Hey I think these guys do a great job of providing medical information that the OP can use to make an informed decision, being seek a consultation or otherwise... Most of us come here with a specific issue that is not hypothetical and are just looking for education and options, not a prescription.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, mbs.
The line between "education" and "advice" in this forum admittedly can sometimes become thin, although it certainly is cogently arguable that all competent advice is more or less educational.
When the medical professionals active on this forum are concerned that education regarding a diving medicine issue might be misconstrued as clearance to dive or not, we generally conclude our comments with a caveat such as the one I use: ""This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual and should not be construed as such." Duke Dive Medicine often uses:
"Information provided is for educational purposes only, is not intended to replace the advice of your own health care practitioner, and should not be construed as a practitioner/patient relationship. Duke Dive Medicine does not condone the placement of "Skimwords" advertisements and does not endorse any of the products or services advertised
."
Sadly, the reflex action of those who don't really read or understand questions posted to the Diving Medicine and DrDeco forums often is, "CALL DAN."
I define the "Call DAN" reflex as an involuntary and almost instantaneous abnormal movement of the less than optimally functioning central nervous system of certain unknowledgeable posters.
On this and other diving medicine forums I frequently see responders, who appear to be genuine in their desire to be helpful, stating that DAN is the ONLY one qualified to answer the question and should ALWAYS be contacted and there are NO experts on this forum and the like.
Of course emergency diving medicine inquiries should be brought to DAN's immediate attention. And, while it often is a wise idea to inquire of DAN about non-urgent situations, one needs to appreciate the likely limitations of doing so.
For example, when one contacts DAN they first, and often only, speak with a paraprofessional (e.g., registered nurse, diving EMT). These folks often simply thumb to DAN's medical FAQs and read or email a paraphrasing to the individual. They frequently are quite busy and give the briefest possible reply. For understandable reasons, DAN provides very limited direct physician access. As such, the answers received from the experts on a diving medicine forum are likely to be longer and more informative than the responses from DAN, even when both are in essence correct.
Also, diving medicine forums typically afford greater opportunity for more rapid give and take between participants than is the case with DAN. Finally, links to previous board threads on the topic, professional magazine and journal articles on the topic, and other reference sources are often given on these forums, another nicety not usually provided in a DAN reply.
And, DAN does occasionally give a rather shaky response, and on request I can cite a number of these. It is a very worthy and valuable organization, but it in fact is not the be all and end all of diving medicine fact and opinion.
IMHO, it seems wisest to inquire from a range of sources and see how the opinions rank based on the factual and theoretical support given an opinion, the thoroughness and clarity of the response, and similar factors.
In summary, in non-emergency cases I can see no compelling reason not to seek advice from recognized diving medicine forums and other reputable sources that have knowledgeable physician participation and turning to DAN only if that fails. Some diving medicine inquiries are rather easy to answer and do not require DAN's valuable, but limited, medical resources.
Cheers,
DocVikingo
