I have Asthma and I want to Scuba dive!

[pasley]

1. Call DAN and visit their website and read their articles on the subject the link is Asthma
2. The bone dry air of SCUBA tanks could be a trigger for asthma.
3. Just to be clear on what the "concern" here is, if you were to have an asthma attack at depth the result could be a pneumothorax (ruptured lung) or worse.
That said, some people do dive with atshma, I would however not encourage it.

 

[Ann Marie]

Please don't lie to your instructor. If your doctor clears you, contact the different shops in the area and email with the manager.

As an instructor, I believe that a chronic, well controlled conditions should NOT keep us doing something that we really want to do. But, knowing that I had a student or dive buddy that was asthmatic would trigger a little different behavior from me. We would discuss 'special' sign to let me know if your chest was tight or if you were wheezing or if you felt an attack coming on. I would also keep a closer eye on your respirations (watching the bubbles).

My son is diabetic and has his certification cards. I've always told him to control his diabetes not to let it control him.

By not disclosing a health concern you are putting yourself and others at greater risk.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Welcome and you have been given good advice.

 

[C2001]

I have asthma and have had no problems with diving. I had a pulmonary function test to ease my concerns. I also use to use my inhaler all the time. I have been on Advair as well and I don't take it everyday and I am fine. As a precaution I will use the inhaler right before i dive to have extra insurance. There have been times when i forgot to use my inhaler and everything was fine. Most doctors will automatically say you can't dive so try to find one that is a diver, I was told DAN can help with this. You can find out who your insurance covers and then call all the doctor's and ask if they are divers.

 

[oly5050user]

As an instructor,if someone lies on the medical and I find out about it,I drop them out of the class immediately.No refund either. If they get a ok from a doctor then all is good.If I see someone come out on the boat and use an inhaler before they go in the water,they are NOT going in the water.Too easy for lung expansion injuries..
I have had a person sign off NO to any surgery and then see a "zipper" on their chest from heart surgery,they are droped out of class and told not to return without a ok from a doctor
Same goes for someone with a medic alert braclet on their wrist.If no explanation and an ok from a DR.= no diving..You are not only putting yourself at risk but the other people in class and the instructor if they have to do something to save you or recover your sorrya** body from the deep.

 

[Crowley]

I agree - I will drop a student no questions asked if it turns out they have lied on a medical.

That form (and yes, here we go again) is not simply to protect us, the instructors, it's also there to protect you, the student or diver.

Saying such cavalier things as "if I die underwater, what are they gonna do, sue me?" is an appalling way to look at an underlying medical condition. Lawsuits may well ensue, but that is the least of the tragedy; families may have lost a loved one, the instructor's career is likely to be over, etc. etc. etc.

To the OP - hyperbaric simply means "above pressure"; as in somebody who knows what medical conditions may be affected or problematic by working under increased "atmospheric" pressure or breathing pressurised gas at depth. Many asthmatics are fine to dive, but as always, please make sure you are properly cleared by a knowledgable physician beforehand. You may be disappointed, but you may be preventing your parents from burying their child, or your own child from becoming a member of a single parent family.

Safe diving everybody,

C.

 

[izibo]

Lots of personal attacks on this board, which is a shame. If you really want to ensure the safety of all divers, you should probably require abdominal ultrasounds to check for abdominal aneurysms, chest CTs to check for blebs that could lead to a spontaneous pneumothorax, and of course an echocardiogram to ensure they don't have an undiagnosed cardiomyopathy. They probably all kill more divers than asthma or asthma like conditions.

You should have no problem with a diver who undestands their own medical history, determines that scuba diving puts them at no greater risk than anyone else (which in my case is true, you can have a copy of my pulmonary function tests), and gets appropriate medical checkups. You are not (likely) a physician, so stop pretending like this puts you and the rest of your students at risk when you don't know any of the details. It is irresponsible at best.

If you are a ticking time bomb and you know it, you should be disclosing this. If you happen to raise a false alarm on some stupid point on a form that has already been okay'd with a diving specialist, what's the point of getting in to a heated debate with some dive op who doesn't have any medical training and doesn't understand? It has happened to me many times
before, even with a note. I am not advertising that anyone should lie, I just mentioned that under my specific set of circumstances I do not disclose that I get wheezy around my uncles cats because it has nothing to do with diving and simply overlaps with other conditions they are trying to screen for.

Just because it's the Internet doesn't mean you should go running around putting other people down because you may disagree with them. Why can't we just get along?

 

[Crowley]

It's not irrepsonsible at all to ensure that our divers are safe to dive. What is irresponsible is not disclosing something that might potentially be fatal.

I don't want to turn people away, and no I'm not a physician, but I have a good understanding of various medical conditions and the problems that might occur at depth, and I do know rather a lot of details. I'm not attacking anybody personally or putting anybody down, and if a person is medically cleared to dive then they are welcome to come and do so.

Thousands of people pass through the centre at which I work every year. We don't know them, and if somebody says they have a condition but they're fit to dive that's great, but I don't know them, I don't know whether that person is a pathological liar or a decent honest person, and I don't know how much they actually know about their own condition. Spouting medical terminology which I understand very well is going to make no difference, therefore I'm going to require that they see a physician whose judgement and medical opinion I trust.

A person's specific set of circumstances may well allow them to dive, and that's great, I want to see everybody loving their diving and enjoying the world in which I work. You can get medical clearance from a physician and it's valid for a whole year so just do it and bring it along, we'll accept that.

I'm not making judgements or putting people down simply because it's the Internet, I'd quite happily have the same discussion face to face, and indeed have done so many times. If a person is not willing to disclose what is a potentially serious medical condition on that "stupid" form (which it's not) then they are quite welcome to stay well away from my dive centre. If they have taken the appropriate steps and have the appropriate approval from a hyperbaric physician then I will introduce them to one of the most spectacular underwater environments on the planet.

People die because they lie, it's that simple. I'd like to get along with everybody, just do everybody a favour and make sure we all get along safely.

Cheers

C.

 

[Splash-X]

Just because it's the Internet doesn't mean you should go running around putting other people down because you may disagree with them. Why can't we just get along?

Just because we have different view points on the topic doesn't mean we're putting you down. I personally respect your thoughts and value your input.

Most dive leaders here have stated that if you omit information (don't check YES to any pre-existing conditions) on your release forms (mainly for class, since the OP is not already a diver) and we find out about your conditions, you'll have to sit until you get clearance from your doctor.

We do, for the most part, agree that people with existing medical conditions CAN in fact dive IF they have been cleared by a medical professional who is familiar with the individuals circumstances.

Don't forget, there are people who are charged with your care while you're under their supervision. During class thats your instructor and after your certified its the Captain, Dive Master, etc. If an operator choose to prevent you from diving with them, that is your choice and you should respect their decision as they are trying to protect both you and their staff. Simply move on to a different operator who will accomidate you.

I don't pass judgment on you but if you get injured while I'm the DM, that will have a MAJOR impact on me as a person as well as a dive leader.

 

[dgreenh]

Just something to file away... Here is an Australian company that is working on solutions for divers with asthma. I don't think their products are approved in the U.S. and I don't know anything about them except for the information on their web site. I am also not sure I agree with what they are doing but time and testing will tell the story I suppose. Just something that I bookmarked a while back. It could be a good site to watch if you have asthma and want to dive.