Medical & Fitness

Diving on a blistery morning can be fun, but shivering your way through an hour of decompression can put you on a fast track to the local chamber. It is up to you to make sure that you are adequately prepared for your dive, and for the aftermath. It is easy to end up cold on a dive through no fault of your own, but knowing the signs and symptoms of hypothermia before you dive will help you know when you might be pushing things just a little too far.

These situations are especially daunting in remote locations. Learning how to respond to some of the most common medical emergencies before your next offshore trip or diving expedition could help you save a life. Do you know how to identify the early warning signs of these common emergencies?

Being tired or achy after a long dive, unplanned exertion at depth or a change in decompression planning is often not considered very seriously; if you do not have symptoms, the prevailing thinking is to not worry about it. Despite the way divers have operated for decades, researchers at the forefront of decompression research are pushing hard for greater consideration of the factors that contribute to DCS risk—factors, which combined, create a total picture of our risk.

Whether you have the skills and training to care for a diver yourself or you want to be prepared to help until a more experienced caregiver is available, learn the basics of assessing post-dive symptoms.

Articles like this one are no replacement for training, but they are a good way to refresh or build your awareness of the importance of emergency-response skills.

Almost all experts in dive medicine agree that divers should ascend slowly following dives, whether they’re recreational, working or technical. The reality is that very little direct evidence exists about what ascent rate is safest. Most of the recommendations come from observational studies of bubble grade found using Doppler ultrasound or are based on anecdotal or theoretical concerns.

For three decades the researchers at DAN have monitored, tracked and analyzed diving incidents and fatalities worldwide. One of the best sources of this incident data is you, the diver. When you self-report an injury or incident that you experienced or witnessed via the DAN Incident Reporting System, you offer a valuable look at real world diving incidents and injuries.

Modern discussion has led to a wide variety of recommendations on the topic from a number of sources, leading to some confusion. While some agencies and physicians recommend diving conservatively with a known PFO, others recommend surgical closure, and still others advise that there may not be a benefit to closure and that divers should just be aware of their condition.

Stingrays

Stingrays are frequently considered dangerous or threatening but largely without cause. These are shy fish that generally present no threat to divers unless stepped on or deliberately antagonized. Most stingray injuries occur in shallow water when beachgoers step on the animals. Stingrays can vary in size from just a few inches to more than six feet wide and have a serrated barb at the end of their tails that can cause serious injuries. At the base of the barb are two venomous glands that can cause infections and exacerbate an initial penetrating wound.