Tech diving with Asthma

[caroln]

When you say you have a severe case of asthma, what does that mean? Do you have attacks? Is it triggered by anything specific (cold, exercise, exertion, allergens)? These would be important considerations for you in deciding how much risk is actually involved.

[ianr33]

Originally Posted by James1010

My asthma is under control, I use an oral steroid and abuterol. I have never had any issues diving deep i.e. 110ft being the deepest.

There would be to many unknowns in there for me to do "technical" dives if I had Asthma.

Do you know how these drugs might interact with high pressures of O2 for extended periods. Does anybody know?

If you did have an attack on a big dive then you might have,say, an hour of deco to do. Would that be surviveable?

Does the asthma effect gas exchange in your lungs? If so offgassing might be affected leaving yuo more prone to DCS ?

I dont have any answers to these questions,just thinking aloud.

Good luck with whatever diving you decide to do. If you do get into deeper stuff be sure to tell your buddies about your condition so they can make informed choices.

[cummings66]

As I said in another posting on diving with Asthma, I'll do it recreationally with a person, but I consider the risk too high for technical diving. It's not that I wouldn't dive with you, just that I wouldn't do a technical dive with you.

Technical dives can IMO be simple things, or complex things. But, IMO usually there's some sort of ceiling you can't violate. Be it a cave, wreck, or deco obligation. If you had an attack under those conditions the odds of you surviving are slim and I'd feel bad for taking you into a situation that I knew ahead of time would be that risky.

I take being a buddy very seriously and will never put my buddies life in danger, and I will do all I can to take care of them going so far as to not do the dive with them and risking their ire.

James, I'm not trying to insult you. Heck, perhaps asthma in the future will have the doors opened as diabetics now are finding for them, both of which I consider potential problems. I hate to poo poo a dream of yours, but I think you need to consider the complications from the standpoint of your buddy.

[in_cavediver]

My wife had athsma as a kid. Its been 15 years since her last attack and we still watch for any warning signs. (here allergist says she doesn't have athsma, just bad allergies at times).

We talked quite a bit about it prior to starting tec training for her and decided in her case, with the advice of her allergist, that the risk was minimal. If you have severe athsma as you describe it, I'd seriously look at the risk/reward equation for any scuba diving. I'd hate to see the results of a true athsma attack underwater.

Even with under control athsma, I wouldn't do a tec dive with you. (or any athsmatic). If you had an attack, I couldn't save you. (I dive caves - physical overheads). I have no desire to live with that on my concious should something happen. Sorry.

[James1010]

Thanks everyone the only thing I can do now is go to the doctor and ask for approval.

Thanks a bunch

[cgvmer]

OP what type of asthma do you have? My son has allergy induced, not exercise, so according to his allergist, as long as he has no symptoms in the hours proceeding a dive, he will not experience symptoms on his tank gas since this is considered cleaner than normal breathing air. We had to find an allergist that was willing to research diving so we could get a reasonable answer.

[Lulubelle]

Originally Posted by cgvmer

OP what type of asthma do you have? My son has allergy induced, not exercise, so according to his allergist, as long as he has no symptoms in the hours proceeding a dive, he will not experience symptoms on his tank gas since this is considered cleaner than normal breathing air. We had to find an allergist that was willing to research diving so we could get a reasonable answer.

This advice seems reasonable at first pass, however, I would consult with a DAN physician for specific guidelines for your son. There are many conditions which only create a modest risk for the diver. Asthma however, can create a really big risk. Does your son EVER require the rescue inhaler outside of the presence of whatever allergies he has? Are those allergies avoidable? I.E. cats? Or are they seasonal allergens that he cannot avoid? My concern would be that if they are seasonal/unavoidable allergens that his airways COULD constrict and he COULD need a rescue inhaler while he is underwater without one which could be a real disaster.

If he were my child, I might consider limiting his diving to shallow dives where an emergency ascent is possible and not terribly dangerous. That way if the gamble is lost, and his airways constrict, you can bring him up very quickly for the appropriate treatment. Over time, you will know whether or not these limits can be expanded.

[TommyB]

Originally Posted by James1010

I read a post on asthma that someone had posted and I started to think about some things. I have asthma, a pretty severe case and I was wanting to start doing tech diving and does anyone know that if I where to do it would the gas mixes affect me? Is there any tech divers out there that have asthma and do mix gas dives?

Might be a good idea to read this
DAN Divers Alert Network : Asthma & Diving

The bronchial narrowing in asthma has two effects: one is to decrease the amount of air that can be moved in and out of the lungs. This can reduce exercise capacity — especially for a diver, who already has reduced breathing capacity due to the external resistance of his breathing apparatus and the increased internal resistance due to higher breathing gas density at depth. Secondly, reduced airway caliber could cause trapping of gas in the lung during ascent. If trapped gas expands at a rate greater than it can be exhaled through the narrowed airways, lung rupture can result, causing arterial gas embolism or pneumothorax (collapsed lung).

Information from the DAN database on divers with asthma suggests that there may be a slight increase in the risk of decompression illness, but there are insufficient numbers as yet to assess the risk accurately.

Obtain additional information from:
UHMS “Are Asthmatics Fit to Dive?” Workshop Report April 1996; UHMS 10531 Metropolitan Ave., Kensington, MD
UK Sports Diving Medical Committee Report 1995 British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC), Telford’s Quay, Ellesmere Port, South Wirral, Cheshire L65 4FY
South Pacific Undersea Medical Society Workshop Report (SPUMS) 1995; SPUMS c/o Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthestists, 630 Saint Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria 3004 Australia
Global Initiative for Asthma 1995 Report (NIH 95-3659)
From the January/February 1997 issue of Alert Diver.

I found this quote somewhere about this subject on another forum (not my quote, just something I saw. (Don't kill the messenger

If it is cold, stress related, or exercise related asthmatic, then he will be treated as if he were a dead man walking.

[RoyN]

Not to beat the dead horse, but there was one diver who had asthma and was turn down by the tech instructor.

[in_cavediver]

Originally Posted by RoyN

Not to beat the dead horse, but there was one diver who had asthma and was turn down by the tech instructor.

I doubt you'll find an answer. I am sure there are several who have been turned down and a few who weren't. This little factoid really has no bearing on whether its a good idea.