Diving Safety Issues and Training

When you venture under the water, your safety is your responsibility. The underwater world is a foreign environment, but with proper training and taking the necessary precautions, it can be a thrilling place for fun and research. As you work your way through the diving certifications, you learn more about diving safety. It’s a broad topic and any person that dives needs to understand the rules of diving.

The first key to dive safety is to be a healthy individual. Next you need to plan your dive and dive your plan. Divers need to plan out where they are going, what their goals are, and how long and deep they will be underwater. As they dive, they need to monitor their dive gauges to keep track of their depth, air supply, and bottom time.

As you dive deeper, the water pressure increases and when you ascend the water pressure decreases. This pressure change affects your body. Pressure changes can lead to many underwater injuries such as lung expansion injuries if you ascend too quickly, equipment squeeze if you don’t adjust your equipment regularly, or burst eardrums if you don’t pop your ears as you descend.

Divers also have to be aware of their air mixes. Nitrogen narcosis can decrease your ability to make decisions when you are at depth. Oxygen toxicity can kill you if you dive too deep with the wrong air mix. Travel tanks are necessary for safe travel through shallow water if you are diving with trimix.

You also need to be aware of your surroundings. If you are entering a shipwreck, you need to use a wreck reel. If you are in diving in deep currents, ensure that you have a safety signaling devices with you because you won’t surface where you started. If you are studying marine life, be sure not to touch it because many of the creatures can be poisonous or even deadly. It is important to keep your dive buddy nearby so that you can communicate and so you can keep your eye on each other. Your dive buddy may be your only chance of rescue if something goes wrong.

There are lots of other rules that you must follow to be a safe diver. Don’t dive with a hangover. Don’t fly after diving because of the pressure changes. Always inhale or exhale while underwater. Don’t dive repetitive dives because of the risk of decompression sickness. Be sure to stay warm.

Some types of diving require more precautions. Polar diving under ice means more stand-by rescue divers, deep diving means more decompression stops at planned depths, and diver propulsion vehicles means more alertness to your depth and range. Diving safety depends a lot on the type of diving you are doing.

It may seem like a lot of rules, but with practice and experience these rules become second nature. It’s important to always err on the side of caution, because if you don’t, diving can end your life. Being safe underwater is up to you, but with proper education, training, and teammates, diving is lots of fun and relatively safe.