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Should you Fly after diving? Diving exposes the lungs to a high pressure environment, whereas airplane travel is a low pressure environment. When going from one of these environments to the other, your lungs undergo a dramatic change in pressure. The greater the change in pressure, the greater the risk for arterial gas embolism. The safest measure is to avoid flying at least twenty-four hours between the last dive and the time you board an airplane. If you should manifest any symptoms, such as lightheadedness, dizziness, mental confusion, numbness, tingling, or sensory disturbances, you should go to a recompression chamber as soon as possible.
How do you get an Arterial Gas Embolism? When you are underwater breathing compressed air, your whole body, including your lungs, experiences the pressure of all that water above you. Upon ascent, because your lungs are being compressed by less water, the air expands, which causes outward pressure on the lungs. This may result in the rupturing of the tiny air-filled sacks in the lungs called "alveoli". The escaping air bubbles may work their way into the surrounding blood vessels and travel throughout the body where they may lodge in the smaller arteries and vessels of the body, including the brain or the heart. Air bubbles in the heart can cause chest pain, shortness of breathe, or a heart attack. Such bubbles in the brain can cause any number of symptoms, including mild mental confusion, sensory deficits, and, in extreme cases, unconsciousness or a stoke. The only treatment for an arterial gas embolism is to undergo recompression therapy as soon as possible.
TIPS: An infection in the ear canal, which is caused by bacteria and/or fungi, can easily occur after cavern, cave, or scuba diving. The swollen canal skin separates from the bony ear canal to create pain similar to that from constant pressure on a sore blister. To dry the canal skin, treat the infection with a solution of 2/3 isopropyl alcohol and 1/3 white vinegar. Tip your head to one side, fill the ear canal with solution, allow it to remain in the ear for one minute, straighten up, and allow the solution to run out. Dry only the outer ear.
TIPS: To prevent roll-offs on doubles, use a small piece of PVC pipe--cut approximately 3 inches in length--slip them over the valve knobs, and connect the two with surgical tubing.
TIPS: On ascent, if you put the power inflator at neck level and depress the deflate button, the BCD will find neutral buoyancy by itself.
LINKS to a resource of information:
The below is a list of online resources of Diving organizations for which I am
an instructor. I have included companies who offer
Diving equipment, with links to tourist attractions, as well as
Diving publications and Diving News (Cave Diving Forum). To return to our site click the "back" button in the
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Cave Diving, and Technical Certifying Organizations: (I Certify in all of the following organizations)
(Click your "Back" Button to return to this page)
Equipment Manufacturers: (Click your "Back" Button to return to this page)
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