TrooperLauren
Registered
Hi, just wondering how diving affects asthmatics? Is it a problem at all? I think maybe beyond a certain depth but not sure.
Asthmatic + Diving = Death?
- Thread starter TrooperLauren
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Depth is not the issue. Having an attack and not being able to breathe at any depth is.
It really depends on the trigger factors. Cold and exertion are real problems. Allergic triggers less so if well managed. There are plenty of prior threads that dig into this, especially in the medical forums.
Depth in it's own right does not pose a problem. It does often imply colder and farther from the surface so it may elevate the risk in those regards. There can changes in the work of breathing when deeper that elevate the risk as well.
Has a doctor evaluated the patient in question? Having this done by a dive savvy specialist is always best.
Pete
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
SDI does not allow instructors to certify those with Reactive Asthma. The problem is that should you ascend during an attack, you might incur a barotrauma or worse: an embolism. While I love to see everyone dive, the risks just aren't worth it.
Blackwood
Contributor
There is no simple answer to this question. Asthma as an entity runs a range from people who are only symptomatic after viral illnesses, to people who are symptomatic on a daily basis. Triggers, as has already been mentioned, also differ.
The biggest danger of asthma to the diver is not the inability to inhale, as one might think; it is the inability to EXHALE, or rather to empty the small airways and air sacs. This leads to air trapping in the lungs, and upon ascent, this trapped air expands and can cause pneumothorax or worse, gas embolism. Embolism is one of the rapidly and rarely reversible fatal decompression-related events, and ought to be much feared.
For this reason, it is recommended that people with significantly symptomatic asthma should not consider diving. If, however, you are the type of person who has been diagnosed (as I have) with mild reactive airways disease, and is only symptomatic at very great intervals and is aware of symptoms when they occur, a lot of people now feel that it is okay to dive. Exercise-induced asthma is considered a contraindication, however, because if you got into a current or for some other reason had to exert yourself during a dive and got bronchospasm, the embolism risk is suddenly there.
You might want to read these two pieces from DAN on diving and asthma:
DAN Divers Alert Network
DAN Divers Alert Network : Asthma & Diving
The biggest danger of asthma to the diver is not the inability to inhale, as one might think; it is the inability to EXHALE, or rather to empty the small airways and air sacs. This leads to air trapping in the lungs, and upon ascent, this trapped air expands and can cause pneumothorax or worse, gas embolism. Embolism is one of the rapidly and rarely reversible fatal decompression-related events, and ought to be much feared.
For this reason, it is recommended that people with significantly symptomatic asthma should not consider diving. If, however, you are the type of person who has been diagnosed (as I have) with mild reactive airways disease, and is only symptomatic at very great intervals and is aware of symptoms when they occur, a lot of people now feel that it is okay to dive. Exercise-induced asthma is considered a contraindication, however, because if you got into a current or for some other reason had to exert yourself during a dive and got bronchospasm, the embolism risk is suddenly there.
You might want to read these two pieces from DAN on diving and asthma:
DAN Divers Alert Network
DAN Divers Alert Network : Asthma & Diving
joeSteve1006
Registered
There is also another thread here on diving with asthma
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/divers-disabilities/345002-diving-asthma.html#post5390538
It may help to answer some of your questions.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/divers-disabilities/345002-diving-asthma.html#post5390538
It may help to answer some of your questions.
fnfalman
Contributor
Call up Divers Alert Network (DAN) and talk with them, see if they can recommend a doctor who's familiar with SCUBA in your area.
seacreatures
Contributor
I have a couple diving friends who suffer from asthma and they have been diving for years, may not be for everyone, but most asthmatics I know, know their limitations
TartanFrog
Contributor
I just read an article in one of the dive training magazines that discusses this issue. The author, can't remember the particulars right now, recommended against it for the same reasons that everyone else has stated. The article discussed several scenarios but the bottom line was to not recommend it unless specific criteria is met. Mostly not having an attack in several months, etc.
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