Why does DAN say

[twashowich]

that diving with Diabetes is OK......and NAUI says if you have Diabetes, we can not teach you to dive...??

I would think DAN knows what it's talking about. I took the class on the DAN website. Seems logical, seems like we would put the liability onto the diver with diabetes....

So *** is up with NAUI? does PADI and SSI, etc do the same thing?

I am 100% NAUI...I do not have Diabetes, but some friends do that I want to get certified.....

Thanks for the debate and responses in advance.

Todd

 

[jmmacdougall2]

Good question. My son has Type I diabetes (fka juvenile diabetes), and his mom and I would like for him to have the opportunity to get certified if he wants someday. I'd like to know the answer to that as well.

With him, it's a matter of regulating his blood sugars and making sure he gets his insulin shots every day... he can participate in normal activities according to the doctors. As long as he stayed within recreational limits, and kept his glucose levels under control (either within normal range or maybe even a bit high to keep from crashing), I'd think he would be just fine.

 

[Don Wray]

PADI follows DAN's recommendations. Here is an article from PADI regarding this.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Guidelines for Divers with Diabetes[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What was considered an absolute contraindication to diving is now openly supported for those who are medically evaluated and who carefully monitor their condition. Divers who use medication (oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin) to treat diabetes but who are otherwise qualified to dive may undertake recreational scuba diving, provided certain criteria are met. Those using dietary control will easily meet the guidelines. This was the result of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Society (UHMS) and the Divers Alert Network (DAN) published consensus guidelines resulting from their 2005 co-sponsored workshop, Diabetes and Recreational Diving: Guidelines for the Future. After scientific data review and related discussions, the conservative view held by the diving medical community on people diving who have insulin-dependent diabetes was relaxed. Guidelines produced from this workshop give the diver a means to factor in this medical condition and dive in a responsible manner.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]You can download the guidelines below. Please feel free to distribute this information to student divers asking about diving with diabetes. Note that these are simply “guidelines,” and not rules. Just as the RSTC medical form and accompanying guidelines for physicians are meant to assist the diver and doctor in making educated decisions with regard to fitness for diving, the guidelines for diving with diabetes should be used as an informational tool when the individual is medically evaluated for diving. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]You can order the full Diabetes and Recreational Diving: Guidelines for the Future workshop proceedings by contacting DAN Americas DAN Divers Alert Network - Scuba Diving and Dive Safety Association.

[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hope this helps.
[/FONT]

 

[Ber Rabbit]

With NAUI my guess is it's the liability. I had a potential student who was diabetic but would have been a good candidate for scuba since he was well controlled. I called NAUI asking if I could train him, the response I got was: "That is your decision but if anything EVER happens to him we will pull your insurance and you're on your own." Basically that means my husband and I could lose everything. That risk isn't worth it to me no matter how good of a candidate the student would be.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[twashowich]

I have written NAUI....but have not received a response...I really don't expect one.

But that is BS...

Don that is good info....Does NAUI look at this stuff?

 

[ronbeau]

I have written NAUI....but have not received a response...I really don't expect one.

But that is BS...

Don that is good info....Does NAUI look at this stuff?

Maybe ScubaBoard could contact NAUI informing them of this thread and ask them if they would like to post a response.

 

[twashowich]

I would love that, but since I have only been here for less than a week....Not sure how to get that done.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

We are a NAUI and YMCA shop. We had a student with insulin dependent diabetes. He did the research, found a doc who knew the rules, got clearance, signed all the necessary forms and is now a YMCA certified diver. NAUI and Y standards are very close. Find a Y instructor and have him review the guidelines, then have your friends find doctors who know diving (DAN can help you there), and get them YMCA certified. BTW the guy we certed who did ALL the legwork and spent the time and money to find a knowledgeable physician is not only insulin dependent but on an insulin pump that he unplugs when he dives. After of course closely checking his blood sugar levels and then again after every dive.

 

[cje20171]

Diabetes is a question on the PADI medical exam form. If any question is answered yes the diver needs to be cleared by a physician before diving. If the doctor says it is ok to dive then dive it is. Visit a PADI shop. They sound more diabetes friendly.

 

[yyidus]

So even DAN isn't THAT clear about diabetes
DAN Divers Alert Network : Diabetes — The Risks

There are obvious issues:
1) If a diver goes into insulin shock under water, EVEN if his buddy realizes what is going on.. How is the buddy supposed to give the diver glucose? Managing diabetes reduces the chances of going into shock, but it doesn't completely guarantee it will never happen. An unplanned insulin shock underwater will most likely lead to death by drowning...

2) Long-term diabetes leads to both kidney and liver damage as well as cardiovascular stress. Both of these are heavily magnified at high pressures/depth.


So, I would strongly suggest a diabetic talk to a doctor before starting diving, irrelevant of whether any agency is willing to teach him.