What happens if you scuba dive and fly on the same day

Scuba diving immediately after being at altitude or in another low pressure environment is fine. Other than you being more tired or dehydrated than normal, there are no effects on your body if you go directly from an aircraft or mountain into deep water. In fact, many of our guests land at Phuket Airport and go directly to one of our Similan Islands diving boats.

However, we also have guests who are on a tight schedule and they land at 3. There are no known health risks or other dangers contributed to diving after flying.

Flying after diving is dangerous because it can trigger DCS, a condition that is expensive to treat and can be fatal. As already mentioned on this page, divers increase the level of nitrogen in their blood system. This is especially so after multiple dives.

And the deeper you go to and the longer you stay deep, the more nitrogen you will build up. Flying in an aircraft is similar to climbing a mountain. You enter an area of low pressure. This can cause pain, restricted movement, and in extreme cases it can be fatal. How long you need to wait after diving before flying in a plane varies on several factors. But a safe period is 24 hours. But this is just a guideline minimum.

Getting rest and staying relatively active will help the process. All you have to do is wait, and breathe air normally. All planes have pressurised cabins, but the cabins are not pressurised to the same degree that we experience at sea level. Of course, longer flights will put the body at more risk of any nitrogen escaping into the body tissues. There are several easy steps that divers can take to avoid risks of scuba diving related injuries. Scuba diving is a very safe activity, but accidents and incidents do happen.

Before, during and after each scuba dive you can easily minimise any risks. And finally what activities to avoid for 24 hours after any scuba dive. Equipment malfunction can normally be dealt with immediately before a dive or sometimes while underwater. But how you prepare your body is also very important. The most-important preparation for scuba divers is to drink plenty of water and get sufficient rest. Drinking water or other non-alcoholic beverages prevents dehydration.

And dehydration is a factor that can increase the chances of DCS. Being tired or stressed are also contributing factors, so getting plenty of rest before and between dives is important. Therefore, a long-haul flight to a hot country such as Thailand may involve passengers drinking alcohol on the flight or soon after landing. In an ideal scuba dive, the divers descend to the maximum planned depth as soon as convenient, comfortable or possible. Then after staying at the maximum planned depth for a period of time, the divers ascend to the surface slowly.

In the past, most divers used pressure gauges and pre-planned graphs to ensure that the profile is followed. But nowadays most divers use dive computers often combined as a wristwatch that will more accurately assess every moment of the dive. Paying attention to the dive computer and following its simple instructions will ensure the maximum risk avoidance, especially for DCS.

The dive computer will show the diver how much longer it is safe to remain at the current depth. There are of course other factors involved. A major factor in a hot country like Thailand is dehydration — make sure you stay well hydrated when you are on a dive trip.

Read more here: Health and Fitness for Diving. Send An Enquiry. There is no problem with diving after flying. There is no increased risk of DCS if you arrive on a flight and head straight to the ocean — DCS is caused by high concentration of Nitrogen in the blood after diving which can become supersaturated and form bubbles at lower pressures.

Before you dive, you have a normal amount of Nitrogen in the blood. Make sure you drink plenty of non alcoholic fluids on a long flight to prevent dehydration.

There is also a tendency for people to arrive in a hot country and head straight to the bar for a cold one. Please remember that alcohol contributes to dehydration, so take it easy on the beers! We recommend that all divers have their own travel and medical insurance, as well as cancellation insurance. Be sure that your travel insurance policy covers scuba diving! However, prevention is better than cure, so dive safely, follow the rules, use tables and computers and stay healthy!

Or you can pay Baht per diving day when making a booking. Sunrise Divers is based at Karon Beach, Phuket. From Phuket and nearby Khao Lak there are liveaboards or day trips with dive sites and boats to suit all divers and all budgets. When planning a liveaboard be sure you know when the last dives are scheduled so you can plan return flights. For more liveaboard information start here : Thailand Liveaboards , or contact Sunrise Divers.

We also offer liveaboard trips in Indonesia. Sunrise Divers is not just a website. We are right here to help you with a SSI Training Center dive shop, helpful and experienced staff, quality rental equipment and plenty of local knowledge. After a three-hour layover, he then flew on a pressurized charter flight home.

He made the flight home without incident, and felt no different than when he left for his vacation. The next morning he woke up feeling fatigued.

During the day, he experienced problems with short-term memory. The medical facility closest to him did not have a hyperbaric facility. He arrived at the local hospital and, after an evaluation of his symptoms, he was placed on percent oxygen via non-rebreather face mask.

After one hour of oxygen, he said his fatigue and confusion had not resolved. He was advised to go to the university medical center hyperbaric facility for further evaluation.

He drove himself there the next day, another hour delay. After further evaluation, he was diagnosed with DCS-II and placed in the hyperbaric chamber for treatment. If you fly too soon after scuba diving this can lead to decompression sickness DCS. Depending on how deep your last dive was and how long between surfacing and flying, will affect the risk of DCS.

As you ascend in an aircraft the air pressure will decrease. As a result of this reduced air pressure, any dissolved gases will come out of solution as bubbles. It is these bubbles that cause decompression sickness. The worst case scenario if you fly too soon after scuba diving is you could die from decompression sickness. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkelling.