When flying after diving, the ascent to altitude increases the risk of decompression sickness (DCS) because of the additional reduction in atmospheric pressure. The higher the altitude, the greater the risk.
Before flying, a diver should remain at sea level long enough to allow the elimination of excess inert gas, mainly nitrogen, from tissues. If a diver flies too soon, then the inert gas can come out of solution, form bubbles in tissues, and result in decompression illness.
So, if you catch a flight immediately after scuba diving without waiting a sufficient amount of time for my body to accommodate, these small bubbles of inert gas could expand (due to the reduction in pressure with altitude) and could cause decompression sickness (decompression illness).
Flying after diving is dangerous because it can trigger DCS, a condition that is expensive to treat and can be fatal. DCS (Decompression Sickness / The Bends) is the most-common, but easily avoidable, scuba diving injury. As already mentioned on this page, divers increase the level of nitrogen in their blood system.
Both PADI and DAN recommend a minimum preflight surface interval of at least 12 hours for single dives and 18 hours for repetitive dives or multiple days of diving. NAUI recommends 24 hours after any dive before flying to altitude.
For a single no-decompression dive, the recommendation is a minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours. For multiple dives per day or multiple days of diving, the recommendation is a minimum preflight surface interval of 18 hours.
Commonly referred to as the bends, caisson disease, or divers sickness / disease, decompression sickness or DCS is what happens to divers when nitrogen bubbles build up in the body and are not properly dissolved before resurfacing, leading to symptoms such as joint pain, dizziness, extreme fatigue, paralysis, and ...
Once an aircraft has landed on water, passengers and staff are then evacuated. There is no single figure which dictates precisely how much time crews have before the aircraft sinks, but the structure of the plane will, in most cases, allow enough time. Most aircraft also have life rafts.
DCS can also occur in relatively shallow depths—in fact there have been isolated cases in children in very shallow, 1 meter depths. Usually depths of about 20 feet are more common for DCS.
Waiting the correct amount of time before flying will reduce the nitrogen in your body. As a general recommendation, leave a 24-hour surface interval before flying after doing any type of diving. This rule covers all types of dives and adds extra time as a safeguard for peace of mind.
Type I decompression sickness tends to be mild and affects primarily the joints, skin, and lymphatic vessels. Type II decompression sickness, which may be life threatening, often affects vital organ systems, including the brain and spinal cord, the respiratory system, and the circulatory system.
Dehydration can cause you to feel hunger, when in reality your body is craving for water. Add to that, if you don't drink enough water your body will feel tired. All divers when they have completed their dive usually are suffering from a certain degree of dehydration.
The recommended waiting time before going to flight altitudes of up to 8,000 feet is at least 12 hours after diving which has not required controlled ascent (nondecompression stop diving), and at least 24 hours after diving which has required controlled ascent (decompression stop diving).
At night, a blind spot covers an area of five to 10 degrees at the center of the visual field. Pilots can compensate for this night blind spot by looking about 10 degrees off center. The FAA's Airplane Flying Handbook recommends scanning for traffic with a series of short, regularly spaced eye movements.
The symptoms of DCI may include: fatigue. joint and muscle aches or pain. clouded thinking.
Risk factors for decompression sickness
Decompression sickness occurs in about 2 to 4/10,000 dives among recreational divers. The incidence is higher among commercial divers, who are exposed to deeper depths and longer dive times.
23 November 1996: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 (a Boeing 767-260ER), ditched in the Indian Ocean near Comoros after being hijacked and running out of fuel, killing 125 of the 175 passengers and crew on board.
Commercial planes use rafts and flotation devices like life preservers. They also come with flares and emergency radios. Airplanes are designed so that a water landing won't cause immediate harm to passengers. Many ditching-related deaths are from drowning, not the impact.
But according to aviation experts, you probably won't even hear a peep from a pilot if you're seconds away from disaster. That's because there usually isn't enough time in those crucial moments to alert both the crew and passengers that there's a bit of a problem.
You may notice some blood mixed with mucus and saliva in your mask after surfacing. You might not have been aware of it while diving. Minor bleeding that drips from the nose (technically not a nosebleed) or from the nose to the throat is typical of sinus barotrauma.
Truthfully speaking, ascending to a high altitude immediately after diving increases a person's risk of suffering from decompression sickness. Flying after diving increases this risk because of the decreasing atmospheric pressure as you ascend.
"It is not a toy, but a professional thing that is necessary for the preparation of the dive. You need to take off the liquid so you don't lose your body position when you are spinning," Evgenii Kuznetsov (RUS) added. "The shammy serves me in the first place to dry myself so I do not slip," Damien Cely (FRA) said.