When is medical clearance required for diving?

[kelemvor]

@CWK if it were me, I would wait until I had no more restrictions of any kind from the surgery. When the doc gives you the okay to resume normal life, then go diving. You could try and hunt down a diving doctor, but those specialists are few and far between. I bet in Malaysia they are even more rare than in the US.

"Is there a generally accepted list of medical conditions which require medical clearance before diving can resume?" Most operators require you to sign a form saying you are in essentially perfect health or get a paper signed by a doctor. That's why most folks have to just get used to lying on the form.
This is the one NASE uses, looks nearly identical to the form I've seen in use by other agencies:

 

[TMHeimer]

Why tell 'em? Research it on your own and make an INFORMED decision on what you should do. I shattered my femur in '95, threw bilateral pulmonary emboli. I was on coumadin for 6 months after. Had a trip scheduled in about 4 months, called DAN they said to not dive until after coumadin completed. Cancelled the trip, never said anything to any other dive op after the 6 months.
John

That may be a good way to go. Interesting situation--- You need to get medical clearance from a Dr. who knows stuff about DCS about a condition that COULD elevate the risk of DCS. Interesting in that such a condition may be more conducive to DCS in one person verses in another. Given that the general rule is we are still in the dark about a lot of DCS stuff, it's interesting that they require a medical. You could be wasted the night before the dive, or be a lot older than someone else-- and maybe have a greater risk of DCS, but no form for those.
As well, it gets back to the old question about the basic medical release--ie. "Should I answer YES to broken bone when I answer NO to everything else, and now I have to do the doctor thing". Once you answer YES to any thing, the shop must follow up for liability. Similarly, telling them you have (had) a broken bone means they must clear themselves.

 

[flyboy08]

Unless one has a life threatening illness, I would circle NO to every medical question on dive shops paperwork!

Why would you say yes to high blood pressure if your taking medication that controls it? Me, I'm in perfect health, but a friend once put yes in a box and they almost denied him diving! He was pissed.....they wanted him to go to the hospital to get a checkout....he was able to finagle his way out of this.

 

[scubadada]

In general, you need medical clearance only for training, not general diving. It is up to you, perhaps with your physicians advice, when you resume diving following an illness or a procedure. It probably is dictated, in large part, in how quickly you recover and are able to resume normal activity and effort. I have my own anecdotes, but they are only applicable to me. Most physicians know nothing about diving and can give you no specific recommendations.

 

[jlcnuke]

In general, you need medical clearance only for training, not general diving. It is up to you, perhaps with your physicians advice, when you resume diving following an illness or a procedure. It probably is dictated, in large part, in how quickly you recover and are able to resume normal activity and effort. I have my own anecdotes, but they are only applicable to me. Most physicians know nothing about diving and can give you no specific recommendations.

In the future, I'm pretty sure that my plan will be to answer "no" to everything unless it's a new condition my doc hasn't previously signed off on. I very nearly missed a class because my doctor's note saying I was okay to dive wasn't the same as the doctor signing off on the specific form. I found a doc local to the area to do a physical and sign the form instead. I'm lucky to get my doc to return a form in a few weeks (VA).. it sure isn't happening in time to dive for a shop/class that asks me to do it in a couple hours or even days. As such, I'm personally going to read every question with an invisible "that a doctor hasn't already cleared you to dive with" at the end I think...

 

[DogDiver]

I had a total left knee done 5 years ago. Was diving 30 days post op and did a full cave dive sidemount at 34 days post op. The surgeon said not to get the site wet. Guess I forgot to tell my surgeon I had a dry suit.

 

[raftingtigger]

The surgeon said not to get the site wet. Guess I forgot to tell my surgeon I had a dry suit.

ROFL

 

[Eric M]

You can be as philosophical as you wanna be, but the way I see it: If you bothered to ask, you should check with your doctor. Only you know your body best, I assume you know diving is a demanding activity. Wishing best of luck and happy diving!