Diving and flying?

[mcf57]

I recently got certified in Scuba diving about 7 months ago. I am going to be going on my first real scuba diving trip in about 2 weeks when I visit a family member in the Carribean (isalnd of Grenada).

I am obviously new to the world of Scuba diving. I am excited about my trip, but I want to be safe so I can keep on enjoying this hobby I have discovered for years to come and have a question about some flying rules and Scuba diving. I remember from my YMCA certification class that they talk about diving and flying and that you should wait about 24hrs after your last dive before you fly home. My question is this. Do I need to wait any amount of time when arriving?

I am leaving from the Atlanta area early on a Wednesday morning and arrive in Grenada about 9:15pm that night. I have read on the internet about you should probably wait about 12hrs after arriving at a destination before you go diving. I was hoping to go the following morning, but I guess I should maybe wait until at leat 9-10am Thu, right? Would this be a safe rule to follow?

 

[SlowRain]

Check this out...I think you will be fine as long as you hydrate from flying. I know I am going to the Turk Caicos (oddly enough leaving from Atlanta as well) in July and will probably be in the water less than 24 hours after arrival.

DAN Divers Alert Network : Diving After Flying

 

[herman]

Not really. The issue with flying after divng is the reduction of cabin pressure may cause bubbles to form that may not form at ground level and that treatment is obviously less availible in the air.
There is no real issue with diving after flying, however you should make an effort to keep well hydrated during and after the flight. Aircraft air is pretty dry and dehydration is a major contributing factor in DCS.

 

[Jim Kerr]

I've been on several trips where I've flown all night and went diving as soon as I got there. It was never a problem.

 

[LiddleSharksyDoisters]

keep well hydrated during and after the flight. Aircraft air is pretty dry and dehydration is a major contributing factor in DCS.

I see dehydrated divers constantly. A bad idea to dive in that condition. Give it 18 hours or so.

 

[DandyDon]

I've seen many divers do Self&Gear check shallow dives within a few hours of arrival and I know of no reason not to do those. Dehydrating on the plane in can be a problem but not a risk on such shallow dives. Hydrating well before the next days real dives is certainly a good idea.

For flying after diving, DAN changed the recommendations several years. From: DAN Divers Alert Network : Flying After Diving
* For a single no-decompression dive, a minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested.
* For multiple dives per day or multiple days of diving, a minimum preflight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested.
* For dives requiring decompression stops, there is little evidence on which to base a recommendation and a preflight surface interval substantially longer than 18 hours appears prudent.

 

[herman]

I see dehydrated divers constantly. A bad idea to dive in that condition. Give it 18 hours or so.

Why? Being dehydrated is not something that takes a long time to correct and is quite preventable. I totally agree that diving dehydrated is a very bad idea but I see no reason to wait to dive as long as you stay hydrated. Grab a 1L bottle of water before boarding the plane and keep drinking.

 

[DandyDon]

Why? Being dehydrated is not something that takes a long time to correct and is quite preventable. I totally agree that diving dehydrated is a very bad idea but I see no reason to wait to dive as long as you stay hydrated. Grab a 1L bottle of water before boarding the plane and keep drinking.

I am bad about avoiding beverages on the plane as I hate to wait in line for the head, or get caught in an emergency head call when there is a line on the plane or don't know where they are in the airport. At my age, the sudden urges can be inconvenient traveling.

Once at the hotel, I start working at hydration. I once saw all 3 Instructors and a DM from my Lubbock group get ill first day in Belize from heat exhaustion; they hit the bar on arrival first night. :no

 

[peterbj7]

Many British tech divers are horrifying to watch. They'll go out and tank themselves up all evening, drinking a vast amount of alcohol, yet they're at the boat bright and early the following morning (well, early anyway) and first dive is typically very deep and pretty long. How there isn't mass DCS I have no idea.

 

[DandyDon]

Many British tech divers are horrifying to watch. They'll go out and tank themselves up all evening, drinking a vast amount of alcohol, yet they're at the boat bright and early the following morning (well, early anyway) and first dive is typically very deep and pretty long. How there isn't mass DCS I have no idea.

Body conditioning? If they're active sots, maybe their bodies have adapted at hydrating on beer? The 4 pros in my Lubbock group were light drinkers as well as conditioned to drinking local tap water with high salt content, so for them to drink beer and bottled water was not helpful and they got ill. I had salted my bottled water and I didn't.