Is this medical sitituation an automatic disqualification?

[DiverG]

I've got a friend that is interested in diving, but he has some medical history that may or may not preclude him from diving. I told him I would ask some general questions on this board.

My friend has had a kidney transplant, and is taking anti rejection and blood pressure medications. His blood pressure is under control. He also has had loss of hearing because of his kidney problems.

Would this be an automatic disqualification from diving, or would this be a case of he may be able to dive depending on his individual sitituation.

Would Divers Alert Network answer his questions in generalities?

Thanks,
DiverG

 

[BillP]

Howdy G:

Scubadoc has some info on his website on kidney disease and diving at:

http://www.scuba-doc.com/kidprbs.htm

I can't tell you what DAN would say- best ask them. They, along with your buddy's own physician, would be the best source for further info for you.

HTH,

Bill

 

[John Reinertson]

To answer your question simply: No, these would not be automatic disqualifiers. They do affect risk somewhat, but in general hypertension that is well controlled with medications that do not preclude exertion or use very strong diuretics are felt to be acceptable if cleared by one's physician.

The anti rejection drugs suppress the immune system and would be expected to increase the risk of infection somewhat. Extra care with injuries and cleanliness of regs (and avoidance of polluted waters) should mitigate those risks.

There is no way, of course, to give a complete answer without a complete exam and history.

Good luck to your friend.

A source for exam guidelines for physicians attempting to assess risk is a short book titled "Medical Examination of Sport Scuba Divers" by A.A. Bove. It and other text references are available from most medical textbook suppliers or from Scubamed.com.
I know a few primary care doctors that aren't diving docs but follow it and do good evaluations.

I've read it and it's a pretty good short reference for primary care doctors. It costs less than twenty dollars, and is written clearly enough that most nonmedical types can follow it, if you're interested.

Dr Campbell's site at http://scuba-doc.com/ has extensive medical info and is a useful reference for an interested diver or a doc who wants to help a patient with a question.

Dive safe,
John Reinertson