Scuba Diving

[mad_jock]

Tried medical no joy

I there anyone out there that manages to go diving and still stay safe at work.

ie any tell tail niggles 24hrs after etc.

I just wondering if diving is also going to be sacrificed for my dream job.


MJ

[Julian]

Jock,

You are into a can of worms with your question - depends what sort of diving you are doing.

If you are a recreational diver, then the stated minimum is 12 hours from Diving->Flying - though we generally tell students that 24Hours is a safer minimum.

Now if you are in the technical diving realm it all depends on depths, bottom times and also the big deciding factors of what gas mixes you have been using. Now you see the problem!! If you you been breathing one gas, say Air or EANx during a dive then generally your dive computer will recommend a 'No Fly' time, some more complicated computers (such as Cochran Nemesis II) can cope with 3 different gas mixes.

Maybe there are some divng docs on the board who may be able to give a bette insight into the technical side. Bubble theory is a big discussion topis in the magazines and boards at the moment.

Julian.

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Live fast..dies young...leave a good looking corpse!

[mad_jock]

I though it might be.

yes i use that devilish stuff nitrox, and sometime take the odd fix of He.

2 weeks holiday in scapa booked On the Karin in 2 months can't wait :-)

What i was really wanting to find out is if you can run with ddplan or Zplan on the no fly time + additional safety factor.

Basically i want to be safe not sorry. And if I have to stop diving apart from holidays for my flying so be it.


MJ



[This message has been edited by mad_jock (edited 01 June 2001).]

[HugMonster]

MJ, I reluctantly resigned myself a while ago to diving only when on leave... http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/frown.gif

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Breeding Per Dementia Unto Something Jolly Big, Toodle-pip

[Julian]

MJ,

Yep thats about the long and short of it.
There is always the Scapa Whiskey distillery for your last day anyway to make up for not diving! :)

As a word of warning if you are flying up - we were told the baggage limit was 20Kg. No problem we thought, we can handle that. Changed planes at Aberdeen to a SAAB (if my memory sevres me right!) but low-and-behold the bagges limit on this one was 10Kg- which they hadn't told us - hence a lot of diving gear got left behind, mine included. It arrived 3 days after me and half way into the holiday.

They also lost it on the way back as again they couldnt get everyone gears on the plane. So my diving gear got couriered both ways - better treatment than me !!! :)

If you do do Scapa, the Battleships are the most boring wrecks as they all turned turtle when then went downn. Stick to the smaller boats and block ship - some good penetration to be hda on these but make sure your techiniques are upto scratch as they are pretty tricky bits!

Otherwise have fun up there - I am envious as I want to go again!

Julian

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Live fast..dies young...leave a good looking corpse!

[mad_jock]

Well it's not he first time i have been up there.

We normally get the ferry up and dump all the gear in a container which is then deposited next to the boat when you get up there by a fork lift. Well recomended. There is also the problem of 10 scottish lads stuck on a 8 hour ferry with a bar :). So you can imagine the state we arrive in.

This year we plan to go up round the fair isles and do some of the Shetland wrecks as well. And may be try and fit the Hamshire in before the wreck respect lot get everyone banned.

MJ

[HugMonster]

I'm diving Aqqaba in July - am I likely to have probs on RJA with my kit?

[mad_jock]

As long as you don't have any fenzy bottles etc . They got abit upset with one of the lads in sharm and made him pull the pillar valve before putting it in the hold which i though was a bit pointless if the valve was already open but ...

The only other hint is to take you DV first stage in your pocket. And make sure that your wet suit /silk is dried out before packing.
And if they spot you in schipol with dive gear prepare to get searched i have been stopped 5 times now with them searching from coral (not that i mind reef thieves getting there finger s slapped) but its pretty grim getting 2 weeks worth of dive clothes taken out. And one of the woollybears set the toxic waste alarm off :)

MJ

[Julian]

I had an interesting one with Delta when flying to LAX. They wanted me to remove the battery from my dive computer. I explained to them it wouldnt turn on unless in water, was a manafacturer sealed unit and there was no way I was going to ruin an £800 computer!! Eventually one of the ground crew who was a diver showed up and explained to his mates its was OK!!

Pony bottle are normally a problem and removing pillar valves seems to be a standard request from airlines.

The only other problem I have heard of, if anyone decides to go by Eurostar(not an aircraft I know :) ), but they confiscate divers knives!!

Julian

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Live fast..dies young...leave a good looking corpse!

[mad_jock]

well lads i am of to whats called technically a Belgium piss pond tomorrow. to see if i can stll remember which knob goes in which direction if a reg goes on me (which it never has in 7 years). I called on a family friend who works at the national hyperbaric center in Aberdeen and he said apart from the fact that all divers are mad that pilots are as well. Apperently there is research at the deptment of Biomedical Physics at Aberdeen whch suggests that pilots get alot of brain liasions which suggests that we all get brian tissue bends wether we like it or not.

And after looking at the tissue half lifes for off gassing and the ascent rate of cabin pressure we are getting towards 10% up the proberbility curve which is more than i would run diving and pilots are doing it every day. In fact for more than 2 sectors a day i could see microbubbles becoming and issue. Which means i am looking at a 24hr break before diving as well as after :-(

MJ

ps If anyone fancys ding a bash to sharm to do a bit of diving and talk sh*te in the camel bar i would be well up for that.

[This message has been edited by mad_jock (edited 08 June 2001).]

[Anti Freeze]

Recommendations for flying after diving

Please note that I have reproduced this information, please do not rely on it and seek proper medical advice.

I hope it helps.

Copy of the Diving Medical Advisory
Committee for Association of Offshore Diving
Contractors memo of March 1982.

Introduction

In response to a request from helicopter operators, and subsequently the AODC,DMAC was
asked to consider what restrictive conditions should be applied to flying after diving. A
workshop with international representation from the aviation and diving medical
communities was convened at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on 18th and 19th
January 1982, to establish the basic scientific principles and to use them to build up a
rational and acceptable set of guidelines.

The full proceedings will contain a review of the evidence which lead to these
recommendations, and will be published in due course, but the following report summarises
the conclusions and recommendations which were reached.

For the purposes of this review, it was considered that diving could be divided into two
categories,viz;-
1.Air aand nitrox diving
2.Mixed gas diving

In addition the workshop considered the special problems of air transport after dysbaric
illness.

Two maxima of cabin altitude were considered.,
a.2000
b.8000

Air diving

Time before flying at cabins altitude
2000 8000
No stop dives 2hrs 4hrs
Total time under pressure less than 60 mins
within previous 12 hours

All other air diving

12hrs 12hrs
(less than 4 hours under pressure)

Air or nitrox saturation
24hrs 48hrs*
(more than 4 hours under pressure)

*Experience in this range is extremely limited, and this recommendation should be
interpreted with caution.

MIXED GAS DIVING ( Diver on air at sea level)

No flying at all for at least 12 hours following return to atmospheric pressure following
heliox and trimix bounce and saturation diving.

Decompression illness in flight

In addition, the workshop considered the problem of decompression illness occurring during
a scheduled flight, They recommended the following procedures:-

Where the diver’s symptoms consist only of pain in a limb, he should be treated with
analgesics, oxygen if available, and the plane can continue to its destination without
diversion or adjustment in altitude.

When the diver has any other symptoms, immediate advice should be sought from a diving
medical specialist. It maybe necessary to reduce the cabin altitude or divert to the nearest
airport. In the meantime, the patient should be given oxygen if available.