Help! Wetsuit Irritation!

[Bill McIntyre]

Regarding flushing- my boat has a salt water washdown pump, and when I get back in the boat, I just stick the nozzle down the neck of my suit and flush it through. At least I'm not marinating in the same brew all day.

And if its too challenging, I flush with my hot fresh water system, even though the flow is not as vigorous.

Its amazing how the water temp has fallen in the last few days. Last week I dove some coastal spots down here on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the temp was 70. Yesterday I dove the same spots, and the surface temp was 61, with more like 58 at about 20 feet depth.

So I was flushing with the salt water, and then topping off with a shot of hot fresh water for comfort.

[strangelove]

Originally Posted by coadavid

Yes, mine is a "Thermic" model so I assume so. Do all Picasso suits have this filling?

No they don't only some models do, but with my case I am just going to ditch the suit. When diving in colder water I had less problems (but still had some hashes) but when the water is warmer, I red hashes all over specially on the chest area (I do take leaks inside the suit), but if that was the cause, I would think the worse areas would be around my legs.

Any case the good news is the "true" open cell does not have any type of cover, in fact based on what I've read in this forum they are actually warmer, and I don't have any skin problem with those (I have two other picasso suit without the filling) , hopefully that would your case as well.

The way I use my suit, is I put it on when I go in the boat to avoid sun burn, and I take it out when I leave the boat only, so it stays on the whole day.

Our skin problem cannot deal with the thermic ink (I assume it is ink), I would just sell that suit and buy one without the thermic filling. Picasso has several, but so the other brands.

[shaun.reid]

I have plenty of friends that have the same problem - Best solution is change back to double nylon suit - i know you miss out on comfort but at least after the dive you will look good!! Enjoy hope you find another solution!

[coadavid]

How about if I wore a 1mm Lycra "inner" suit?

I'd sweat my ass off (except during Winter) but I'd really hate to toss a good $400 wetsuit...

[shaun.reid]

I Think it has more to do with the hairs on your leg being agitated buy the sticky material -so I say Lycra might not solve the problem - do you know anyone with a Lycra suit? Give it a try. $400 seems like a waste!! Does the top half of your body react the same way??

[strangelove]

Shaun

I am not sure if that is my case, since I've used nylon2 suits and open cell (never got any irritation with those types), I think my issue is definitely related to the ink (or metalite) used by Picasso. Since I get irritation where there is hardly any hair. So I think in my case the lycra suit would work but I have not try it my self. Also the hashes are worse if the water is warmer.

Again just another point of view.

[coadavid]

I've heard the metallite lining causes problems from a few people now. And the rash is everywhere, esp. lower back and the backs of my knees.

Next time I get in the water I'm going to try a different lube and I'll allow water to flow in every 1/2 hour or so.

[shaun.reid]

try it let me know if it works - I use baby soap in my suit and i never get a rash - i do however if i dont use enough!! So maybe your lube will work - i wouldent put the water in though then you are washing the lube out the suit and back to square 1. I will ask my friends if they found a solution.

[sciencemike]

Does your Pimple like bumps coincide with hair follicles? Even if the hair is very light there or almost non existant. If so its a common thing for wetsuit wearers called folliculitis. Or infection of the hair follicles. It tends to look like small white heads on hair follicles. Sometimes its deep under the skin and can create heated hard nodules. If you get these hard nodules and they get bigger than 3 cm in diameter under the skin see a doctor, as one of the common causes of this are the Staph bacteria.

The best prevention is simply rinse your suit and dry it outside in the sun inside out. The sun will dry the suit and help kill any of the Bacteria/Fungi that are causing your rash. I have found that Hibicleanse and a slight bleach solution scrubbed on the wetsuit rids the infestation. Then simple cleaning of the suit and drying in the sun keep it from coming back. Test a sample of hibicleanse on your skin first to make sure you arent sensitive to it. For the record Hibiclease is what hospitals give patients who are exposed to Flesh eating or MRSA bacteria. Its the best.

[strangelove]

Sciencemike

You are probably correct, the bump will coincide with the hair, since I don't have the same problem with nylon2 or open cell suits, that leads me to beleive that the thermic ink is more susceptible to acumulated bacteria then the other types.

When I am in a dive trip, I just can't afford the time to dry the suit since the dive will end late at night and will start early the next morning.

About the bump it is good to know, mine just disappeared when I came back to AK two weeks later.

Thanks for the info