Helpful Guide: Is Scuba Diving Dangerous?
Since the dawn of time, human beings have always wanted to explore the ocean and see what’s under it. That’s why we invented things like submarines and later on scuba diving.
Scuba diving, also known as self-contained underwater breathing apparatus diving, is a way of diving where you carry your own breathing equipment and oxygen with you. Scuba diving is one of the most underrated adventure sports.
This sport has garnered a lot of appreciation in the recent years. There are many Scuba Diving places in the world. It is the most common water sports. It is very dangerous sport.
If you are planning to enjoy this activity, then you should be careful. It is the very popular water sports. It consists of breathing under water.
If you are planning on taking up this sport, it is essential that you take the correct safety precautions. But if you are still thinking that is scuba diving dangerous then, in this article, we’ll look at the different ways.
Is Scuba Diving Dangerous?
When engaging in any activity, there are dangers and risks to be considered. It is for this reason that scuba diving is classified as an ‘extreme sport.’
However, there are millions of certified scuba divers who participate in this activity every year, and millions more who obtain their certifications through various diving agencies each year.
There are divers who are over 90 years old who are still diving shipwrecks, and there are divers as young as eight years old who use scuba equipment for a dive in a swimming pool.
The Dangers that can be Experienced During Scuba Diving
There are numerous dangers to consider. These can include everything from environmental hazards such as decompression sickness and nitrogen narcosis, as well as other risks such as health issues, underwater debris, and entanglement, to name a few examples.
You may wish to pack a dive knife in case you need to cut through old fishing line that might become tangled in your equipment while underwater.
Drowning
Even though DCS is the most frequently reported cause of death, it is actually the most common cause of death in this category.
A diver drowning is most often caused by diver panic or by a diver becoming unconscious as a result of other, non-diving-related health concerns.
Diver panic can arise as a result of being out of air or experiencing another emergency. Diver panic and, as a result, drowning can be avoided with proper training and the use of a buddy system, among other things.
You should not dive unless you have received a clean medical examination. If you have any heart or respiratory issues, or if you have any other ailment that may interfere with your diving, you should check with a physician who specializes in diving medicine.
When you receive your dive certification, you will be given a medical checklist to complete before diving. When making this list, it is critical that you are completely honest with yourself; not all of the problems will prevent you from being able to dive, and it is critical that you share any of these concerns with your instructor.
Sickness Associated with Decompression
The diving-related injury known as DCS is arguably the most well-known of them all. When you inhale compressed air at a deep level, your body tissues absorb an additional amount of nitrogen.
Depending on whether your tissues have absorbed an excessive amount of nitrogen, the fall in pressure may cause the nitrogen to rise up and form nitrogen bubbles within your tissues when you resurface.
This is known as decompression sickness, often known as the bends. It produces a great deal of discomfort and, if left untreated, can lead to nerve and other tissue damage, as well as death.
The majority of dive-related complications can be avoided by carefully following dive tables and computers, rising at a reasonable rate, and making the customary safety stop.
Although there are many factors that contribute to DCS, some of the most important are dehydration, physical fitness, sleep, use of alcohol and other illegal drugs, as well as psychological stress.
When diving, it is critical that you stay well within the safe limits that you learn in your training and that you take good care of your body in order to avoid developing DCS.
You should not think that you are exempt simply because you followed the instructions on your dive tables or diving computer. If you begin to experience symptoms of DCS, you should take them seriously and get treatment as soon as possible.
Arterial Air Embolism
Arterial Air Embolism is a type of blood clot that occurs in the arteries. An arterial embolism is a blockage of an artery that occurs in the body.
Divers may experience this if bubbles form in an artery during ascent and prevent blood from flowing through it.
A common cause of this is pulmonary barotrauma, which is injury to the lungs as a result of pressure variations between the surrounding environment and the pressure inside the lungs.
Suppose a diver holds his or her breath while climbing, the air in his or her lungs will expand and cause catastrophic or even fatal damage to the lungs as a result. This is a rare occurrence, but it may be avoided with adequate training and caution before diving.
Nitrogen Narcosis
Nitrogen Narcosis is a condition in which the body becomes addicted to nitrogen. In seawater, nitrogen narcosis is characterized by a sense of drunkenness or giddiness that divers experience at deeper depths, typically between 80 and 100 feet.
Nitrogen narcosis, while not directly harmful, results in a transient impairment of cognition, decision-making, and motor coordination capabilities.
This can result in the diver making poor decisions, which might result in DCS or other difficulties. It is because of nitrogen narcosis that diving deeper than 60 feet requires extra training after your initial certification.
Accidents and Equipment Failure
Equipment failures or accidents are among the most serious risks associated with SCUBA diving. Pre-dive inspections of all equipment and its functionality are critical to ensuring a safe dive.
Running out of air is not only dangerous, but it can also cause problems with buoyancy. The Buoyancy Adjust Device, which is a mix of weights and air pushed into it, allows you to control your buoyancy (BCD).
You can also alter your buoyancy by changing the rate at which you breathe. Deeper dives necessitate the use of additional air or different equipment.
To prevent the bends and other severe complications on your ascent, you should also allow for extra time to decompress at various points along your ascent.
Dive sites can be littered with caves, underwater debris, sunken ships, fishing line and nets, and other hazards, depending on the location.
Divers can become imprisoned, stuck, smash their heads, or run out of oxygen while attempting to find an exit from these types of dives.
The risk of lung damage is increased if you attempt to ascend too quickly, which is something anxious divers might do. Because of the reduced pressure, oxygen will expand as a diver ascends and approaches the surface of the water.
Divers must remember to exhale as they rise in order to prevent their lungs from becoming over expanded.
FAQs Related to the Topic
Unfortunately, this is true. There are inherent hazards in diving, just as there are in any activity performed in the natural environment, and these risks can never be completely eradicated.
While it is possible to have a deadly accident while diving with sufficient training and following sound diving techniques, the chances of having one are slim – in the United States, there were only 50 diver fatalities reported in 2014.
Because divers account for approximately 3% of the world’s population, according to the Divers Alert Network (DAN), the diver fatality research conducted in 2014 found that the mortality rate was approximately 2 per 100,000 participants, which “appears to be rather steady over time.” This compares favorably to the following other popular sports.
Aside from sunburn, seasickness, and dehydration, the most common medical concerns linked with scuba diving are dehydration and seasickness (all of which are preventable).
In fact, diving is related with just a small number of injuries that necessitate any type of medical attention. Every year in the United States, only 1092 people are admitted to the hospital as a result of scuba diving-related injuries.
Conclusion
Is scuba diving dangerous, yes, it is when you don’t follow the basic rules. It is not the same experience you have when you are diving with a group of divers, swimming in lakes or swimming in an ocean.
There are precautions that will make the dive easier and the most important of all is to go with a group of divers that is well-known in the industry. This will ensure that you are taking all the precautions you need to make your time in the water safe.
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