SAFETY Altitude Exposure After Diving: Safety Risks Every Dive Pro Should Know – by Dan Orr, President, Dan Orr Consulting
Larry and Sharon, friends and avid divers, had recently traveled to a very popular Caribbean dive resort. While waiting to board an island hopper flight to the main island and their flight home, Larry overheard another passen-
DAN conducted extensive research on exactly that subject and subsequently published “Flying After Diving Guide- lines.” There is, however, still significant confusion on that subject, as some believe you have to be in a commercial air- craft flying at high altitude for there to be any risk of de- compression sickness following scuba diving. In our book, “101 Tips for Recreational Scuba Divers,” Betty and I ad- dress this precise issue as Tip #63, “Altitude Following a Dive.” So, the real issue is not limited to “flying” after a dive or series of dives, but it’s actually “exposure to altitude” fol- lowing a dive. The DAN Medical Department used to receive calls from divers who had enjoyed an exciting day of diving the mul- titude of shipwrecks off the North Carolina coast and, as they drove home, began show- ing symptoms of decompres- sion sickness when they neared the crest of the 3,000’ (915m) mountains of western North Carolina and West Virginia. Exposure to altitude for any reason following scuba diving
ger discuss the great dives she and her husband had made. A question was asked by another passenger if they were concerned about the flight to the main island since they had been diving just a few hours before. The diver’s response was that there is not an issue flying over to the main island since they were in a small plane and had a long layover to the main island airport before flying home at high altitude. For your future knowledge, the island
hopper would be flying in an unpressurized aircraft at an alti- tude of around 7,000’ (2,134m), and the cabin pressure for most commercial aircraft is some- where between 7,000 (2,134m) and 8,000’ (2,439m).
The Medical Department at Divers Alert Network (DAN) has regularly received calls regarding concerns about flying after diving. Due to continuing concerns about the potential risks associated with decompression sickness (DCS) in re- lation to altitude, DAN initiated a research study to address this serious issue. The data collected from this project were used to develop the current “Flying After Diving” consen- sus guidelines for divers to follow when flying or ascending to altitude after scuba diving. Three major guidelines were established to inform divers of recommended minimum surface interval times following a scuba diving experience. These guidelines are minimum surface interval recom- mendations. Longer surface intervals may further reduce the risk of DCS. It’s important to remember that the study from which these guidelines were developed was conducted with volunteers who were at rest and sitting in dry hyper- baric chambers. Actual conditions would, of course, differ from those in the study because divers will have been sub- merged and involved in some level of exercise during the dives they were making. Therefore, it is wise to consider this when planning your post-dive surface interval prior to going to altitude to maximize your safety.
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