billt4sf
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We will be traveling again to the Big Island for diving in late 2013. We always have this question about how high up is it good to stay at after a dive? Given the topography of the island, I'm sure this question has come up before, I searched but did not find anything. (I am new to ScubaBoard, I'm not sure if I searched correctly.)
I asked DAN and I copied the response below. Basically they said that there is no guideline for night stays but "be conservative". We have a B&B booked for 1500' but I am thinking that we should find a place closer to sea level as we will be diving most days. We are novice divers, we dive to maybe 50 - 60' or so, rarely more and we try to make our safety stops but we do not have the need to make decompression stops.
Thanks for any thoughts.
- Bill
Thank you for contacting DAN Medical Services. The following guidelines are the consensus of attendees at the 2002 Flying After Diving Workshop. They apply to air dives followed by flights at cabin altitudes of 2,000 to 8,000 feet (610 to 2,438 meters) for divers who do not have symptoms of decompression sickness (DCS). The recommended preflight surface intervals do not guarantee avoidance of DCS. Longer surface intervals will reduce DCS risk further. For a single no-decompression dive, a minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested. For multiple dives per day or multiple days of diving, a minimum preflight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested. For dives requiring decompression stops, there is little evidence on which to base a recommendation and a preflight surface interval substantially longer than 18 hours appears prudent.
This is the data for altitudes of 2,000 to 8,000 feet. There is no data for altitudes under 2,000 feet, so I can not tell you it is safe or not. I can only recommend that you be conservative with your decision. Feel free to contact DAN with any additional questions.
I asked DAN and I copied the response below. Basically they said that there is no guideline for night stays but "be conservative". We have a B&B booked for 1500' but I am thinking that we should find a place closer to sea level as we will be diving most days. We are novice divers, we dive to maybe 50 - 60' or so, rarely more and we try to make our safety stops but we do not have the need to make decompression stops.
Thanks for any thoughts.
- Bill
Thank you for contacting DAN Medical Services. The following guidelines are the consensus of attendees at the 2002 Flying After Diving Workshop. They apply to air dives followed by flights at cabin altitudes of 2,000 to 8,000 feet (610 to 2,438 meters) for divers who do not have symptoms of decompression sickness (DCS). The recommended preflight surface intervals do not guarantee avoidance of DCS. Longer surface intervals will reduce DCS risk further. For a single no-decompression dive, a minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested. For multiple dives per day or multiple days of diving, a minimum preflight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested. For dives requiring decompression stops, there is little evidence on which to base a recommendation and a preflight surface interval substantially longer than 18 hours appears prudent.
This is the data for altitudes of 2,000 to 8,000 feet. There is no data for altitudes under 2,000 feet, so I can not tell you it is safe or not. I can only recommend that you be conservative with your decision. Feel free to contact DAN with any additional questions.