Diving after pneumonia - how long to wait?

[mickeyroi]

Hi all-

I had so-called "walking pneumonia" a couple of weeks ago and I am DYING (no pun intended) to go diving again, but I want to play it safe. I went to the Dr's for a fever that would not go away on Jan 9 which is when he diagnosed me with a light case of pneumonia of the lower right lung (for which he took x-rays). He gave me antibiotics, and by the 14th the fever was gone and the Dr said that the pneumonia was almost completely gone also. I've felt great since then and the antibiotics regimen ended on the 18th.

He warned me to wait for a couple of weeks before diving as pneumonia is a contraindication to diving. He explained that if I dive with pneumonia it could cause pneumothorax, which I have seen discussed in this board. He said I could dive February 1, which I intend to do, mostly shallow beach dives at first.

Any thoughts? Obviously, I defer greatly to my Dr who knows the situation intimately, but I wanted to seek feedback from the diving community on the same.

Take care all!

Michael

 

[TSandM]

mickeyroi, nobody here is going to be able to give you meaningful advice. We didn't see your original x-ray or the follow-up (I'm assuming there WAS a follow-up x-ray?). We haven't listened to your breathing, to see if there is any wheezing or other evidence of obstruction.

The problem with pneumonia is that fluid blocks spaces that ought to be filled with air. What you don't know is whether there are any air spaces behind those fluid blockages. If there are, they can rupture with ascent, causing either pneumothorax, or arterial gas embolism. Last year, we lost an experienced cave diver because he had a lung cancer he didn't know about, and got an AGE as a result.

It's hard to stay out of the water; I, of all people, know that. But in this case, I'd say a month would probably be a minimum, and I'd want another examination by the doctor before I dove.

 

[mickeyroi]

Thanks for the feedback, I want to play it safe indeed.

After listening to my lungs again which sounded so much better, the Dr decided not to re-X-Ray me to avoid unnecessary x-ray exposure. I'll have a Dr friend of mine listen to my breathing before diving again to be sure and I'll probably strech my "dry" period for a couple of extra weeks after Feb 1st.

Not diving sucks...