Flying after diving...

[Steve_C]

A shallow reef dive still slows down the offloading of some compartments.

You regularly see incident reports where after several days of diving somebody gets a hit.

Everybody has their own bodies and risk avoidance. And mother nature has her own set of dice she rolls. I would fly on 20 hours but it would be two shallow reef dives on the last day. But then I like shallow reef dives.

 

[PfcAJ]

You off gas fastest at the surface, not piddling around shallow.

 

[marcushall]

You off gas fastest at the surface, not piddling around shallow.

But, is there anything to be gained breathing Nitrox in shallow water vs breathing air at the surface? Or how about just surfacing and then continuing to breath Nitrox after the dive?

 

[PfcAJ]

Maybe some slight theoretical value depending on the nixtrox you're breathing. Its really just academic and there's no way to reliably translate that into a safety advantage for flying.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I have read many articles about flying after diving and everyone has mixed reviews. DAN recommends 18hrs and the golden rule has been 24. . . .

To me, DAN is the "golden rule." The cynic in me says that "24 hours" is often heard because it's easy to remember, and dive resorts like it so they can justify you not diving the entire last day you're there.

Still, your first day of three dives to 100 feet might give me pause. If it were me, I'd skip the third dive or keep it shallow. But that's just because I rarely dive that aggressively under any circumstance.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I always plan a trip that involves flying around not diving on the last day. 24 hours is my rule. I like to take the time to have my gear clean and dry. Meaning I thoroughly rinse regs (take the 2nd stages apart and wipe them down) and suit, relax before dealing with TSA, and do a little sightseeing.

I might do one morning dive if I have an afternoon flight the next day. I don't drink so that is not a concern. During the dive week I have no interest in anything other than diving, eating, and sleeping.

Might be one of the reasons I'm not interested in going with large groups anywhere. Did that once and that was enough. Normally I'm in bed most nights by 9:30. I like my sleep since I'm usually up between 5 and 5:30. Nightlife and that whole scene holds no interest.

Top that off with getting older and recover from stuff slower than I used to. It's not worth the risk just for an extra dive. IMO.

 

[diverjen]

what computer do you have? Just curious/interested since mine always says 24 after a 2 week dive dive dive trip (altho always rec limits and nitrox)

None of us know if we are bubblers or not. I've done countless trips to Florida, doing 3-4 dives per day for several to many days. I've flown 18-24 hours later without untoward event. My n=1 experiment means nothing to the rest of you, but my practice is OK for me. My computer desat time is often more than the 24 h no fly time, I try to be clear but it has not always been possible.

I just did 28 dives over 10 days and flew today, I'm still OK to dive yet another day. I will not be changing my practices

 

[RJP]

Normally I'm in bed most nights by 9:30.

Keep it down with all that gear rinsing... some of us have been in bed for 30-45min by 9:30!

Zzzzzz....

 

[Steve_C]

Most of my non NC diving is a couple days after a conference or a short 2-4 day trip to the Keys. So I almost always am diving the last day at least in the AM. But I schedule my flights for afternoon of the next day. If I never dove the day before flying I would dive a lot less. I never dive deep the last day. Given a non diving family, a week or two week long dive trip is not in my past, present, or future.

 

[kafkaland]

How can we find out whether we are bubblers or not? How involved would a Doppler ultrasound study be to determine your personal DCS risk? And, perhaps, even suggest your personal conservatism level? Is personalized dive medicine something to expect in the future?