Submerged Struggles: 3 Health conditions that You Can’t Scuba Dive With

Before you decide to practice SCUBA diving, you must consider certain health conditions that you can’t scuba dive with. 

You must perform honest assessments of your health before scuba diving to prevent any complications or scuba diving health problems. In this article, we will highlight about 3 health conditions that you can’t scuba dive with. So, keep along with us.

3 Health Conditions That You Can’t Scuba Dive With 

There are certain health conditions that you can’t scuba dive with. These conditions can pose serious risks underwater due to the physical demands of diving and also the change in pressure, these conditions are:

  • Hyperthyroidism. 
  • Collapsed lung.
  • Asthma.

Medical conditions that you can't dive with

Hyperthyroidism

The main concern about hyperthyroidism is that it can cause potential acceleration effects on the health rate. If you have hyperthyroidism, and you didn’t take care of your medications, you will have a higher risk of cardiac arrest or paralysis. 

Fortunately, if you have a good treatment plan, you can control your condition. When you know that the hormone thyroxine is within normal ranges from your blood tests, you can practice scuba diving safely without any problems.

Collapsed lung 

Collapsed lung is also known as Pneumothorax. It’s a medical condition in which the patient’s lung collapses. The patient having collapsed lung has a leak that prevents the air from entering the space surrounding his lung. The patient often experiences a sharp pain in his chest.

Statistically, most people who have experienced one episode of pneumothorax are likely to have another one. For this reason, if a scuba diver has experienced a collapsed lung before diving and ignored these signs, he mostly takes a risk. 

Also, if he has Decompression Sickness during his dive, he is in great danger. People who have experienced pneumothorax aren’t recommended to dive at all.

A scuba diver

Asthma 

Asthma causes air to get trapped in the lungs and this -in turn- creates a tightening condition in the chest. As a scuba diver suffering from asthma, you can suffer from rapture of your airway while ascending to the surface of the water because of air trapping. As a result, you can also suffer from blood clots. 

Which makes things even more dangerous, practically, asthma can affect patients while exercising (such as practicing diving). While scuba diving, patients will have to breathe compressed air that is cold and dry. Some asthmatics don’t care and dive anyway; actually their choice usually depends on the severity of the symptoms. 

These are just some of the health conditions that you can’t scuba dive with, as they interfere with scuba diving. If you have one of these conditions and are scuba diving for the first time, you must consult with your doctor before delving into this world to be on the safe side. 

Certain medications can also be very dangerous when taking before diving, as it causes drowsiness, so you must be thoughtful and always do your research.

WANT MORE OF THIS?

Sign up for Scuba Diving’s weekly
email and never miss another story.

By submitting above, you agree to
Scuba Diving's privacy policy.

Join DRAR Scuba Diving Community by Signing up and get the latest updates, offers and more.

0

Your Cart Is Empty

No products in the cart.