http://www.midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk Dive Medicine - information for divers on different diving medicine subjects: marine animal hazards, the bends, Cardiovascular System and scuba diving, Central Nervous System and the scuba diver, Drugs and Diving, Easy Equalization for scuba divers, Eye Problems for scuba divers, women and scuba diving, Fitness and Diving, Gastrointestinal Problems and scuba diving, trauma and orthopaedic problems for scuba divers, Respiratory Problems and scuba diving. en-us webmaster@e-med.co.uk http://www.midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/ldc_logo_new_small.jpg http://www.midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk 100 50 I'm using these shoddy economic times and my recent redundancy as a good excuse to live out one of my dreams and travel through southeast Asia. My golden handshake was more a passionate bearhug (with tongues) so I'm lucky enough to be going on the road fo... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=48 Sun, 09 May 2010 07:09:09 +0100 I am a refined, mature but physically active "coffin-dodger" (one of the more galling nicknames that's been foisted on me by exuberant grandchildren). I still enjoy sport (tennis, golf and the like) but only recently discovered the joys of diving. My wife... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=165 Sun, 09 May 2010 07:05:03 +0100 There seems to be a big variation in opinion on whether it's safe to scuba dive whilst taking antidepressant medication. I have a friend who is (I know, everyone says that, but it is honestly a friend and not me!), but she is actually taking it for obsess... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=49 Sun, 09 May 2010 06:55:22 +0100 After a particularly stressful day at work I was driving home and felt a bit unusual. I pulled over and noticed my shirt was drenched. Then my chest became uncomfortable... One heart attack later, I was discharged from hospital on a jarful of pills and wi... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=149 Sun, 09 May 2010 06:51:09 +0100 I'm relatively new to diving (I've completed my Open Water course and about 10 additional dives) but notice already that I get bunged up and stuffy after a couple of dives. The wife thinks I'm nuts but my intention was to go away this summer for a 2 week ... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=113 Sun, 09 May 2010 06:44:58 +0100 I have been diving since 1988 and have only had to break from diving whilst carrying my twins. During my pregnancy 4 years ago I experienced gestational diabetes and this completely cleared the day I gave birth to my boys. However I was warned that the di... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=57 Sun, 09 May 2010 05:59:50 +0100 I was born with a cleft lip and palate. I also have a hole in my nasal septum, and have had for around 4 years now. Being totally honest, I used to do cocaine and speed to excess in my London city life. Luckily I saw the light and moved on, and although I... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=57 Sun, 09 May 2010 05:43:24 +0100 As a latecomer to diving I've become pretty obsessed with the sport. Having mastered air diving I feel restricted by the 40m depth limit, and would like to take up technical diving so I can get to 40m+, use Trimix, and try wreck and cave diving. But I'm c... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=128 Sun, 09 May 2010 05:39:48 +0100 As a latecomer to diving I've become pretty obsessed with the sport. Having mastered air diving I feel restricted by the 40m depth limit, and would like to take up technical diving so I can get to 40m+, use Trimix, and try wreck and cave diving. But I'm c... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=49 Sun, 09 May 2010 05:39:27 +0100 My doctor has recently put me on some treatment for depression. It's something I've suffered with over the years and normally I can get through it without needing medication. This time round it's been accompanied by (or perhaps resulted from) stress at wo... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=49 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:07:11 +0000 As a latecomer to diving I've become pretty obsessed with the sport. Having mastered air diving I feel restricted by the 40m depth limit, and would like to take up technical diving so I can get to 40m+, use Trimix, and try wreck and cave diving. But I'm c... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=49 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:59:57 +0000 As a latecomer to diving I've become pretty obsessed with the sport. Having mastered air diving I feel restricted by the 40m depth limit, and would like to take up technical diving so I can get to 40m+, use Trimix, and try wreck and cave diving. But I'm c... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=128 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:58:54 +0000 What is beer diving? https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=117 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:31:10 +0000 Is there some sort of guide as to how quickly alcohol is eliminated from your system? I'd like to be able to estimate how long it takes for me to be alcohol-free after one beer, two beers, eight beers… If one or two post-dive drinks turns into a big binge... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=117 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:30:23 +0000 Myself and my diving friends are taking our mate to Egypt for his stag night next month. We plan to live it up and party all night and then spend the days taking in the Red Sea highlights. We are bound to still be a bit merry in the morning with what we h... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=117 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:29:57 +0000 I have a question about alcohol and pressure. Although I don't drink and dive, I'm asking purely from a scientific point of view: if there was alcohol in my blood, would its effects be augmented by depth and pressure, in a similar way to a gas (such as ni... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=117 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:29:36 +0000 I'm really lucky as it seems no matter how much I drink (and being a student that is quite a lot) I never wake up with a hangover or any other problems other than being a bit tired (and usually a few cups of strong coffee sort that out). I've just joined ... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=117 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:29:12 +0000 I'm a GP and I'm getting more and more people coming in with dive medical forms asking me whether this or that drug is okay to dive with. A lot of them are older and are on more than one medication. Is there a list somewhere of what is safe to dive with a... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=57 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:04:46 +0000 As part of a "health drive" this year I've decided to quit my 20-a-day habit. Having been a smoker for 30 years I didn't think I'd make it by going cold turkey so I've been using nicotine patches for the last 12 weeks, and (bar one relapse on my birthday)... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=128 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:01:25 +0000 As a paramedic who dives, I've heard that it's important not to administer Entonox to a diver who might have DCS. Please could you clarify the medical/technical reasons for this? What about if the diver is not showing any signs of DCS, but just needs pain... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=161 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:30:14 +0000 I find articles on health safety issues very informative and interesting, so I guess we owe you and your font of knowledge a big debt of gratitude. Well now all that obsequiousness is over and done with I have a health question for you. Just recently I ha... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=57 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:48:56 +0000 I regularly dive to about 40m and would like to learn technical diving that will include depths of 40m+, nitrox and trimix, and wreck and cave diving. I'm concerned that my medications will have an affect on my diving. I read that Bupropion can increase s... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=126 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:42:16 +0100 I regularly dive to about 40m and would like to learn technical diving that will include depths of 40m+, nitrox and trimix, and wreck and cave diving. I'm concerned that my medications will have an affect on my diving. I read that Bupropion can increase s... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=128 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:41:46 +0100 I have been prescribed a course of 28 tablets of the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram to relieve work related stress. I mentioned to the doctor that I was a diver and he said that they would not have any side effects and I was to c... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=49 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 01:15:35 +0100 Hi... I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2000 and whilst I have the odd niggle, relapses are happening at about 3 - 4 year intervals. These are not major as such and thus far I have always recovered pretty much 100% with rest. So far, I know ... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=121 Mon, 19 May 2008 12:25:35 +0100 I've noticed recently, in a few dive magazines and forums, that people are saying it's OK to drink beer between dives during a surface interval. Being Australian I'm partial to a cold stubbie or ten, and I know some divers who insist on drinking beer befo... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=117 Mon, 19 May 2008 11:38:01 +0100 I have just returned from a trip to Sharm, where one of our group had some sinus congestion at the beginning of the trip. They used Sudafed on the first day, and all was well, but when this was mentioned in conversation at the dive centre they (the dive c... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=113 Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:41:16 +0000 Hello there. I would be grateful for any information you could give me about the effects and recommendations of diving on the drug Naproxen. I take two 250mg tablets daily and have done so for a couple of years. I very rarely take any other medication ot... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=121 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:39:29 +0100 I have been diving for around five years. I took Cipramil for depression for two years and continued to dive regularly during that time - I never experienced any problems with this whilst diving. I first took 20mg per day then 10mg and I finished taking i... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=49 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:29:26 +0100 Been diving for 3 years, AOWD, around 60 dives. Basically after a bad year at work, off-shoring, redundancies, pressure at work, I've been signed off work since 5th Dec, some 5 weeks ago. From elsewhere on you site probably was in the 'morbid depres... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=49 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:03:06 +0100 I came across your articles in the Sport Diver magazine and thought I should consult you since I didn't seem to get a straight answer here in Malta. I shall be visiting India in mid March and I am going through the process of taking all th... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=48 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:25:47 +0100 I recently went into hospital for 3 hernia operations and during the course of recovering developed a PE. I have been put on to Warfarin and I am advised that I will remain on it until August. My question is after I have completed the medication is th... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=127 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:01:04 +0100 Is it OK and safe to use Viagra half day before scuba diving? https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=165 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:55:59 +0100 We are lucky enough to be going on a diving trip to Puerto Galera and Dumaguete in the Philippines next February. Our friends have been going to the Dive Centres there for the last 4 years and do not take anti malarial drugs. The write up for the hotels s... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=48 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:28:46 +0100 I have a mild form of Seasonal Affective Disorder accompanied by rapid mood swings (no mania ever diagnosed). The severity is best described as interfering with social life during the months of November through March. There is no significant impact on w... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=49 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:21:40 +0100 Is it safe for me to dive whilst taking Roaccutane (Isotretinoin) tablets for my acne? If not how long after finishing the treatment before I can dive again? If I am able to dive whilst on this medication should I look out of any specific side effects? https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=57 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:45:55 +0100 To delay my period on my diving holiday to the Red Sea in March I am going to take NORETHISTERONE twice a day. Just really wanted to check this would be safe and not increase the risk of DCS? https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=55 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:26:49 +0100 I am wondering if you could please give me some advice, or if not a contact that may be able to help me please. I am due to be travelling to countries where malaria tablets are recommended and I am wondering what, if any, complications there are between t... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=48 Fri, 12 Jan 2007 04:44:45 +0000 I am a keen scuba diving who was diagnosed with DVT back in May of 2006. I have for the last 6 months been on a course of Warfarin, which consists of 3mg daily with 4 mg at weekends. I was advised during the course of my treatment that I should not dive a... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=127 Wed, 01 Nov 2006 11:36:23 +0000 I wonder if you could give me some advice. I have a colleague wanting to take up open water but has angina. He is on beta blockers (METAPROLOL)and carries a GTN spray. He also has a stent.Is he still able to dive.Thanks for your help as usual. https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=149 Fri, 20 Oct 2006 09:38:16 +0100 Yes, it is Hilary from Divequest (we have arranged a couple of trips for you in the past, and would like to arrange more for you in the future!). I wonder if I could have your opinion on the following.Recently, at a party, I met a retired Consul... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=48 Fri, 30 Sep 2005 10:21:06 +0100 My wife and I are travelling to Roatan on the 29th April. Rotan is one of the Bay Islands off of Honduras. It has been recommended to us that we take Malaria tablets (Chloroquine) as the Islands are in the local Malaria zone.Can you please advise whether ... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=48 Fri, 30 Sep 2005 10:16:07 +0100 I am 63 years of age, have been diving since 1994, am qualified to Advanced Open Water with PADI and have completed about 80 recreational dives always in warm climates, e.g. Red Sea, Great Barrier Reef, British Virgin Islands, etc. I was diagnosed some ti... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=153 Fri, 30 Sep 2005 10:14:48 +0100 Apologies for troubling you with this query. Briefly by way of background: I am currently in Egypt where I have beendiving for the last two days in the Red Sea under my Open Water license. Today I commenced the first half of my Advanced OpenWater co... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=49 Fri, 30 Sep 2005 10:13:59 +0100 I would like to know if adalat and perindopril are ok to dive with, also are any diuretics acceptable? https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=50 Thu, 29 Sep 2005 03:29:56 +0100 I am going to Grenada to do my Open Water referral dives -when I go on holiday I take Zirtek antihistamine to prevent a heat rash - am I ok to dive and take them? https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=51 Wed, 28 Sep 2005 11:25:57 +0100 I have some sleeping tablets that I use very rarely (I have a job that involves over night call outs etc so I occasionally have trouble getting back to sleep, hence the tablets).I have Stilnoct which I believe is Zolpidem Tartrate, the question... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=52 Wed, 28 Sep 2005 11:00:13 +0100 Hi there, just wondered if you could give me a bit of advice on seasickness medication that will a) not get me arrested in Egypt (Sharm) and b) not get me bent.Cheers! https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=53 Wed, 29 Jun 2005 12:48:57 +0100 Hi, I enjoy your advice in Sports Diver and would like some for myself now. I'm disabled and my buddy (a nurse) and I have been diving since 2003 when we did the OW in Australia followed by the AOW in Mexico. I have polyarthritis and take 7.... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=54 Wed, 29 Jun 2005 12:02:02 +0100 I have been diving for 8 years and have trained through PADI up to advanced plus and also a Advanced Nitrox Diver with IANTD, I am 56 yrs old quite fit and do plenty of exercise.I have had a Hiatus hernia for some years and recently went throu... https://midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=advice&page=6&cat=5&sub_cat=153 Wed, 18 May 2005 12:13:27 +0100