flying after diving- a question

[HammerNoMore]

They are doing chamber tests currently which, no doubt, will bring about some dramatic changes in the FAD guidelines.

I really wouldn't count on that BJD. They already lowered it from 24 hours to 12-18 hours based on prelimary data so it seems unlikey that the number will go up. Going down, however, would both take some crow eating as well as a gread deal of lawyer ignoring.

I really doubt the official DAN numbers will change much.

James

 

[pipedope]

It seems to me that the majority had symptoms on the surface after their last dive, long before getting on a plane.

If you have symptoms of DCI
GET TREATMENT!

Go To The CHAMBER!
Go directly to the chamber.
Do not pass go.
Do not FLY.
Do not further damage yourself.

Please don't even start into the denial game.
If in doubt, start O2, call DAN, call the local EMS and get treatment.

Remember, even simple injuries often are improved by hyperbaric O2 so even if it IS a simple strain or overuse injury the chamber ride will probably make it better anyway.

I have never heard anybody say, "I am sure glad I waited to go to the chamber."
Have you ever heard, "Damn, I wish I had gone to the chamber straight away?"

In commercial diving we are required to have a chamber on site for ALL deco diving, any diving deeper than 100 feet and sometimes shallower. After we come out of the water there are requirements to observe the diver for certain periods of time looking for symptoms.

Heck, even for sport diving it is probably a good idea for people to practice doing the 5 minute neuro exam. With practice it gets easier and you get to know the 'normal' condition of your regular buddies. Then if someone is bent it will be obvious very quickly during the neuro.

If you are concerned about cost get DAN Master insurance.
This is a good idea anyway.

 

[BigJetDriver]

James Goddard wrote:

I really wouldn't count on that BJD. They already lowered it from 24 hours to 12-18 hours based on prelimary data so it seems unlikey that the number will go up. Going down, however, would both take some crow eating as well as a gread deal of lawyer ignoring.

I really doubt the official DAN numbers will change much.

James



Pipedope wrote:

I have never heard anybody say, "I am sure glad I waited to go to the chamber."
Have you ever heard, "Damn, I wish I had gone to the chamber straight away?"

Michael

----------------------------------------------------------------

On reflection, James, you are very probably right! Would that it were not so, but you are probably right!

As for Pipedope, that comment is one of those: "Darn, I wish I'd thought of that!" type comments. That just boils it down to the nitty-gritty (and I don't mean the band)!

Thanks, gentlemen!

BJD :anakinpod

 

[HammerNoMore]

It seems to me that the majority had symptoms on the surface after their last dive, long before getting on a plane.

If you have symptoms of DCI
GET TREATMENT!

Please don't even start into the denial game.

There is a little more to it than that:

• Skin Rash
• Itching
  
  Easily caused by inadvertant contact with marine life, latex/neoprene irritation, sunburn.
  
• Joint Pain
  
  Could be caued by lifting heavy scuba gear.
  
• Headache
  
  Bright sun...
  
• Nausea
  
  Sea sickness...

I have never heard anybody say, "I am sure glad I waited to go to the chamber."

I've seen plenty of new divers who tend to overreact to some of the milder symptoms, particularly headache. I'll bet many have said exactly that after they find out how much a chamber ride costs.

Have you ever heard, "Damn, I wish I had gone to the chamber straight away?"

Yep, 20/20 hindsight.... :eyecrazy:

 

[DawgPaddle]

On the January/February issue of Rodales Scuba Diving magazine, there is a short article by DAN indicating that the recommend NO-FLY times are changing and the new recommendations will be out and available in the spring.

Just an FYI

 

[landfish]

what if any are the rules of flying after a long decompression dive?

 

[mempilot]

I, like BigJetDriver69, fly for a living and dive in my off-time. Unlike him, who gets half the month off , I am very junior in the grand list of seniority. So, I only get 10 days off a month. I have to commute to work (ride a jet) between Ft. Lauderdale and Memphis every week. I'll usually be home in FL for only a few days at a time in which I dive constantly. I have to admit, I've pushed times on dive-to-fly. I usually get two days of diving in (usually 2 100-130' dives, 2 shallow dives), finishing on the second day around 2:30pm. The early flight the next morning is at 6:30am. 16 hours between dive and fly. Sometimes I can get some more time by taking the afternoon flight, but not always. I've been lucky, maybe, so far in that I understand the risks and there doesn't seem to be any ill effects as of yet. I've repeated this pattern several times a month for the last year since I moved to SE FL.

As for deco diving beyond the NDL depths and times, I have never flown inside 24 hours. I don't know if I'm safe here and foolish on the other dives surface interval before flight, but again, I haven't taken a post-dive DCI hit so far. If I disappear from the board, send my body and dive and flight logbooks to DAN for further study!

After reading about these isolated cases of post dive hits, I'm a little nervous. But my love of diving, and I guess I still love flying, will keep me on this cycle till it bites me.

 

[flw]

I, like Memphis tend to follow a roughly 16 hour rule ( tho' I'm not flying the thing), and our flights are short and therefore not that high. I'll dive in Scapa for a week or so, 2 decompression dives a day for 6 days, finish up around 5, then the flight home leaves about 11 the next day.
I've a week booked in Plymouth in a couple of months, for a week of gas diving, then a day of shallow, 30m diving, and the only flight that connects is 06:30 ( yuk!) the next morning, but I don't expect a problem