altitude problems?

[wsugoalie]

Hello. 2 questions regarding altitude and diving. I know you should wait 24hrs before flying after diving, however, my fiance and I are going to Hawaii on our honeymoon and will be diving twice (probably no deeper than 40 feet because we are still novices) and I came up with two issues.

1) Parasailing after diving is not a problem, is it? 700 feet is the maximum height and we are thinking about parasailing the next day after diving, but not necessarily waiting 24 hrs if we don't have to.

2) We are also planning a trip to Waimea Canyon (something like the Grand Canyon) on a day after diving. 3,400 feet is the altitude there. Again, we would not be going on the same day as the dive, but the next day (not necessarily waiting 24 hrs though).

I.E. We would dive until 3:00P.M. one day and then start our parasailing or Canyon tour at 9 or 10:00A.M. the next morning.

Sorry if the question sounds stupid...we're just new and want to avoid problems!! Thanks in advance to those who are knowledgeable on the topic and answer.

 

[SubMariner]

Hello. 2 questions regarding altitude and diving. I know you should wait 24hrs before flying after diving, however, my fiance and I are going to Hawaii on our honeymoon and will be diving twice (probably no deeper than 40 feet because we are still novices) and I came up with two issues.

1) Parasailing after diving is not a problem, is it? 700 feet is the maximum height and we are thinking about parasailing the next day after diving, but not necessarily waiting 24 hrs if we don't have to.

2) We are also planning a trip to Waimea Canyon (something like the Grand Canyon) on a day after diving. 3,400 feet is the altitude there. Again, we would not be going on the same day as the dive, but the next day (not necessarily waiting 24 hrs though).

I.E. We would dive until 3:00P.M. one day and then start our parasailing or Canyon tour at 9 or 10:00A.M. the next morning.

Sorry if the question sounds stupid...we're just new and want to avoid problems!! Thanks in advance to those who are knowledgeable on the topic and answer.

DAN's current research seems to recommends a minimum of 18 hours between the last dive & ascending to altitude: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/research/projects/fad/index.asp. You may also want to check other articles on the site for information that is more specific to your particular case.

And yes, parasailing up to 700' would still be considered going to altitutde.

Bonne chance,

 

[DandyDon]

DAN's current research seems to recommends a minimum of 18 hours between the last dive & ascending to altitude: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/research/projects/fad/index.asp. You may also want to check other articles on the site for information that is more specific to your particular case.

Isn't it 12 hours after the last dives, and 18 hours after mutli-dives?

Driving above 3,000 feet is a significant change in air pressure, but can be carefully planned using the NOAA dive manual. If you're both Nitrox certified, that would give you a shallower Adjust Air Depth. There's also a new DAN Flying After Diving report, but I don't have a copy yet.

And yes, parasailing up to 700' would still be considered going to altitutde.

Really? I'm not dumb enough to argue with an Instructor, but I thought 1,000 feet change was the caution? I know the Denver Colo divers deal with this every time they dive Santa Rosa NM, then have to cross Raton Pass.

 

[SubMariner]

Isn't it 12 hours after the last dives, and 18 hours after mutli-dives?

You could be right on that one, Don. That's why I put in the link to DAN. Hey, I'm blonde but not THAT blonde.

Really? I'm not dumb enough to argue with an Instructor, but I thought 1,000 feet change was the caution? I know the Denver Colo divers deal with this every time they dive Santa Rosa NM, then have to cross Raton Pass.

If you DIVE @ 1,000' or above, then it's considered an altitude dive, at which time you have to do the conversion for altitude and/or use the altitude dive tables.

That's a bit different from going to altitude AFTER a dive.

 

[DepartureDiver]

I think your plan is fine. I would only add 2 cautions. If you feel off or question whether you may have DCS for some reason, then don't do any of the altitude ascents (and of course get checked out). The second is to not do too much physical exertion after diving. Parasailing wouldn't really count, but it sounds like you are planning on being active during your trip . . . which is why I bring it up.

 

[ppbon]

In December, 2002 during the surface interval between dives I received a call on my cell telling me that my Dad was gravely ill.
To see him we needed to take a 2 hr. flight.
We (my son and I) checked our dive computers and decided not to do the second dive. Both computers gave the OK to fly in 10 hours. It was 9:55 AM.
We were able to catch an 8:30PM flight (10.5 hours after having surfaced). When we boarded the plane I spoke with the copilot and let him know that both my son and I had been diving that morning and that although our computers had cleared us for flight, we would really appreciate it if he could keep a close eye on the cabin pressure. The guy looked at us as if we were nuts! I don't think he knew what we were talking about. Eventually we even spoke with the Captain.
About one hour into the flight I started to feel a very sharp pain in the joints of two fingers in my left hand. My son felt fine.
After landing, the pain slowly disappeared during the next few days, never to come back again.
I could not get a checkup because of my father's illness. He died two days later.
The moral of the story...... give yourself extra time beyond what the tables and computers say. Better to be safe than sorry.
Happy diving,
Pedro

 

[DepartureDiver]

The moral of the story...... give yourself extra time beyond what the tables and computers say. Better to be safe than sorry.

Yes, IMHO computers can assume you are offgassing faster than you really are. Deep safety stops can help significantly with efficient offgassing. Out of curiosity, were you in a coomercial airliner? I'm just wondering what the cabin pressure really was.

 

[ppbon]

Yes, IMHO computers can assume you are offgassing faster than you really are. Deep safety stops can help significantly with efficient offgassing. Out of curiosity, were you in a coomercial airliner? I'm just wondering what the cabin pressure really was.

In a big A-340 jetliner. We were flying at 33,000 ft. (according to the announcement), but I'm sure the cabin pressure was probably equivalent to 6000' or less.
I was mostly upset at that copilot!
Happy Diving,
Pedro

 

[DandyDon]

When we boarded the plane I spoke with the copilot and let him know that both my son and I had been diving that morning and that although our computers had cleared us for flight, we would really appreciate it if he could keep a close eye on the cabin pressure. The guy looked at us as if we were nuts! I don't think he knew what we were talking about. Eventually we even spoke with the Captain.

Unfortunate. I always have that in my mind on a dive trip - what to do if an emergency comes up and I have to get home quickly. My plan has always been to speak to the Flight Attendant In Charge - as I figure they're better trained for passengers needs.

About one hour into the flight I started to feel a very sharp pain in the joints of two fingers in my left hand. My son felt fine.

Did you request O2 at that time? That's always been a part of my plan. Airlines do not allow passengers to bring filled O2 bottles on board, but do have their own supplies.

 

[ZenDiver]

To my knowledge a rescue helicopter can not fly higher than 300 ft to transport a patient with DCS. I believe that any ascent above 300 feet would put you at risk for DCS. DAN and also NAUI have adopted the 18 hour to fly rule after multi day diving. I would either wait 18 hours or adjust the 700 ft parasail to 300 feet. The trip into the mountains to 3400 ft is a definate wait of at least 18 hours. You might want to look into re-aranging your trip to do the hike in the mountains before diving. No rules against that. Wish you luck in Hawaii and have fun.

Brian