mask and then rinse it out. And if you can't reach the water because of the dive boat, whatever, put your hand in the rinse bucket for masks and just splash some water onto your mask, rinse it away, and then dump it over the side. And you will make some photographers very happy on that boat.

Now let's move on to gross fact number two about scuba diving. And that is peeing. We're all supposed to be well hydrated before a dive, because dehydration is one of the causes of decompression sickness. So you always wanna be well hydrated before your dive. But then what happens? You're gonna have to pee. It's only human nature, right? We are human.

So the age old question, do you pee in your wetsuit? And as the old saying goes, there are two types of divers, those that pee in their wetsuit and those that lie about it. So yes, if you're diving for the first time, your first few dives and you have to pee, go ahead.

I know you're gonna think, is anyone gonna know? Can anyone see it? But the answer is no. As far as I know. If you know differently, let me know. But yes, you can pee in your wetsuit and most divers do. So let me know have you ever peed in your wetsuit? Say yes or no. You can tell me in the comments below. Let's see how many honest divers we have.

But peeing in the wetsuit does lead to another issue. Please rinse, and wash that wetsuit because that can get nasty. I forget where we were. I think we were in San Salvador, in The Bahamas. And everyone was there for about a week and people would leave their wetsuits on the boat or in the dive shop. So I got on that boat one morning and I'm like, oh God, what is that smell? And I think that's what it was like, people weren't rinsing properly or washing it out after a week. And it was a little bit nasty. So do rinse and wash those wetsuits.

And the next gross fact about scuba diving are runny noses and mucus. So you finish your dive. You're up on the surface, you're up on the dive boat and you lower your mask. And inevitably, sometimes you're gonna have just this lovely stuff running from your nose and your mouth. And it looks like you've been balling for hours, but it's human nature.

It is pretty icky, but it is human nature and it happens. So just rinse it off if you're in the water, maybe you can even jump back in if you're back on the dive boat if conditions allow. But just get rid of it and try and be aware of it because sometimes you will see divers come up and it's just all hanging off of them. And some of that could have been gotten rid of in the water.

It's not pleasant to look at, but it's human nature. What are you gonna do? You still wanna go diving? So you just deal with it.

While this was a fun and gross video to make for beginning scuba divers, if you want some not gross and helpful tips for beginner scuba divers you can check out my ebook that has helped hundreds of divers decrease their air consumption, improve their buoyance control and more. Just go to newdiverstips.com to check it out. I'll also link to it in description below. And I hope to see you there. In the meantime, happy and safe - and less gross diving!

Well there it is! First time scuba diving tips that are not all that pleasant - but are the reality. I hope you enjoyed the video. Please let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear your reaction. 

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