Last Updated: March 29, 2022
Yes, you can fart while scuba diving, but once you reach depths of more than 10 meters it will be difficult, and in depths of more than 20 meters it will be almost impossible to pass gas. The pressure on your body at these depths will affect your ability and body’s desire to pass gas.
Farting is a natural process on land and in the water. For the most part, your body will have the exact needs in both places. It’s perfectly safe to fart when you dive. The released gas will float to the surface just like your air bubbles.
Does Scuba Diving Give You Gas?
The pressure inside of your gut releases when you return to the surface. The longer you are in the water diving, your body will absorb more nitrogen than usual. Once you return, your body will release this nitrogen in the form of passing gas.
This is a chemical reaction inside your body due to nitrogen absorption and water pressure to your gut. This is a normal part of diving and is not considered dangerous. It is different from eating certain foods that will make you gassy.
It is actually advised again to get a massage after diving for similar reasons. The nitrogen absorbed in your body may turn into one larger bubble with the increased blood flow from a massage. This air needs to be released somehow, and it’s the safest to allow it to be removed from passing gas.
What Happens When You Fart While Scuba Diving?
Farting while scuba diving follows the same principle as farting on land. When we swallow too much air or from eating certain foods, our body has the need to expel the excess nitrogen – so farting when scuba diving is a normal reaction and isn’t a cause for concern.
Once you exceed 20 meters underwater, your body will not be able to release gas. The water pressure on your gut will compress the air, stopping its flow. At this point, you won’t even have the sensation to fart.
Anything more shallow than 20 meters, farting will release air into your wetsuit. This air will find its way out of your suit and rise to the surface of the water, very similar to the air bubbles from your regulator. If the air remains in your suit, it will flow out once you arrive at the surface and remove the wetsuit.
It’s recommended that you pass gas if you feel the need to fart underwater. The more you hold in this air, the larger the buildup will be, making it increasingly uncomfortable while diving. It’s best to release gas as you feel it starting to build instead of letting it accumulate to one large pass.
Your suit should be snug but not overly tight. Make sure that your wetsuit is not too light, so your body isn’t compressed inside it. Having your body squeezed inside a wetsuit will put excess pressure on your stomach.
Does Farting in a Wetsuit Affect Buoyancy?
Farting will not affect buoyancy in any noticeable way. Technically, releasing gas from inside your body will make you less buoyant. A fart will contain much less than even a shallow breath of air.
Breathing in certain ways can affect your buoyancy while diving. For instance, taking a large deep breath in, your body will become more buoyant, and you will rise in the water. When you exhale, your body will lose buoyancy and you will sink in the water.
Passing gas while scuba diving will not affect your buoyancy in a way that you will notice. A normal inhalation will bring in around 3 liters of air into your body. The average fart releases anywhere from 15 to 400 milliliters of air from your body. This release of air is minimal.
What Happens if You Fart Deep Underwater (Does Depth Impact Farting?)
As per Boyle’s Law, gas inside your body will compress the deeper you dive. This compression decreases the volume of gas inside your body, which is why after a certain depth, it’s physically impossible to fart. It becomes impossible to fart in depths greater than 20 meters.
If you were to stay underwater for extended periods and swallow enough air, you could, in theory, build up enough gas to fart. This air would be at the same pressure as your surroundings. The process would take time and is much longer than a recreational dive.
Farting at any depth underwater will yield the same results. The gas will be released and float to the surface with the rest of your air bubbles.
Can You Feel Bloated After Diving?
This is a common occurrence and is most likely due from swallowing too much air while diving. If you are breathing in unnatural ways while underwater, you may return to the surface and feel bloated and gassy a few hours later.
This can be remediated by speaking to a professional diving instructor and learning proper underwater breathing techniques. While there aren’t any techniques that will ultimately stop gas and bloat from occurring after a dive, breathing properly underwater may reduce the side effects significantly.
Eat lighter foods and avoid carbs before diving. Eating a simple healthy breakfast, including oats and fruits, the morning of your dive could help with indigestion and can prevent feeling bloated after diving.
Can You Scuba Dive With Heartburn?
Scuba diving with heartburn can lead to severe issues after reaching certain depths. Heartburn is a backup of stomach contents, and under certain pressure from certain diving positions, this content can be forced into your lungs.
Having stomach contents forced into your lungs will cause aspiration, a potentially life-threatening condition. If you are prone to heartburn, you can take medicine the night before to help ensure you are not battling heartburn during the dive. Having heartburn the night before shouldn’t be an issue as long as you aren’t feeling symptoms the day of.
People with a history of sudden onset of heartburn should consider avoiding diving altogether, and having such condition while diving could be dangerous and should be avoided if possible.
Final Thoughts
Everyone farts. And yes, you can fart while scuba diving, it’s not going to inflate your wetsuit like a balloon. But you may have to deal with the embarrassment of bubbles seen by other divers emerging not only from your regulator.
There are many factors that can cause you to fart. The most obvious factor is consuming food or drinks that make you gassy. You can also accumulate gas by swallowing air. If the need should arise, you should definitely let it out as soon as possible.
Depending on how deep you dive, the increasing water pressure can cause the gases in your body to compress. This may also reduce your urge to fart.
My unbounded love for the oceans and everything it has to offer motivated me to pursue my passion and become a professional scuba diving instructor.
I keep reading, exploring, and learning more about scuba diving and the underwater world all the time, so I’m excited to share my knowledge with fellow scuba enthusiasts and hopefully contribute a little to your development as a diver. I want people to fall in love with the oceans with as much passion as I have. Read more about me here.