There really seem to be almost two threads going on here: (1) what should you do about a diver you know - or believe - to act dangerously, and (2) whether people should be allowed to dive with a range of medical conditions. It's really two different things, I think: divers in case (1) are choosing to act dangerously or don't know enough not to, divers in case (2) are choosing to ignore a potential danger to themselves, but hopefully are doing so knowing the risk they are taking. I suspect that the wilfully dangerous are the ones the OP is worrying about: they're the ones who are most likely to take someone with them.
With divers who are being idiots, I think it's reasonable for demonstrably more experienced divers - and certainly for dive leaders or instructors - to have a quiet word about the diver's actions. The 'dangerous' diver might learn something, or might be able to present a reasonable argument as to why they dive as they do (in which case, hey, we're all different, you don't have to follow them), or might just tell you where to go - in which case, I guess you can now avoid diving with them or tell others about them and have a clear conscience.
With medical issues, it's harder. Generally, if divers are aware of what they're risking, I reckon good luck to them. Failing eyesight, wandering sanity, possibly obesity... That'll be me one day, and I'm willing to bet I won't give up diving. The one that I do struggle with is diabetes. I know that the RSTC and most of the training agencies say it's ok with medical permission, but I've seen how fast hypoglycaemia can set in and I've seen the sort of circulatory-system damage diabetes can do. When I've had people with diabetes ask about dive training, I've told them that they can get medical clearance and do dive courses, but I'm not prepared to take responsibility for the level of risk I believe that people with diabetes (certainly insulin-controlled) are taking on. Which has mostly been accepted with good grace, except for the guy that kept waving the diving medical book I showed him at me and demanding to know how doctors could know anything about diabetes...
As for what almitywife says about Australia, check here:
SPUMS - SPUMS Statements on Diabetes
for what the South Pacific Underwater Medical Society has to say. Coupled with what I've seen, it reinforces my - entirely personal - decision on teaching and diabetes. Anybody else is quite within their rights to follow the medical guidelines laid down by DAN and the RSTC. I'm not saying that people with diabetes should all be herded into dry internment camps and never allowed near the water, only that I don't want to profit from helping them take what I perceive as a risk. Obviously, since we're talking about dive instruction, I'm using 'profit' very loosely...
With divers who are being idiots, I think it's reasonable for demonstrably more experienced divers - and certainly for dive leaders or instructors - to have a quiet word about the diver's actions. The 'dangerous' diver might learn something, or might be able to present a reasonable argument as to why they dive as they do (in which case, hey, we're all different, you don't have to follow them), or might just tell you where to go - in which case, I guess you can now avoid diving with them or tell others about them and have a clear conscience.
With medical issues, it's harder. Generally, if divers are aware of what they're risking, I reckon good luck to them. Failing eyesight, wandering sanity, possibly obesity... That'll be me one day, and I'm willing to bet I won't give up diving. The one that I do struggle with is diabetes. I know that the RSTC and most of the training agencies say it's ok with medical permission, but I've seen how fast hypoglycaemia can set in and I've seen the sort of circulatory-system damage diabetes can do. When I've had people with diabetes ask about dive training, I've told them that they can get medical clearance and do dive courses, but I'm not prepared to take responsibility for the level of risk I believe that people with diabetes (certainly insulin-controlled) are taking on. Which has mostly been accepted with good grace, except for the guy that kept waving the diving medical book I showed him at me and demanding to know how doctors could know anything about diabetes...
As for what almitywife says about Australia, check here:
SPUMS - SPUMS Statements on Diabetes
for what the South Pacific Underwater Medical Society has to say. Coupled with what I've seen, it reinforces my - entirely personal - decision on teaching and diabetes. Anybody else is quite within their rights to follow the medical guidelines laid down by DAN and the RSTC. I'm not saying that people with diabetes should all be herded into dry internment camps and never allowed near the water, only that I don't want to profit from helping them take what I perceive as a risk. Obviously, since we're talking about dive instruction, I'm using 'profit' very loosely...
