What are the medical requirements for scuba diving?
Your respiratory and circulatory systems must be in good health. All body air spaces must be normal and healthy. A person with coronary disease, a current cold or congestion, epilepsy, a severe medical problem or who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs should not dive. In the United States and other industrialized countries, coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death. Implications in Diving: Symptomatic coronary artery disease is a contraindication to safe diving: don’t dive with it.Never hold your breath. This is undoubtedly by far the most crucial of all safety rules for diving because failure to adhere could result in fatality. If you hold your breath underwater at the depths at which scuba divers reach then the fluctuating pressure of air in your lungs can rupture the lung walls.Individuals should not dive if they have cardiac disease that might result in incapacity underwater (e. IPO (e. DCS (e.Drowning is the most common cause of scuba diving deaths. Divers drown due to running out of air, panic, lack of training, unrelated health problems that cause unconsciousness and equipment failure. As you know humans are built to breathe only air. Inhaling water can become deadly very quick.
Do I need a dive medical?
You will be required to have a full dive medical if you have a pre-existing medical condition or history of medical conditions: i. Asthma or take preventative medications for chronic conditions (for examples, please refer to list below). Scuba diving can expose you to high waves and dangerous sea life. But the more likely dangers are those you can’t see. You can be injured if your body isn’t able to adjust to the increasing and decreasing pressure of the water as you breathe compressed air.If you are overweight or obese it is strongly recommended that you see a diving doctor before undertaking any diving activity. It is likely that you will be required to have a face to face medical where many factors other than your weight (such as cardiovascular fitness) will be considered.Not to frighten you, but these risks include decompression sickness (DCS, the “bends”), arterial air embolism, and of course drowning. There are also effects of diving, such as nitrogen narcosis, that can contribute to the cause of these problems. However, careful training and preparation make these events quite rare.Individuals should not dive if they have cardiac disease that might result in incapacity underwater (e. IPO (e. DCS (e.Well, the answer is “scuba equipment”! Scuba gear helps you to swim with fins, helps you keep neutrally buoyant and since you wear a BCD (jacket) you can float at the surface. So the brief answer is YES, you are allowed to dive as a non swimmer, but there are limits to what you can do.
How physically fit do you need to be to scuba dive?
One of the biggest myths amongst non-divers is that you need to be extremely fit to Scuba Dive. That is not the case at all. As long as you are a comfortable swimmer and can walk at a comfortable pace for ~30 minutes, you’re good to go. Scuba diving typically involves moderate intensity physical activity, but situations can occur that require high-intensity activity. In addition, scuba diving challenges the cardiovascular system in a variety of ways that may be life-threatening for individuals with heart disease or a low capacity for exercise.Being submerged as a diver you may think moving around underwater is hard but its not, it’s actually easier than swimming on the surface you don’t need to move your arms around to move about and you use less energy so after time your more relaxed.The only thing for certain is that the optimum breathing strategy when scuba diving is deep slow breathing. You need to inhale slowly and then also exhale slowly without holding your breath.The Rules of Scuba Diving: Never Hold Your Breath. Plan Your Dive. Dive Within Your Limits.
Who is not allowed to scuba dive?
A person with heart trouble, a current cold or congestion or who has epilepsy, asthma, a serious medical problem, or who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, should not dive. The Rules of Scuba Diving: Never Hold Your Breath. Plan Your Dive. Dive Within Your Limits.