What is the golden rule of diving?
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. It is concluded that the impact of diving on pulmonary function largely depends on factors associated with the individual diving exposure. However, in susceptible subjects clinically relevant worsening of lung function may occur even after single shallow water scuba dives.
What is the 120 rule in diving?
The rule advises that the dive depth (in feet) in addition to the time a diver spends underwater (in minutes) should add up to no more than 120. The purpose of this rule is to help scuba divers to avoid serious dangers such as nitrogen narcosis as well as decompression sickness by keeping them within a safe range. The need to do decompression stops increases with depth. A diver at 6 metres (20 ft) may be able to dive for many hours without needing to do decompression stops. At depths greater than 40 metres (131 ft), a diver may have only a few minutes at the deepest part of the dive before decompression stops are needed.A diver at 15 feet of saltwater, typically, can stay indefinitely with almost no chance of decompression sickness while a diver at 60 feet can only remain for about an hour before needing to stop and decompress prior to direct return to the surface.The rule advises that the dive depth (in feet) in addition to the time a diver spends underwater (in minutes) should add up to no more than 120. The purpose of this rule is to help scuba divers to avoid serious dangers such as nitrogen narcosis as well as decompression sickness by keeping them within a safe range.