Diving

Many travellers try scuba-diving for the first time whilst overseas. This can be a fascinating experience but it is important to remember that scuba-diving is a potentially dangerous pastime which should only be attempted with proper training and supervision. A medical questionnaire should always be completed prior to a diving course and certain conditions such as epilepsy, emphysema and some heart conditions are absolute contraindications to diving. Pregnant women should not attempt to dive.

With every 10m a diver descends the pressure increases by 1 bar. Gas filled spaces in the body such as the lungs, ears and sinuses are most affected by any changes in atmospheric pressure. On descent, some discomfort can often be felt in the ears. This can be relieved by pinching the nose and forcing air into the sinuses and middle ear to equalize the pressure.

If you ascend from a dive too quickly a number of health problems can arise.

• The air in the lungs expands and if not expelled can cause a pneumothorax or ‘collapsed lung’.
• Nitrogen gas which has been dissolved in the body tissues at depth can be released causing decompression sickness or ‘the bends’.

Decompression sickness usually appears within a few hours of diving but can be delayed up to 24 hours. Symptoms of mild decompression sickness include joint and limb pain, fatigue and a skin rash most commonly on the trunk. More serious decompression sickness may affect the spine, nervous system and the lungs and should be treated as a medical emergency.

Treatment is by recompression in a specialised facility called a ‘recompression or hyperbaric chamber’.

The reduced pressure inside aircraft could bring on decompression sickness in someone who has recently been scuba-diving. Never fly within 24 hours of diving.

Those planning to Scuba dive should ensure they have the relevant travel health insurance to cover this activity.