Medical FAQs

Here's a list compiled over the years of commonly asked questions. The list was created by DAN MDs and represent specific, evidence-based recommendations our member should take into consideration.

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I've recently been asked to teach a course to a 16-year-old autistic girl. I would like to know if it's possible and if there are any potential consequences or contraindications.
Autism, for countless reasons, presents many contraindications to diving. Among others, a communication deficit that could pose the girl in great danger in the underwater environment.

Since the evaluation is extremely delicate and complex, I advise you to talk to a specialist in diving medicine, who should visit the girl and can then give you a direct assessment.
His/her opinion will then need to be compared and cross-checked with that of the neuropsichiatrist who follows the girl.

I regularly suffer from a headache after diving. I do not suffer from migraine and do not suffer from a headache when I do short dives. What can be wrong?
Chronically recurrent headaches after long dives can have numerous causes.

Most are:

  1. Accumulation of carbon dioxide in the blood caused by wrong breathing techniques. These headaches are very severe and last quite a long time.
  2. Unfavorable diving position with overextension of the cervical spine. Often hardening of the neck muscles can be found.
  3. Biting the mouthpiece of the regulator too hard can lead to overstressing the chewing and postural neck muscles and can therefore also lead to severe headaches, which should, however, resolve swiftly after the dive.
I have a student who wants to learn to dive, but has cerebral palsy. What are the issues?
This condition describes brain injury present at birth and which is manifested by some degree of weakness. This includes a wide variety of clinical problems, ranging from ‘walks abnormally’ to very severe and disabling handicaps.

Some cases present accompanying seizures, learning disability and speech defects. Diving fitness depends entirely on the extent of disability in the individual case.

Candidates with mild problems may qualify; candidates with more severe disabilities may qualify through one of the scuba programmes for disabled people.
The absence of seizures and the ability to master water skills are particularly important.
For participation in scuba, case-by-case selection is needed.

When my son was young, he went through a period where he fainted several times. The doctors never really knew why and he seemed to grow out of it. Now he wants to learn to dive. Will his history of fainting present a problem?
This is a difficult question to answer since many variables can cause transient alteration of consciousness. These alterations of consciousness include fainting, a drop in blood pressure which is very common in young people, an alteration in heart rhythm that is more common in older people, the effects of medication and psychological events, such as hallucinations.

As with epilepsy, any loss of consciousness underwater is likely to have a bad outcome. When diving using nitrox or mixed gas as a breathing gas, increased partial pressures of oxygen can increase the likelihood of seizures. Increased carbon dioxide may also increase seizure risk. The best advice is to get a precise diagnosis of the cause of these altered states of consciousness: effective treatment is often available. You cannot make a reasonable fitness-to-dive decision until this is sorted out. It may take some time and a visit to a neurologist or other specialist is necessary.

I love to dive, but was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Can I continue?
This immunologic disease occurring in both young and middle-aged people is characterised by episodes of neurologic dysfunction, often separated by remission. He extent of disability is quite variable. Treatment has improved in recent years.

Fitness & Diving

  1. There is no evidence that diving in itself has an effect on the disease. About 20 years ago an unsuccessful effort was made to treat MS with hyperbaric oxygen. Patients neither suffered nor benefited from this treatment.
     
  2. Persons with MS are advised not to exercise to the point of exhaustion and to avoid becoming chilled or overheated. Diving candidates with MS should respect that advice.
     
  3. In each individual case, consider whether the candidate can handle the physical load and master the water skills. Diving candidates should talk to their DMO and neurologist about diving.
I’m an instructor. Few day ago a guy came to me with a valid fit to dive certificate. He told me he suffers from epilepsy and he’s under treatment. I’m worried he can have a seizure when underwater, can you please give me some advice?
Regarding your student and in general any form of epilepsy, as long as the following three conditions are met, you can consider diving: - free of attacks for more than 5 years  - normal EEG  - medical therapy is no longer necessary

In this specific case the third condition is not satisfied, therefore I suggest you to recommend your student to be assessed by a specialist in diving and hyperbaric medicine in order to evaluate his fitness to dive in relation with his medical history

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