Medical & Fitness

The Australian authors—Dr Neil Banham (lead) and Dr John Lippmann—reported that a 26-year-old healthy male freediver dived to 10m (32.8ft) where he met a friend who was diving on scuba. The freediver breathed from a scuba regulator before ascending.

It may have been that he held much of his breath during ascent, which would have been his usual and generally safe practice with normal breath hold diving. — Banham, Lippmann

Cardiac issues have become a leading factor in diving fatalities, according to a study. Hence, older scuba divers have been advised to have regular fitness assessments with their doctors and cut down on factors that can increase one's risk of suffering a heart attack when diving.

Although it is mandatory to be screened for fitness and have one's dive skills certified prior to being issued a C-Card, such certification lasts a lifetime.

The Bajau are an indigenous people in parts of Indonesia renowned for their breath-holding ability when diving for food. They have been known to dive up to 70 metres using nothing more than a set of weights and a pair of wooden goggles.

Previously, scientists have speculated on whether dive capacity is related to spleen size, though no formal studies have been done on humans on a genetic level.

Although Visit Pensacola promotes the Oriskany dive site and Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail, it has not been made aware of the safety concerns rover the region's lack of hyperbaric chambers to treat decompression sickness Nicole Stacey, spokeswoman for Visit Pensacola, told Pensacola News Journal on Thursday.

She said Visit Pensacola was not involved in any effort to try to improve emergency treatment options for divers and would rely on the diving industry and those professionals in the area to remedy the situation.

Ear health problems are one of the most commonly reported issues by divers. Problems can range from a relatively simple condition, for example, “swimmers ear,” to a more serious condition such as barotrauma, which can result in lasting damage to the ear.

Currently, anonymous field data is sparse, therefore Devon-based DDRC is hoping to find out what type of ear problems are most frequently encountered whilst diving if any medical advice was obtained; and if not, what was the outcome.

The lead of the pilot study, Vinisha Ranna, who is also a keen scuba diver, became interested in the problem after she experienced it herself. In her case it manifested as a squeezing sensation in the teeth, known as barodontalgia

In order to see just how common and severe this problem is, she distributed a questionnaire through social media platforms dedicated to scuba diving and collected data from 100 scuba diving enthusiasts. A substantial number replied they experienced symptoms that range from tooth, jaw and gum pain to loosened crowns and broken dental fillings.

Due to the constant jaw clenching and fluctuations in the atmospheric pressure underwater, divers may experience symptoms ranging from tooth, jaw and gum pain to loosened crowns and broken dental fillings. Recreational divers should consult their dentist before diving if they recently received dental care, said lead author Vinisha Ranna, BDS, a student in the UB School of Dental Medicine.