Diving with Asthma

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ghubbers

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I have a friend who wants to get into diving but she is concerned that her asthma may stop her from doing so.

Being new to it myself I was unable to tell her what the typical response was to this question.

Can anyone tell me if people who have asthma are even allowed to certify and if so, what limitations they have or what precautions they can excercise to be safe?

She has been diving before at various resorts and loved the experience, she is a very strong swimmer, and has great lung capacity with her asthma under control due to her singing career. Her asthma is best classed as average, not severe but not mild either.
 
there are divers out there that have controlled asthma that dive she need to contact her pulmonoligist and have him give her thoughts on same , also need to contact dive organzation and talk with them personally as long as it controlled even though like most things in life everything is possible .
 
Im Asthmatic, never had a problem, just always keep your ventolin handy, I keep a spare in my save a dive kit,
She should check with the doc first though...
 
Asthma does not automatically prevent someone from diving -- but it is a serious issue that should be discussed with a doctor.

If the peron's asthma is triggered by cold temps or exercise -- diving is not a good idea. If the person's asthma is "well controlled" -- i.e., they don't require inhalers on a consistent basis and the asthma triggers are known and controllable (and are things they won't encounter whiule diving) -- diving may be OK.

As mentioned above, this should all be discussed with a DOCTOR.

I am not a doctor, but I have mild asthma (allergin-induced)...so this is a question I have looked into in detail.

Here are a couple of informative articles from YMCA scuba and DAN regarding diving and asthma.

Best of luck to your friend!

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/article.asp?articleid=22

http://www.ymcascuba.org/ymcascub/asthmatc.html
 
Hi ghubbers,

Might want to read what is already in our archives regarding this issue----> http://www.scubaboard.com/search.ph...d=114215&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

In the meantime, this piece on asthma & diving appeared in my Dec '00 "Dive Workshop" column in "Rodale's Scuba Diving" magazine. Here is an unedited copy:

"Can I Dive With Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic but often largely controllable obstructive pulmonary disease that affects about eight to 10 percent of children and five to eight percent of adults in the U.S. Signs and symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing, tightness in the chest and lasting cough. The potential adverse impact of a severe attack under water is obvious, and could be fatal. Arterial gas embolism (AGE) as a result of air trapping from the constriction and plugging characteristic of this disease has also been a frequent, but as yet inconclusive, concern.

Asthma Triggers

Asthma is a chronic irritation & hypersensitivity of the respiratory tract, and attacks can be triggered as a reaction to a variety of conditions including stress, cold or exercise, or allergens such as pollen and certain foods and medications. The asthmatic’s body reacts to these triggers, in varying order and severity, by constriction of smooth muscle in the bronchi and bronchioles, inflammation of the airway and increased mucous production. Attacks tend to be recurrent rather than continuous, and there is often much that can be done medically to reverse breathing difficulties when they do occur. In addition, since many of the precipitants of an attack are known, they can be avoided or controlled.

Diving with Asthma

Until the mid-1990s, asthma was largely considered an absolute contraindication to diving. However, thinking in the medical and professional dive community has rather radically altered since then, and those with asthma can now be certified under certain circumstances. Although they differ somewhat, the YMCA, BASC and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Society each offer protocols guiding medical clearance to dive.

For example, the YMCA criteria include a requirement that all asthmatics have normal resting and exercise pulmonary function tests with no degradation after exercise. The criteria allow those taking routine preventative medications to be evaluated while continuing their treatment. Also required is the ability to exercise and tolerate stress without becoming symptomatic while on maintenance medications, and the absence of a need for “rescue” inhalers during times of stress or exertion.

If you suffer from asthma, it’s clearly unwise to deny or minimize this condition to yourself, or hide it from your instructor or the operators with whom you dive. Scuba can involve some of the asthma triggers discussed above, such as cold and exercise, not mention hyperdry scuba cylinder gas. If you have asthma and want to dive, or are already diving without medical clearance, it is critical that you consult a physician to obtain an appropriate pulmonary workup and permission to dive."

Hope you found this helpful.

DocVikingo
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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