diver dies on the surface

[lamont]

I came down with a nasty cold in mexico and did 4 cavern and two open water dives anyway -- no issues with the ears, but i had a reverse sinus block that lasted all night even after i got out on two occasions...

can you get an CAGE from sinus barotrauma or is that only lungs?

 

[Kevfin]

Sad story. Good points.

I just hope nobody calls this a diving accident. It wasn't. Sounds like he never even made it underwater.

 

[lamont]

Sad story. Good points.

I just hope nobody calls this a diving accident. It wasn't. Sounds like he never even made it underwater.

if he hadn't passed out in the water and drowned, though, he wouldn't have died.

 

[Kevfin]

if he hadn't passed out in the water and drowned, though, he wouldn't have died.

Not sure how the press in the Netherlands treats these type of things. But, my take is in the states it would be called a dive accident and people would go on about the dangers of diving. In reality he was swimming not diving.

It goes with out saying, know your physical limitations for the activity you're engaged in. Everything has it's risks (yeah, even being a couch potato/e). As divers, and as Diver0001 has touched upon, think about the risks you have taken and may take in the future.

 

[Diver0001]

It wasn't reported by the press. And the symantics of what anyone calls it doesn't matter to his loved ones.

The message I want to get out there isn't what kind of an accident it was (or wasn't) I want people to take a good think about the little risks they accept. Concealing a medical problem is clearly unwise but many divers take other little risks too. Little risks that can turn into big, or even deadly, problems.

R..

 

[fisherdvm]

I quiver when I see comments about snorkels being a worthless tool. As we certify more people who are less than comfortable at rhythmic breathing (snorkel/fin allowance), we will stress more divers at the surface who can not breath well because they have not mastered rhythmic breathing.

I freely admit, that I was certified using mostly the back stroke. Now that I've got the crawl stroke down well, and feel much more comfortable on the surface.

We should not laugh at people who, for their own safety, uses a snorkel. All it takes is "gasp, cough, gasp, cough", and a diver on the surface is loaded with anxiety and fear.

Certainly, we do not know more details about the victims age, health, medications, medical history. But either a regulator in his mouth, or a dry snorkel - and his heart rate should be alot lower.

 

[wscdive]

Had an interesting finding on a routine physical that just goes to show that nothing is a guarantee. At 44 years old and having been an instructor for 10 years my new doctor realized I had never had an EKG. When he saw the results he sent me straight to a cardiologist(offered to admit me if i wanted to spend christmas in the hospital). Turns out I had Wolf-Parkinson-White, extra nerves in my heart since birth. Got it treated,(catheter ablation) and no longer have a problem. The scary part is that the treating doctor said mine was a particulary dangerous accessory pathway which, if it went into action , would probably have caused sudden death. I asked why I never had a sign or symptom he just shrugged and said I was lucky. So were the hundreds of students from open water to advanced that were feeling so secure that they had an instructor with them, what would there reaction have been if i just dropped dead on them? Bottom line is stay healthy, get checked regularly and stay out of the water if you have any problems..Its not just you could possibly harm, your buddy may hurt him or herself trying to save you. Especially important if you are a dive leader..

 

[Steve50]

Sounds like the buddy system may have been on hold.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I quiver when I see comments about snorkels being a worthless tool. As we certify more people who are less than comfortable at rhythmic breathing (snorkel/fin allowance), we will stress more divers at the surface who can not breath well because they have not mastered rhythmic breathing.

I freely admit, that I was certified using mostly the back stroke. Now that I've got the crawl stroke down well, and feel much more comfortable on the surface.

We should not laugh at people who, for their own safety, uses a snorkel. All it takes is "gasp, cough, gasp, cough", and a diver on the surface is loaded with anxiety and fear.

Certainly, we do not know more details about the victims age, health, medications, medical history. But either a regulator in his mouth, or a dry snorkel - and his heart rate should be alot lower.

I don't think a snorkel or reg in mouth would have helped in this case. When he fainted, either would have likely fallen out, or at the very least, a seal around the mouthpiece wouldn't have been made. Same result. I don't use a snorkel when diving (unless I'm teaching), mainly because it interferes with my long hose, but I don't laugh at people either.


wscdive, lots of people have WPW without knowing it or having symptoms. It's just one of those things, like a PFO, that we may have but not know it. I've seen it diagnosed as a result of people coming in with SVT (rapid heart rate). Consider yourself very lucky and thank your doc!

 

[frogoutofwater]

One of the tricky things about fainting spells is that, unless you're actually keeling over and smacking yourself on something, you might not be fully aware of what is going on. For example, my sister sustained a concussion about 10 years ago but didn't realise it for a few days. For couple of days, she simply had a vague sense that she was "losing" time - a few minutes or so while she was sitting down. Since she worked night shift and was tired, she thought that she was simply nodding off because she was tired - or that she was imagining things. Finally, on the third day, she not only "lost time" but wet her pants. Well, gee, that was a big clue. She headed off to the hospital and, lo and behold, she had a concussion.

I mention this because it's important to keep in mind that you might be experiencing something a little unusual but the symptoms are so vague and strange that you dismiss the sense of unease. But if you're planning to dive, you have to hyper-vigilant about listening to your body and not dismiss vague symptoms or uneasiness out of hand.