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Medical assessment of fitness to dive. Part I
Affiliations- Polish Society of Hyperbaric Medicine and Technique, Gdynia, Poland
- Department of Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine, Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw, Poland
- Department of Occupational, Metabolic and Internal Diseases, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland
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Abstract
Good physical and mental health is a prerequisite for anyone planning to scuba dive. A fitness to dive certificate for those willing to enter a scuba diving course as well as for active divers, either amateur or occupational, can only be issued if there are no medical contraindications to dive. It is usually within the competence of a diving instructor, a manager of underwater work or a physician to assess a person’s mental and physical health and grant them permission to stay under hyperbaric conditions. The legal requirements for issuing a fitness to dive certificate are different for recreational and occupational divers. The part I of this article discusses the issues concerning medical assessment of fitness to dive for amateurs.
Abstract
Good physical and mental health is a prerequisite for anyone planning to scuba dive. A fitness to dive certificate for those willing to enter a scuba diving course as well as for active divers, either amateur or occupational, can only be issued if there are no medical contraindications to dive. It is usually within the competence of a diving instructor, a manager of underwater work or a physician to assess a person’s mental and physical health and grant them permission to stay under hyperbaric conditions. The legal requirements for issuing a fitness to dive certificate are different for recreational and occupational divers. The part I of this article discusses the issues concerning medical assessment of fitness to dive for amateurs.
Keywords
diving, health assessment, medical contraindications
About this articleTitle
Medical assessment of fitness to dive. Part I
Journal
Issue
Article type
Review article
Pages
36-45
Published online
2021-03-29
Page views
1236
Article views/downloads
1381
DOI
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
IMH 2021;72(1):36-45.
Keywords
diving
health assessment
medical contraindications
Authors
Jarosław Krzyżak
Krzysztof Korzeniewski
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