Did you know that the average human farts 13\u201321 times a day? Passing wind is a natural body function that happens to us all, and it\u2019s nothing to be embarrassed about. We all know what happens if you fart while swimming, but what happens if you fart while scuba diving?<\/p>\n
The answer to that question depends on the type of exposure suit you\u2019re wearing. The fart bubbles may get trapped inside or get released in the form of bubbles. Whether you\u2019re wearing a wetsuit, a dry suit, or even a swimsuit, either way, the fart has to find its way up to the surface.<\/strong><\/p>\n Keep reading to know more about farting while scuba diving and if it might affect your buoyancy in any way.<\/p>\n Farting reflects the bacterial activity inside your gut, and it\u2019s completely normal to fart many times a day. Although the amount and frequency of farting depend on your diet, everyone does it.<\/p>\n The process of releasing farts while scuba diving is no different from what happens on land. We expel the gas build-up in our intestines that results from digesting food and swallowing air through \u201cthe back door.\u201d So how does that happen while Scuba diving?<\/p>\n If you\u2019re wearing a normal swimsuit, which isn\u2019t that common during scuba diving<\/a> unless it\u2019s a short dive, the fart bubbles escape through your swimwear and ascend to the surface.<\/p>\n But what about wetsuits and drysuits? Here\u2019s what happens:<\/p>\n Wetsuits are garments that divers wear to provide them with thermal protection while underwater. They\u2019re usually made from foamed neoprene<\/a>, which is a porous material. The suit has openings that let water in and out of it.<\/p>\n Consequently, if you fart while wearing a wetsuit, the gas bubbles will probably escape through those pores or openings and up to the surface where they dissipate. As for the sound, you may ask, the gas bubbles might make a slight gurgling noise.<\/p>\n Drysuits act just like wetsuits do with the addition of water exclusion. They protect the whole body except for the hands, face, and sometimes feet. They allow better insulation as they mainly keep your body dry while scuba diving<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition, drysuits fit loosely around your body with the possibility of inflating and deflating when necessary. Divers control this process by using an inflator button and a vent valve<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, if you fart while wearing a dry suit, the tiny fart bubbles get trapped inside. This means that the bubbles of fart will probably accumulate inside your suit and roam around until they\u2019re able to escape with the vented air or until you take your suit off.<\/p>\n Well, there\u2019s no way of finding out whether the fart has escaped or remained inside your drysuit until you unzip it. This is actually a funny way divers use to prank each other.<\/p>\n The deeper you descend, the stronger the pressure is. As a result of the increasing pressure, gas tends to decrease in volume. According to Boyle\u2019s Law<\/a>, at a depth of 33 feet underwater, the volume of any gas decreases to one-half of its original volume.<\/p>\n Consequently, the deeper you dive, the less in volume the gasses inside your body become. Not just that, this also applies to the gas inside your air tank. So, this means that your farts, \u201cthe gas inside your digestive system,\u201d shrink.<\/p>\n So when this happens, the pressure of gas against your intestine walls decreases to the point that you won\u2019t feel the urge to fart. This explains why you should equalize your mask and ears. Additionally, it also justifies the reason why you run out of air faster at deeper levels.<\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s completely as safe to fart while scuba diving as it is on the surface. It could be embarrassing but never unsafe. So, if you ever feel the need to fart when you\u2019re underwater, just go for it. At least it won\u2019t smell.<\/p>\n If you prefer to hold it in as you descend into the water, the urge to fart will disappear because of the previously mentioned gas compression. However, the gasses inside your digestive tract expand back to their original volume while you ascend back to the surface.<\/p>\n Consequently, the urge to fart returns. So, if you\u2019re feeling embarrassed to fart in front of your fellow divers, try to camouflage the bubbles with the bubbles coming out of your regulator.<\/p>\n The action of scuba diving itself does not cause gas. What causes it is excessive air swallowing as well as your eating habits before and after diving.<\/p>\n As mentioned before, gas is caused by food digestion and swallowing air. Typically, we swallow air during eating, drinking, or swallowing our saliva. This air build-up in our digestive system will eventually find its way out through farting or burping.<\/p>\n Most of the air we swallow while scuba diving is caused by the basic equalization methods<\/a> that involve swallowing, like Lowry Technique or the Toynbee Maneuver.<\/p>\n If you have a problem equalizing, or you\u2019re doing it excessively, you could swallow excess air, which enters your guts, accumulates inside, and expands while ascending to the surface.<\/p>\n There are a few things to do to avoid getting gas. One of which is regular exercise. Exercising helps prevent farting and deflates your bloat. In addition, physical activity, in general, helps expel gasses and move digestion along.<\/p>\n Additionally, chewing your food slowly prevents you from swallowing too much air and facilitates the breakdown process. That said, there are certain kinds of food and drinks that you better avoid having before or in between dives, including:<\/p>\n Our ears don\u2019t perceive vibrations under the water as efficiently as they do above water, which is why it\u2019s not easy to understand a person who tries to talk while diving.<\/p>\n Although sound travels faster underwater, it\u2019s hard to determine the direction where it comes from. Additionally, there\u2019s a lot of noise down there. So, even if you heard what might sound like a fart, it might not be one.<\/p>\n Buoyancy is the person\u2019s capability to float. In diving, buoyance also refers to the capability to remain afloat, suspended, or at the bottom. As a diver, you get to control your buoyancy through something called a buoyancy control device<\/a> (BCD).<\/p>\n Buoyancy changes with depth, and we tend to lose buoyancy when the air inside our bodies compresses while descending. That\u2019s why divers adjust their BCD to balance their buoyancy.<\/p>\n The goal is to remain as close to neutral buoyancy as possible. At this stage, even inhaling and exhaling cause you to go up and down a little. As strange as it might seem, farting is a bit similar to exhaling. Whether through your mouth or your behind, both ways you expel gas.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why some people wonder if farting can, in fact, affect the person\u2019s buoyancy. However, if you think about it, the amount of air coming out of your lungs is significantly larger than the amount of gas coming out through farting.<\/p>\n On average, the volume of an adult person\u2019s single fart is about 100 <\/a>ml. On the other hand, the amount of air inhaled or exhaled by a human being equals about 500 <\/a>ml, which is five times larger than the fart\u2019s volume.<\/p>\n Even Though farting, in theory, should affect your buoyancy, it’s hardly ever noticeable. So, it\u2019s safe to answer this question with a \u201cno.\u201d No matter what kind of exposure suit you\u2019re wearing or how big your fart might seem, farting doesn\u2019t affect your buoyancy.<\/p>\n Asking what happens if you fart while scuba diving isn\u2019t a silly question. If anything, it\u2019s kind of an important question to know the answer to. Basically, it depends on the type of exposure suit you\u2019re wearing.<\/p>\n If you have a wetsuit on, fart bubbles escape instantly. However, if you\u2019re wearing a drysuit, fart bubbles get trapped inside. Either way, try not to hold the fart in. Though the urge to fart disappears while descending, it returns while ascending, and it can be really uncomfortable.<\/p>\n Finally, if you steer away from food and drinks that cause excessive gas before diving, you shouldn\u2019t have to worry about farting underwater.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Did you know that the average human farts 13\u201321 times a day? Passing wind is a natural body function that happens to us all, and it\u2019s nothing to be embarrassed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":82883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82882"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82882"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82966,"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82882\/revisions\/82966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What Happens if You Fart While Scuba Diving?<\/h2>\n
Wetsuits<\/h3>\n
Drysuits<\/h3>\n
Does Depth Affect the Urge to Fart While Scuba Diving?<\/h2>\n
Is It Safe to Fart While Scuba Diving?<\/h2>\n
Does Scuba Diving Cause Gas?<\/h2>\n
What to Do to Avoid Getting Gass?<\/h3>\n
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Can Other Divers Hear Your Fart While Scuba Diving?<\/h2>\n
Does Farting Affect Your Buoyancy?<\/h2>\n
A Final Thought<\/h2>\n