Would you let my wife dive?

[Lefty17]

This seems to always be a controversial topic in the diving community, however if you were a shop owner or DM would you let my wife dive in this situation?

She has had only one seizure 16 years ago, but is still on medication. Her doctor has signed off for her to be able to dive. We are going on a trip soon and she expressed interest in doing a discovery dive to see if it's something she would be interested in. If you were the shop owner, would you allow her to dive at shallow depths?

 

[OtherHalf]

What kind of Doctor? Does (s)he have experience with the effects of medicine at heightened pressure? Seek out opinion of a doctor knowledgeable in dive medicine.

 

[tursiops]

If you, and she, and her (knowledgeable I hope) doctor all say go for it, I'm not going to say no.

 

[KevinNM]

If you cannot find a physician with that expertise locally, call DAN and ask them. This isn't something you should poll people on the Internet for.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

According to the Good Folks at DAN:

This disorder of brain function causes episodic alterations of consciousness, called epileptic seizures. Abnormal electrical discharges in the brain cause these episodes; they may occur without warning, and they may vary in character from a brief loss of attention to violent, prolonged convulsion. People may outgrow the condition; it is often, but not always, controlled by medication.
Fitness & Diving
Loss of consciousness or loss of awareness while underwater carries a high risk of drowning or embolism from an uncontrolled ascent. An analysis of motor vehicle operators with epilepsy has shown that a seizure occurring behind the wheel will result in an accident in nearly every instance, but no evidence exists that diving with compressed air scuba to the accepted 130 fsw limit increases the risk of epileptic seizures. One is no more likely to seize while diving than while driving: the risk is the same. There is no useful data to determine the potential for injury in divers with epilepsy.

Current doctrine among diving medicine physicians advises that individuals with epilepsy not dive. Those with childhood epilepsy, who have outgrown the condition and have been off medication for five years, still face a slightly increased risk of a seizure. To make an informed decision about diving, these individuals should discuss this with their personal physicians, families and diving companions.

Medication Used in Treatment
Anti-seizure medication acts directly on the brain and may interact with high partial pressures of nitrogen. This may produce unexpected side effects.

DAN is considered by many to be amoung the foremost experts on dive medicine and safety. If they say no, then I'd say no.

On the other hand, if she's only ever had one seizure, and that was 16 years ago, I'd wonder why she's on meds at all. Most people are not started on anti-seizure meds after a single seizure. Most people who have gone more than 4-5 years without a seizure can be weaned off the meds (going off my memory, it seems like the last study I saw showed something around 70%). I think I'd start by consulting a neurologist to find out why she's on meds at all, and if it might not be time, after 16 years without a seizure, to wean her off them.

 

[Max Speed]

Full face mask.

 

[WarrenZ]

Heres another way to look at it if she were to seize underwater do you have the skills and training to get her to the surface? Are you Rescue certified and willing to be a buddy for her or are you expecting to hire a divemaster and have him or her be the responsible party?

One seizure in 16 years is what I would call controlled either through drugs or from the seizure being a freak occurrence so if the doctor signs off on it she understands and is comfortable with the risk and you as the buddy are ready and able to perform the rescue/recovery if needed then go for it.

 

[DENLASCUBA]

Is the doctor dive medicine certified if not go find one and consult them, if you can not find one contact DAN and they can help.

What type of seizure does she have? The type with uncontrollable shaking or absence seizure where she is basically a zombie. If it is absence seizure generally water activities are not recommended as one would not know right away if she is okay. Also her meds may have to be increased in dosage as diving could result in higher stress level triggering the seizure even if on meds, this would seem still be no guarantee.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

As the father of someone with epilepsy and an instructor, the fact that she is still on meds means that there may be a possibility that she needs them. So no. All it may mean is that her condition is very well controlled. With the meds. Being on meds this long also raises serious concerns with me. Anti-epilepsy drugs have their own issues. It does depend on the person but the side effects of some are quite nasty and may affect the person in ways under water that are unknown.

To me it's not worth the risk.

 

[Steve_C]

Max Bottomtime mentioned full face mask. If you can find a shop that will train in its use that makes a big difference on risk assessment.