Being diagnosed with asthma can affect an individual’s everyday life, particularly in trying to eliminate common triggers from their environment such as smoke, dust and pollen that can bring on the symptoms of shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and tightness in the chest. But the condition, a chronic long-term one for which there is no cure, can also affect you in other ways.
For instance, physical exercise or exertion can trigger symptoms and even possibly lead to a severe asthma attack. One activity that has the potential to be troublesome for asthma sufferers is scuba diving.
Scuba diving is a hugely popular activity, particularly for those holidaying in exotic climes where the underwater exploration of fabulous marine life in warm waters is a big favourite. Anyone taking part in scuba diving will know there are risks involved in the sport, which involves you going into deep water with an oxygen tank strapped to your back.
For asthma sufferers, however, the activity has even greater risks, linked to the change in air pressure as you dive and to the cool dry air used in the oxygen tank. Asthma causes the inflammation of the tubes that take air to and from the lungs, narrowing the airways and causing them to be blocked with mucus. When these symptoms are present, you will struggle to take a breath even if you are not involved in any strenuous activity while coughing and wheezing might increase.
When you go scuba diving, the rate at which you breathe air in will change as the water pressure changes – the deeper you dive, the more the pressure increases and it’s essential that the air expanding in the chest is able to escape once you start to return to the surface. This usually happens through your nose or mouth.
For asthma sufferers, the risk comes if the cool air they are breathing triggers their symptoms and the airways start to narrow, stopping the air from escaping naturally through the nose or mouth and trapping the air in the lungs. If the air remains trapped, the lung can burst and the escaping air can then go into the chest cavity or into the blood vessels. Both outcomes have potentially dangerous outcomes and can even be fatal.
If you have asthma and are considering going scuba diving, it’s best to seek medical advice before doing so.
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