What are the dangers of diving while traveling and backpacking abroad?

What are the main dangers of diving?

• Water pressure during descent: The ever-increasing pressure on your body as you dive deeper poses various health risks, especially for your ears. By "equalizing" your ears, you restore the pressure in your ear. If equalization/clearing is not successful, you run the risk of eardrum perforation, middle ear barotrauma, inner ear barotrauma, dizziness, and balance disorders.
• Water pressure during ascent: Ascending too quickly is one of the greatest dangers for divers due to decompression sickness.
• Oxygen depletion: Poor planning, bad luck on the way, increased breathing due to stress, or excessive exertion can all cause you to run out of oxygen while still underwater. If you return to the surface in a hurry, you also run an additional risk of decompression sickness.
• Poor diving equipment: Good quality, a good fit, and the right diving outfit for a specific type of dive can reduce various underwater risks. Diving with experienced instructors and through reputable diving schools reduces the chance of problems with your diving equipment.
• Hypothermia: You cool down twenty times faster underwater than on land. Since the water is almost always colder than your body temperature during diving, the risk is always present, even at tropical diving destinations and especially when diving at deeper depths.
• Getting stuck: For example, while wreck diving or exploring an underwater cave, you run the risk of getting caught on something or swimming into a trap.
• Whitewater conditions: Breaking waves and currents can crash you into rocks or the bottom. When you have to use more energy underwater, your oxygen will also deplete faster than average.
• Being run over by a boat: especially in places with slightly poorer visibility, a speeding boat can suddenly surprise you when you're near the surface.
• Reduced visibility due to swirling bottom debris: in many locations, this is a constant factor that makes diving more difficult and dangerous. It can also occur in clear water, for example, when a diver approaches the bottom too close with their flipper. The chance of losing your buddy or getting too close to a dangerous object increases in poor visibility.
• Dangerous marine life: not all underwater wildlife will be equally welcoming. Try not to touch animals and keep your hands away from potential hiding places.

What causes the most fatalities in diving?

• Drowning is the most common cause of death among divers. Drowning results from various causes, often related to poor planning, inadequate training, panic, and/or equipment failure or entrapment.
• Because diving is quite strenuous on your body, divers who suffer heart attacks account for a significant number of fatal diving accidents.

What is the waiting period before flying after your last dive abroad?

• Also, keep in mind that there should be sufficient time between your last dive and any flight. It is recommended to wait 24 hours after your last dive before boarding a plane.
• It is also recommended not to dive immediately after flying. This is due to your body's hydration levels. You can become somewhat dehydrated during a long flight, which increases the risk of decompression sickness while diving.

Is diving while pregnant dangerous?

• Do not dive if you are pregnant. There is strong evidence (based on animal testing) that diving can be harmful to the unborn fetus and increases the risk of decompression sickness.
• During pregnancy, the mucous membranes also swell, making it difficult to equalize, increasing your risk of severe earaches.
• In the Netherlands, the Working Conditions Act prohibits diving during work hours, for example, as a diving instructor. While these laws don't exist at every diving destination, it might be a good starting point to discuss this with your employer if you find yourself in this situation.