The Importance of Buoyancy Control
Buoyancy control is imperative for optimal scuba diving safety. While the concepts are simple, masking proper buoyancy control can be difficult. Read more about buoyancy.
Alert Diver Category: Safety 101
Diving with a PFO
To clear up any confusion divers may have about patent foramen ovale (PFO), I will share how I explain the condition to patients.
Preventing Breathing-Gas Contamination
Breathing-gas contamination, although rare, can happen. Sources of contamination vary, but they are important to know. Get the inside scoop on breathing-gas contamination.
Dolphins to Port, A Diver in Trouble
In a rush to enter the water, a diver did not check the tank valve, leaving them in a dangerous spot. Read more about the incident.
Monitoring Dive Incidents and Drug Use
The day-to-day tasks of injury monitoring at Divers Alert Network include tracking dive fatalities by sifting through emails, news alerts, and social media to collect information about recent events. Our goal is to report to the dive community our findings on what people report to us or what we encounter in our research.
Boat Collision and Propeller Safety
Propeller trikes happen to divers and the injuries are brutal. Read more about propeller safety, tools, research and more to prevent these nasty injuries.
As the Prop Turns
Propeller safety should be taken as seriously as every other aspect of dive safety. Much of the responsibility certainly lies with the pilot of a boat, but there are several things divers can do to help increase their safety margin when sharing the water.
A Critical Look at No-Decompression Limits
As a hyperbaric physician and dive instructor, I’ve been around a lot of dive accidents, and I’ve spent decades educating divers and treating decompression sickness (DCS). A misunderstanding I consistently see among the divers I treat pertains to no-decompression limits (NDLs), with divers repeating the common refrain that they were “diving within the limits” and that their DCS must therefore have been a random event.
Checklists
Checklists may be the missing tool to safer diving. Checklists are used in other fields, not just diving, like aviation and surgery. Read more about the history and importance of checklists.
To Lie or Not to Lie?
When signing in for a dive, the medical statement can feel both burdensome and an invasion of privacy. You may want to lie. However, medical statements are an important element of dive safety.
