diving afetr flying?

[tal_y]

Its unsafely flying after deep dive, is it the same vice verso? in heights there are no nitrogen issues .

[navyhmc]

In all honsety, I have never thought about that issue. With the current accepted theories about nitrogen loading, I would imagine that while the effect would be negligible, your nitrogen staurations would be less when you get off the plane, but by the time you grab your gear, get a taxi and get to the water (short of flying a seaplane) and get wet, your nitrogen saturation would be back to the normal levels for 14.7 psi +/-.

[Defman]

No real issues from altitude per se, people fly-then-dive all the time. However you may be dehydrated and not well rested after traveling and that could lead to some issues. So be sure to drink plenty of water, or other beneficial liquid, while traveling. Or at the very least start guzzling that stuff as soon as you land.

[fisheater]

The latest word I saw on this is to use a bit of caution.

There is a bit of a pressure-related issue. If you were to dive pretty darned soon after a long time of low pressurization, your nitrogen uptake at depth may be greater than that for a person who'd fully acclimated for sea level. However, the effect is likely to be minor.

The greater concerns are dehydration, pooling and fatigue.

Airline air is excessively dry and it's very easy to get dehydrated, especially if you're only drinking the tiny glasses of refreshments that you're lucky to get on today's airlines. Add alcohol to the situation, and you're not ready for a dive. Remember: Dehydration is a significant DCS risk factor.

A long flight, say to Hawaii, involves sitting in a small, cramped seat with zilch leg room for extended periods of time. This can lead to circulatory problems. The circulatory problems can add to the risk of DCS because regions that are not getting proper profusion won't off gas smoothly.

Lastly, today's air travel is royal PITA! You're likely to arrive at your destination dehydrated, cramped and tired - both physically and mentally. That's not the way you want to be when you go diving.

The recommendations I've seen say to give yourself some time to rehydrate, walk around, relax and ease into your diving. It's supposed to be fun.

[digitalman]

Originally Posted by fisheater

The latest word I saw on this is to use a bit of caution.

There is a bit of a pressure-related issue. If you were to dive pretty darned soon after a long time of low pressurization, your nitrogen uptake at depth may be greater than that for a person who'd fully acclimated for sea level. However, the effect is likely to be minor.

The greater concerns are dehydration, pooling and fatigue.

Airline air is excessively dry and it's very easy to get dehydrated, especially if you're only drinking the tiny glasses of refreshments that you're lucky to get on today's airlines. Add alcohol to the situation, and you're not ready for a dive. Remember: Dehydration is a significant DCS risk factor.

A long flight, say to Hawaii, involves sitting in a small, cramped seat with zilch leg room for extended periods of time. This can lead to circulatory problems. The circulatory problems can add to the risk of DCS because regions that are not getting proper profusion won't off gas smoothly.

Lastly, today's air travel is royal PITA! You're likely to arrive at your destination dehydrated, cramped and tired - both physically and mentally. That's not the way you want to be when you go diving.

The recommendations I've seen say to give yourself some time to rehydrate, walk around, relax and ease into your diving. It's supposed to be fun.

Right. If you're at a dive resort, you'll probably want to get acclimated to the property anyway. Sit out a few hours, see the property, try to get rehydrated and get a light bite to eat, then get wet. It's best not to push it if you have the opportunity.

[gthomas]

We take a 2hr flight to Cozumel in the morning and do a afternoon dive. Never had any problems. Also never heard of anyone having problems.

[Navy OnStar]

Depends on the type of flying. I have talked to DAN, being a flight instructor and Search and Recovery diver for the county, I may be called to do just this. Their answer in a nutshell was (the actual eMail is on my home computer):

Unpressurized cockpit less than 2000ft MSL flight there is no increased danger of DCS for flying AFTER diving. Yes, I wrote flying AFTER diving. This is directed at those private pilots out there. That being said I wouldn't do it after deep repetetive dives (I would just feel better) or any time I may be assigned an altitude above 2000ft MSL Also, there is no danger diving after flying those altitudes either.
Several people have brought up good points, Hydration and long periods in the same position would still apply, but the altitudes listed here are not a problem if you are a private pilot.

[chinacat46]

There should be no problem with diving after flying it's kinda like drinking after driving again no problem.

[highdesert]

Our regular drill when we go to Roatan is to get off the plane at about 12:30 and splash for the first dive at about 3:00. Never had anything close to an ill effect.

[character157]

Waiting a little while wont hurt...but there is no real danger in grabbing your gear and heading for the boat-I like to rest a bit after an early am flight.