Have you ever asked yourself, “What is my biggest fear in diving?” My fear has always been getting lost at sea. I am a technical diving instructor with almost 4,000 dives, and I’ve done plenty of boating, drift diving, and dealing with current.
A 38-year-old diver suffered from a burning sensation in his throat and had discomfort in his neck. The diver had pulmonary barotrauma. Read more about his incident.
Post dive, a diver had immediate symptoms including shortness of breath and tingling extremities, but the dive boat did not recommend emergency treatments. The situation progressively worsened. Read more about the incident.
I REMEMBER SITTING AT MY COMPUTER while thinking about all the ibuprofen I had been popping for the past 18 hours and wondering why I still had the dull, aching […]
While growing up I had two lifelong goals: become a diver and join the military to be part of the elite Special Operations Forces. I became a certified diver in 1994, when a close friend convinced me to plunge into Louisiana’s lakes with him, and I joined the U.S. Army a year later.
All diving has risks. To mitigate them, we must always pay attention to the details. The predive safety check is of utmost importance to help avoid a dive accident. The key elements are for each buddy to check the other’s BCD, weights, releases and air, and then give a final check and decisive OK. I could have avoided the entire incident had I adhered to my predive safety check and not gotten distracted, and I should have performed the safety check again before getting in the water.
Decompression illness (DCI), which includes both AGE and DCS, is not always predictable with regard to when and to whom it occurs. It can be equally difficult to predict with regard to recovery.
I TAKE A GIANT STRIDE off the back of the boat and splash into a cascade of tingling, magical bubbles. The sea’s embrace is chilly; I can feel the 74˚F water through my 5 mm wetsuit and thick 4 mm hood. My vision clears as the …
Although uncommon, unprovoked sea lion bites can occur, and divers should be aware of the potential hazard. Learn more about how one diver received a bite and how the wound was treated.
Skin bends can prevent unfamiliar symptoms and may go unnoticed or underreported. If you’re experiencing skin bends or unknown symptoms, call a doctor. Read an incident of skin bends.
