Future Directions: Where Is Diving Going?

[HKGuns]

"New Normal" must be a media creation.

Just like 911 and so many other events, this will very soon be forgotten. Rightfully so in this case, as it was an extreme over reaction and the response was not risk based in any way and it could have been.

If I look at the average and median age of deaths in my state, they are 75.4 and 77 respectively. A risk based approach was very possible. If you take these numbers at face value and you really can't because everything is being counted as a COVID-19 death.

As in all statistics, there are of course outliers and the analysis of why would take time and cost Billions. But in the vast majority of those outlier cases, there were contributing underlying risk factors.

Funny story from a doctor who says we'll have cured cancer after this spring, because the cancer death rate will be nearly non existent because everything is being counted as COVID-19.

Please don't twist my words and interpret this as not valuing the elderly or life. I took great precautions to protect my elderly diabetic mother who was in a very high risk category and would expect everyone to do similar.

I am not afraid or in fear for my life, I recommend others take the same approach.

 

[kelemvor]

You're already using a CPR mask right? And, if it comes down to saving a life, you can (most likely, 99.8%) survive covid, you can't survive dead (drowning).

Last I heard (in my DAN cpr refresher last year) rescue breaths were no longer a part of CPR. Chest compressions alone. Did they add it back in (again)?

 

[drrich2]

Predictions:

1.) Short-term - limited load trips put a serious strain on day boat and live-aboard operators. How viable is that business model running 50% capacity (or less, if some customers are no-shows)? One might say up the price...but if people are reluctant to travel, the pressure is for sale prices, not an up-charge. Perhaps a pandemic surcharge, like the fuel surcharges? Overall 'cooling' of the action in dive tourism.

2.) While I've read there's no vaccine for any coronavirus yet, I also read there's been cause for hope researching a vaccine for COVID-19, and since people who've recovered from it appear to have at least temporary antibody production expected to be protective for at least some as yet unknown temporary duration, I suspect we will get a vaccine.

3.) I read that a vaccine for Dengue fever made evident that a vaccine for an illness can lead to serious complications in some situations, making things worse. No, I'm not an 'anti-vax' person; I love vaccines, and all but mow people down zipping around for my annual flu shot. And I got the Shingrix series once I turned 50. Point - there will be trial to establish safety and tolerability.

4.) Wild guess - a vaccine goes into wide-spread (in the U.S.) availability sometime mid. 2021, maybe into the 2nd half.

5.) Will live-aboards and some other operators start requiring proof of immunization record showing one had the vaccine or recovered from the virus? I don't predict it'll happen, but it might.

6.) The economic damage will hit the scuba industry in a couple of ways. Young Gen. Z types take a hit to discretionary income and may be slow to take up traveling. Millennials took a hit in the last recession around the time they were coming out of college, and now that they're hitting their prime earning years they're taking a hit in this COVID-19 led recession. The very generation poised to produce the next round of chubby, out-of-shape mainstream divers (like me) that some find objectionable may cut production.

7.) Fear of infectious disease takes some of the focus off the post-Conception disaster-inspired fire safety concerns that were heightened. It won't go away, but it's no longer the main headliner it.

 

[uncfnp]

Last I heard (in my DAN cpr refresher last year) rescue breaths were no longer a part of CPR. Chest compressions alone. Did they add it back in (again)?

Kinda depends on your course. Hands or compression only was an attempt to encourage the general public to be more willing to provide CPR, especially in a witnessed collapse. But yes, CPR with breaths in many situations is a better choice.

https://international.heart.org/sites/default/files/Hands-Only CPR FAQ 2019.pdf

You might also find relevant current info here...

CPR - personal lesson learned

 

[Graeme Fraser]

Kinda depends on your course. Hands or compression only was an attempt to encourage the general public to be more willing to provide CPR, especially in a witnessed collapse. But yes, CPR in many situations is a better choice.

https://international.heart.org/sites/default/files/Hands-Only CPR FAQ 2019.pdf

You might also find relevant current info here...

CPR - personal lesson learned

I was under the impression that rescue breaths were considered quite effective in cases of suspected drowning. Have they changed the thought process on this as well?

 

[uncfnp]

I was under the impression that rescue breaths were considered quite effective in cases of suspected drowning. Have they changed the thought process on this as well?

Correct, rescue breaths are recommended. Check bullet number 4 (bold added by me)...


Q: Are there times when I should use conventional CPR with breaths?

A: Yes. There are many medical emergencies that cause a person to be unresponsive and to stop breathing normally. In those emergencies, conventional CPR that includes mouth-to-mouth breathing may provide more benefit than Hands-Only CPR. The American Heart Association recommends CPR with a combination of breaths and compressions for:
• All infants (up to age 1)
• Children (up to puberty)
• Anyone found already unresponsive and not breathing normally
• Any victims of drowning, drug overdose, collapse due to breathing problems, or prolonged cardiac
arrest

Edit: In the age of covid, especially if no barrier available, obviously the choice to actually provide those breaths is entirely a personal decision.

 

[tursiops]

Last I heard (in my DAN cpr refresher last year) rescue breaths were no longer a part of CPR. Chest compressions alone. Did they add it back in (again)?

I'm sorry you had that DAN instructor. Rescue breaths have NEVER left CPR for drowning...so for DAN, teaching in a scuba environment, you do breaths. Or, better, use a bag and two people.

 

[Rickk]

Most of this is already proving false in Florida. Gyms are busy, construction is booming, and there's more tourists on the beachside than even expected.

That is in the USA where there is a definite anti-science faction in the population. Also the US is more on individual rights and freedom, many are going because someone told them not to go.

In other places, people are more willing to trust science and their government and are more focused on doing what is best for society than in doing whatever they want to do,

 

[dmaziuk]

"New Normal" must be a media creation.

Just like 911 and so many other events, this will very soon be forgotten.

Really? Where can I get on a plane without TSA backscatter-irradiatiating my wibbly bits then?

 

[broncobowsher]

Really? Where can I get on a plane without TSA backscatter-irradiatiating my wibbly bits then?

Last year I got on a commercial flight and my carry on wasn't even X-rayed. I only walked through a metal detector. Carry on just a quick unzip, poke around, go on your way. Yes, there are ways around the illusion of airport security. And they are even legal.