Inhaler-friendly snorkel for those with asthma.+

[Thalassamania]

I guess Australia does not have product liability laws, but I'm amazed that SSI is aboard, they should know better.

 

[mdmbike to scuba]

It's a bad idea because asthma underwater has the potential to be very dangerous -- if bronchospasm closes off the passages to some air spaces, then they can't vent when the diver ascends, and this poses a risk of lung rupture (pneumothorax) or air embolism. Someone whose asthma is so poorly controlled that they are likely to need to use their rescue medication underwater is too poorly controlled to dive, by the guidelines published by DAN and by the BSAC.

Lots of asthmatics can be very well controlled with the judicious use of inhaled steroids and long-acting bronchodilators. Those who require continuous dosage of their "rescue" medication (which is ideally only to be used infrequently) are by definition poorly controlled, and that's still considered a contraindication to diving.

Ok question, If a person with mild asthma has this reg and gets into trouble underwater and uses the reg inhaler for help. What would happen if he stayed at that depth until he feel better? Is it possible that this could reverse the trouble enough to ascends? Not saying this is a good idea just a good question. MARK

 

[fisherdvm]

You've got a point, mdmbike.... Since we can't stop folks from diving with all sorts of medical problems.... Might as well make it safer for them to dive.

What do you get when you combine physical exertion and hypothermia with an asthmatic? An ideal condition for an asthma attack.

So what you are saying is - let them take a couple of puff.... Keep the airway open.... Keep them from blowing a few alveoli and suffer an air embolism....

Who cares what dose they might get of the inhaler at 100 ft.... As long as they don't die or stroke out, right??

 

[Tienuts]

I would say it's also dangerous, in the fact that some inhaled asthma medicines are also cardiac stimulants. Also, as someone pointed out, what would the effect of the increased partial pressure be?

 

[Thalassamania]

Ok question, If a person with mild asthma has this reg and gets into trouble underwater and uses the reg inhaler for help. What would happen if he stayed at that depth until he feel better? Is it possible that this could reverse the trouble enough to ascends? Not saying this is a good idea just a good question. MARK

It is my feeling that people with asthma should not be diving. Sorry it that's not PC.

 

[TSandM]

Again, the recommendation is that, if an asthmatic cannot be kept reliably asymptomatic with regular medication, they should not dive.

Albuterol is not magic. If you take a dose of it, you can reverse some bronchospasm -- but how much and how quickly varies from person to person, and varies with the severity of the attack. Hoping the dose of albuterol will reverse enough bronchospasm to make an ascent safe is gambling with some very high stakes, in my opinion.

I don't agree with Thalassamania, mainly because the criteria for diagnosing asthma have gotten better defined, and a LOT of people meet the diagnosis who go long periods (years) without any symptoms whatsoever. Many others are so well-controlled on routine meds that they probably have no greater risk than the population at large. Poorly controlled asthmatics should not dive.

 

[Thalassamania]

I'll grant you that my view is a harsh one and is colored by the fact that I've spent most of my adult life responsible to a third party for the safety of a diver. I've had, sadly, to turn more than a few promising young researchers down. Some I have happily been able to get involved with subs and ROVs as alternatives.

 

[ianr33]

The same folks have a scuba regulator that allows metered doses for asthmatic scuba divers.
To me, this is even more scary.

Does this reg have a DIN version? That would be great for asthmatic cave divers.

 

[fisherdvm]

I think the standpoint of scuba guides, dive boats, and scuba instructors is - you should not dive with asthma, or any medications.

Just like the signs at the amusement park: don't go on the rides if you have back pain, neck pain, zits, or a relative with a law degree....

But reality is, asthmatics are great athletes, great professional football players, and soldiers. There is a great range of severity and type of asthmatics.

No one has ever given me a dianosis of asthma, and I've not been able to induce it clinically in my office. I've tried to induce it with a treadmill and pulmonary function testing, but could not do it without the hypothermia component.

I am comfortable with my own diagnosis of cold and exercise induced asthma.... But it does not occur without extreme hypothermia and exercise.... I'll never put my own diagnosis in a medical history, or an insurance form..... But I feel completely safe diving. As scuba diving is really mild to mild moderate exercise, I would never fear about wheezing in 99% of the dives I do... Unless I were to take on ice diving.

So just like what us doctors tell our patients, scuba instructors should do the same, "Do as I tell you, but don't do what I do!"... Ha, ha, ha....

 

[Thalassamania]

What you need, I believe, is an acetylcholine challenge test, but then you'd possibly have to face the truth, that you maybe a danger to your team mates.