open access
Medical assessment of fitness to dive. Part II
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 Gdansk, Poland
open access
Abstract
Good physical and mental health is a prerequisite for anyone planning to scuba dive. A certificate of fitness to dive 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 certificate of fitness to dive are different for recreational and occupational divers. The part II of this article discusses the issues concerning medical assessment of fitness to dive for professionals, and divers in uniformed services. It also discusses contraindications to scuba diving and guidelines for medical assessment of fitness to dive in divers with a history of a diving-related condition.
Abstract
Good physical and mental health is a prerequisite for anyone planning to scuba dive. A certificate of fitness to dive 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 certificate of fitness to dive are different for recreational and occupational divers. The part II of this article discusses the issues concerning medical assessment of fitness to dive for professionals, and divers in uniformed services. It also discusses contraindications to scuba diving and guidelines for medical assessment of fitness to dive in divers with a history of a diving-related condition.
Keywords
diving, health assessment, medical contraindications
About this articleTitle
Medical assessment of fitness to dive. Part II
Journal
Issue
Article type
Review article
Pages
115-120
Published online
2021-06-28
Page views
589
Article views/downloads
581
DOI
10.5603/IMH.2021.0020
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
IMH 2021;72(2):115-120.
Keywords
diving
health assessment
medical contraindications
Authors
Jarosław Krzyżak
Krzysztof Korzeniewski
References (13)- European Diving Technology Committee, Fitness to dive standards. Guidelines for medical assessment of working divers. www.edtc.org (24 June 2003).
- Regulation of the Minister of Health of September 17, 2007 on health requirements for occupational diving. Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland of 2007, no. 199, item 1440 [in Polish].
- Krzyżak J, Korzeniewski K. Medicine for divers. [in Polish]. Publishing House 4Font, Poznań 2020: 25–37.
- Regulation of the Minister of National Defence of June 3, 2015 on the assessment of medical fitness for professional military service, the procedures hereof and the competences of military medical boards. Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland of 2015, item 761, schedule no. 2 [in Polish].
- Regulation of the Minister of the Interior and Administration of December 19, 2014 on the list of illnesses and disabilities, including the categories of medical fitness for service in the Polish National Police, the Polish Border Guard, the State Fire Service and the Government Protection Bureau. Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland of 2014, item 1898 [in Polish.
- Wilmshurst PT. The role of persistent foramen ovale and other shunts in decompression illness. Diving Hyperb Med. 2015; 45(2): 98–104.
- Hexdall EJ, Cooper JS. Patent Foramen Ovale In Diving. StatPearls. 2020; Aug 10.
- Bove AA. Medical evaluation for sport diving. In: Bove AA., Davis JC. Bove and Davis’ Diving Medicine. Fourth Ed. Elsevier Inc., USA 2004: 519–532.
- Elliott DH. Medical evaluation for working divers. In: Bove A.A. Bove and Davis’ Diving Medicine. Fourth Ed. Elsevier Inc., USA 2004: 533–545.
- Bennett PB, Moon RE. Diving Accident Management. Proc. 41st UHMS Workshop, Durham NC 15-16 Jan 1990. UHMS Publication No. 78, Bethesda 1990.
- Acott CJ. Neurological injury and a return to recreational diving. Proceedings. XXth Annual Meeting of EUBS on Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine. Istambul, Turkey, 4–8 September 1994: 547–552.
- Smart D, Mitchell S, Wilmshurst P, et al. Joint position statement on persistent foramen ovale (PFO) and diving. South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS) and the United Kingdom Sports Diving Medical Committee (UKSDMC). Diving Hyperb Med. 2015; 45(2): 129–131.
- Green RD, Leitch DR. Blood pressure and diving. J R Nav Med Serv. 1986; 72(1): 15–19.
