Scubaism

That’s what syndicated diet columnist Charles Stuart Platkin would like us to believe. He figures scuba diving burns 490 calories an hour. I don’t doubt that diving can be strenuous, especially in strong currents. It explains why I’m always starving after a dive.

But is it really more active than kayaking (350 calories/hour) and four times more exercise than sex (105 calorie/hour)? I would surely like to know how he gets these figures.

Anyway, I think Platkin’s point is to get out in the sun and do something active instead of sitting at home and watching TV. I would agree with that.

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Stephen Wilson, 36, was struck and killed by lightning while diving in the Atlantic Ocean off Deerfield Beach, South Florida, on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The incident took place during an afternoon of severe thunderstorms that pelted the region, from Miami to West Palm Beach, with torrential rains, strong winds, pea-sized hail and hundreds of bolts of lightning.

At the time of the strike, at about 3 p.m., two divers were on a 20-foot boat and two were in the water, said Deerfield Beach Fire Division Chief Gary Fernaays.

When one of the divers in the water surfaced, “lighting struck his tank,” Fernaays said. “He was approximately 30 feet from the boat at the time.”

Wilson, who had gone into cardiac arrest, was given CPR while he was being taken North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

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Breast implants do not pose a problem to diving from the standpoint of gas absorption or changes in size and are not a contraindication for participation in recreational scuba diving. In one study, by Dr. Richard Vann, Vice President of Research at DAN, mammary (breast) implants were placed in the Duke University Medical Center hyperbaric chamber.

Three types were tested: silicone-, saline-, and silicone-saline-filled. In this experiment, the researchers simulated various depth/time profiles of recreational scuba diving.

Here’s what they found:

There was an insignificant increase in bubble size (one to four percent) in both saline and silicone gel implants, depending on the depth and duration of the dive. The least volume change occurred in the saline-filled implant, because nitrogen is less soluble in saline than silicone.

The silicone-saline-filled type showed the greatest volume change. Bubble formation in implants led to a small volume increase, which is not likely to damage the implants or surrounding tissue. If gas bubbles do form in the implant, they resolve over time.

Breast implants filled with saline are neutrally buoyant. Silicone implants are heavier than water, however, and they may alter buoyancy and attitude (trim) in the water, particularly if the implants are large. Appropriate training and appropriate adjustment of weights help overcome these difficulties.

DAN also dvises women with breast implants avoid buoyancy compensators with constrictive chest straps, which can put undue pressure on the seams and contribute to risk of rupture.

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Parasitic worms found in freshwater fish in Thailand can lead to a rare type of liver cancer in people who eat raw fish, with one province logging the world’s highest rate of new cases, a study found.An estimated 6 million people are infected with the parasite, commonly known as fluke, in Thailand. High rates also have been observed in neighboring Laos, where a traditional dish is made from raw fish, according to the study in the online journal PLoS Medicine.

The worm, endemic in the Mekong River countries of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, is ingested through the fish and attaches to the liver. Over several decades, the infection can create ulcers and inflammation leading to tumors and cholangiocarcinoma, or cancer of the bile ducts. Most patients typically develop cancer in their 40s or 50s.

“It is quite slow growing. But when it turns out to be cancer, it is very rapid,” said lead author Banchob Sripa of Khon Kaen University’s Pathology Department in Thailand. “If you start out getting diagnosed today, maybe in the next six months you will die.”

He said fluke attack the human bile duct and the incursion triggers a “cytokine storm” — an immune response so intense that it destroys not only the parasites, but the person’s surrounding tissues as well.

“There are two mechanisms. The fluke has two suckers. It can bite the surface epithelium of the bile duct and cause ulcers. The second is the inflammation,” Banchob said. “The ones with more inflammatory cytokines may have more inflammation … and these may develop cancer later on.”

The disease is rare, making up less than 1 percent of all cancers worldwide in 2002. But it is much more common in Khon Kaen province, where liver cancer strikes nearly one in 1,000 men — nearly all cases bile duct cancer. Women are three times less likely to develop the disease, Banchob said.

Koi-pla, the Thai name for a dish of minced raw fish mixed with hot chilies and local spices, is a staple in Khon Kaen. The fish are typically caught in rivers or ponds that are often contaminated by untreated sewage.

The worm can be eliminated from humans with praziquantel, a drug that is cheap and easily available. But another recent study showed that even though about half of those surveyed in Khon Kaen province had taken the pill at some point, the parasite was still present in about 30 percent, said Banchob.

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Tea makers claim a lot of curative properties in the products. Diversitea, made for divers, claim the ability to discharge accumulated nitrogen. A claim backed by a study from a study done in 2005 by Makarov State Maritime Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Recently, they introduced a new flavor tea, Sweet Original Blend Diversitea, at the Long Beach Scuba Show with a taste test. 90% found Sweet Original to be excellent, the balance preferring Original Blend Diversitea’s taste.

Sweet Original Blend Diversitea is caffeine- and sugar-free, and does not contain any artificial sweeteners. It is blended from the same herbs as Original Blend Diversitea, with added Stevia (the leaf of a small South American bush). It is safe and healthy for diabetics.

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To help spread awareness on dealing with stress and panic underwater, Dr Michael Ong, medical director of Hyperbaric Medical Services at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore, has started a blog for divers to share their experiences on diving accidents and fatalities.

There’s not much there now, except this informative entry about effects of diving on the cardiovascular system.

A person who is physically fit may not be necessary fit to dive. The underwater environment is stressful to the cardiovascular system.

• As the depth increases, the air that is breathed gets denser. More effort is needed to breathe in and out. The heart would also need to work harder by pumping at a greater strength than what it is normally used to.
• The dense cool air under pressure can also cause problems to the sinuses and to the lungs especially those who have a history of asthma (even childhood asthma) or rhinitis (running nose). Some of these problems can be life threatening e.g.
  • Pulmonary barotrauma
  • Cerebral air gas embolism
  • Sinus barotrauma
  • Aural barotrauma
• A proper medical screening and education is able to allay the fears of the new diver and increase his enjoyment and appreciation of diving and make him want to come back for more!!!

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Poor health in former North Sea divers is associated with decompression sickness, according to a new report.

A team from Haukeland University Hospital in Norway investigated the impact of decompression sickness and diving exposure on the health of Norwegian divers who previously worked in the North Sea.

They questioned 230 ex-divers on their diving education and history of decompression sickness. They also gave them a questionnaire to fill in to assess their health status, called the SF-36 questionnaire. This measures eight properties: physical functioning, social functioning, role limitations due to physical problems, role limitations due to emotional problems, mental health, energy/vitality, pain and general health perception.

All the questionnaire scores were significantly reduced compared with Norwegian norms. Further reduced scores were seen among divers who reported previous decompression sickness compared to those without decompression sickness. There was a decreasing trend in scores related to number of days in saturation and maximal depth. However, the impact of saturation diving was present only in divers who had experienced decompression sickness.

The researchers concluded that having had decompression sickness during a diving career contributes significantly to a reduction in all health aspects, and neurological decompression sickness has the most pronounced impact. Cumulative diving exposure, including days in saturation, and maximal depth also contributed to poorer health.

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Every once in a long while, among the Malaysian diving community, you hear of a rumour of someone being sent to the hyperbaric chamber. It’s usually some newbie or someone who hasn’t dived in a long while.

But 13 divers over one weekend is completely unheard of.

That’s what happened in Devon, England, a couple weekends ago.

The medical director of the Diving Disease Research Centre (DDRC) refused to point fingers at anyone, suggesting that “a combination of factors such as good weather, increased visibility and more visitors have been blamed for the rise.”

If I were him, I’d have had a lot more harsh words with regard to diver safety training in the UK.

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The Timesonline has an article encouraging divers to hit the gym for diving.

Being fit helps you tackle the rigours of scuba diving such as managing well in strong current situations and carrying heavy tanks. Having strong lungs, thanks to a good cardio workout, also helps improve air consumption and prolongs diving enjoyment. And if that wasn’t reason enough, the Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii reports that physically fit people are less likely to get the bends, especially when strenuous exercise is performed 24 hours before diving.

I have a workout routine made just for diving too, but it’s somewhat more heavy going than the routine that Timesonline suggests.

1. My warmup is 20 minutes on the cycle on back/shoulders days — I use a quickly increasing level of difficulty, to push my quads, hams and glutes. On legs day, I use the rowing machine with increasing levels of resistance.
2. I alternate between a legs days and a back/shoulders day. On legs day, I do three sets of squats on the smith rack. Then I perform three sets of calf lifts on the standing calf raise machine. I use 200 lbs throughout my calf workout and push to intensity on the second set and failure on the third. I finish off with good mornings using a barbell, focusing more on stretching my hamstrings than on my lower back. My lower back gets a pretty good workout too.
3. On back and shoulders day, I start out with three sets of lateral raises using heavy dumbells. Then I hit the lat pulldown for three sets. Then the smith machine to do three sets of shoulder raises. After that, three sets of dumbells rows. Before I leave, I try three sets of trap raises, using the heaviest weights my hands can grip without letting go. If I seem to do more on my back and shoulders day, it’s only because squats wind me out and I take more time with those.

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