Diving after pneumonia

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Jonno

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Messages
66
Reaction score
2
Location
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
# of dives
1000 - 2499
Hi, A lad I know had a fairly nasty bout of pneumonia. He seems to be fully recovered and is back to normal work duties and has no ill effects etc His doctor has allowed him to go back diving but he has to complete a number of dives up to 5metres (4 I think) followed by 2 dives up to a maximum depth of 20 metres. I am unsure if he is allowed to go further. Is this following any sort of protocol? It seems a little strange to me and would love to know the reasoning behind it or if it is just plucked out of the air? Thanks
 
Was the specialist a hyperbaric doctor?
 
Sounds weird to me, but IANADoctor. I should think the cold breathing gas and general hypothermia wold be the things to worry about, and those are not that depth-dependent.
 
Hi, A lad I know had a fairly nasty bout of pneumonia. He seems to be fully recovered and is back to normal work duties and has no ill effects etc His doctor has allowed him to go back diving but he has to complete a number of dives up to 5metres (4 I think) followed by 2 dives up to a maximum depth of 20 metres. I am unsure if he is allowed to go further. Is this following any sort of protocol? It seems a little strange to me and would love to know the reasoning behind it or if it is just plucked out of the air? Thanks

What do you mean by fully recovered and back to work?

When we say fully recovered I would expect that he is completely back to his full pre-illness athletic ability and stamina. If there is any degree of fatigue, chest or back tightness, shortness of breath, or weakness with pre-illness levels of exercise that is very concerning for diving.

Returning to diving was discussed at length post Covid. There is a big difference in potential pathology of the lungs post pneumonia vs post a simple minimally symptomatic viral resp infection.

I’m not your friends clinician, but I would have expected at a minimum a chest x-ray and possibly a CT of the chest post severe pulmonary infection before returning to diving.

As to the graded depth to the dives, I am guessing that the physician in question is basically testing how deep your friend can go without popping a bleb in the lungs due to trapped air from the pneumonia. My practice in medicine focuses on acute illness and treatment, not recovery, so I cannot comment on how appropriate this plan for diving is.

One of the other dive specific physicians hopefully can provide some more insight beyond my basic understanding.
 
What do you mean by fully recovered and back to work?

When we say fully recovered I would expect that he is completely back to his full pre-illness athletic ability and stamina. If there is any degree of fatigue, chest or back tightness, shortness of breath, or weakness with pre-illness levels of exercise that is very concerning for diving.

Returning to diving was discussed at length post Covid. There is a big difference in potential pathology of the lungs post pneumonia vs post a simple minimally symptomatic viral resp infection.

I’m not your friends clinician, but I would have expected at a minimum a chest x-ray and possibly a CT of the chest post severe pulmonary infection before returning to diving.

As to the graded depth to the dives, I am guessing that the physician in question is basically testing how deep your friend can go without popping a bleb in the lungs due to trapped air from the pneumonia. My practice in medicine focuses on acute illness and treatment, not recovery, so I cannot comment on how appropriate this plan for diving is.

One of the other dive specific physicians hopefully can provide some more insight beyond my basic understanding.
Fully recovered as in a clean bill of health, no long term effects shall we say. He has also had all sorts of scans/tests.

I am guessing he is "testing" but curious to know where the Dr picks up 4 x 5m then 2 x 20m. Also is "testing" like this not a bit inherently dangerous in itself, I bit like seeing how deep a bespoke camera housing will go before it fails.
 
I just got over pneumonia as well. My second round and I didn't realize I had it either time. Even a primary doctor would have decent advice and knowledge of your friend's case. I think following their advice, taking things slow, and paying close attention to any symptoms is pretty universal advice.
 
I just got over pneumonia as well. My second round and I didn't realize I had it either time. Even a primary doctor would have decent advice and knowledge of your friend's case. I think following their advice, taking things slow, and paying close attention to any symptoms is pretty universal advice.
I am not suggesting otherwise. I would just like to understand the advice same way as I understand, to some degree the reasoning behind recompression treatment.
 
I think a call to DAN would be the best advice they can get. Maybe even them talking to DAN with their doctor present. The dive physiology training that even instructors get won't compare with their knowledge.

The sample size for diving after pneumonia is probably too small to generate a peer reviewed medical study, but if there is any data, DAN is probably aware.
 
No, not a specialist or a dive doctor, just a GP
I’d maybe pay a visit to a hyperbaric specialist who signs off a lot of dive medicals, but it’s up to him …

I have asthma and had pneumonia when I was young (but that was more than 20 years ago) I am more at risk of getting lung infections, I usually get tested doing exercise to check if my respiratory capacity decreases with exercise for example.
 

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