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Diving Health & Safety Articles

| Bends/DCS/Embolism | Diving Accidents/Incidents | Medical Studies/Other Afflictions |
| Diseases and Drugs | Stings, Burns, and other Nuisances | Diving Practices | Dive Travel | Other Dangers |

Below you'll find links to Undercurrent articles concerning all kinds of diving health and safety issues. They cover reports of DCS and emoblisms along with the most recent medical studies about them, diving accidents and deaths and what really caused them, medical studies on all aspects of diving from ear problems to long term effects of diving, disesase and drugs used by divers, shark attacks and no-see-um bites, crime activity in dive resorts, ... Honest, unbiased info about diving medical and safety issues that you will not find in other publications.

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All articles and reader reports from 2007 back, are now available to the public.

Bends, DCS (Decompression Sickness), Embolism

For Undercurrent Online Members
Risk Factors for Dive Deaths , how older women differ from younger men in dive problems, 4/10	Do the Drugs You Take Increase Bends Risk? , 3/10	Four Factors That Reduce Your Risk of DCS, 3/10
Should You Breathe Oxygen Before a Dive?, 8/09	Can Saunas Prevent Decompression Sickness?, 7/09	The Misuse of Dive Computers, 8/08
Wait Times for Flying After Diving, 6/08	When Considering Deep Stops, Profiles Rule, 4/08

Available to the Public
Younger, Newer and Female Divers Show More DCI Symptoms, 7/07	Irrational Fear of Flashing Dive Computers , why your only fear is fear itself, 7/07	The Tactical Use of Dive Computers, tips and tricks for lowering your DCS risk, 5/07
Multiple Flights after Diving, 3/07	Blue Cross/Blue Shield Won't Cover Bent Diver's Chamber Costs, 3/07	You've Come a Long Way, Nitrox, what the latest stats show, 3/07
Decompression Illness Presenting as Breast Pain, 10/06	Does Dehydration Increase the Risk for DCS?, 6/06	Those Reverse Diving Profiles, new research contradicts previous beliefs, 5/06
With DCI, Age Matters, 3/06	Who Gets Bent More?, 5/05	What About Deep Stops?, — a case of the tail wagging the dog?, 3/05
Hidden Heart Defect Raises DCS Risk Five Fold, at least twenty-five percent of divers have it, 9/04	Free Diving Between Scuba Dives Could Bend a Diver., 9/04	More About Exercise Before Diving, and a pill to prevent DCS?, 5/04

Diving Accidents & Incidents

For Undercurrent Online Members
DAN’s Fatality Workshop, and the presentation that was censored, 7/10	What’s More Dangerous, the Rebreather or the Diver?, 6/10	San Diego Dive Shop With a Dark History, a suicide, a dead diver and accusations of lies and theft, 2/10
Reader Advice for Not Getting Lost at Sea, 1/10	Why the Dive Industry Is Dying: “It’s the Media’s Fault”, 10/09	Croc Attacks Diver in Raja Ampat: The Follow-Up, 8/09
Diver Deaths Around the World, 8/09	Divers Survive 24 Hours in Open Waters of Gulf of Mexico, 6/09	Florida, California, Bahamas, Philippines…, good U.S. diving, Cozumel’s best gear repairman, and more, 5/09
Say What?, 5/09	Why Divers Die: Part II, overweighting and uninflated BCDs can cause big problems, 4/09	Stranded At Sea? Buy Yourself Some Time, 3/09
Two More Divers Stranded for Hours on Great Barrier Reef, 3/09	Why Divers Die: Part I, fatal errors, all preventable, 3/09	Unusual Hazard for Young Divers, 3/09
Ouch! Diver Spears Himself in the Groin, 2/09	The Major Cause of Dive Accidents, 2/09	Abalone: The Fatal Attraction, why are divers killing themselves over these marine mollusks?, 2/09
Diver Drifts 12 Hours in Somosomo Strait, 1/09	Dive-Related Death Investigations, 10/08	A Second Look at Dive Boat Engine Exhaust, 9/08
The Baani Adventure’s Lethal Air Compressor, 7/08	Update on the Shear Water Shark Attack Incident, 7/08	Nineteen Hours Adrift in Australia, 7/08
First It’s Sharks to Fend Off, Then It’s Lethal Lizards, 7/08	Diver Charged with Killing Wife on Honeymoon, 7/08	Look Before You Leap, 6/08
Divers Saved After 40 Hours at Sea, 6/08	Why Divers Die: Part III, 5/08	Freak Wave Capsizes Shark Boat, Kills Three Divers, 5/08
The Death of A Shark Diver , 4/08	Why Divers Die: Part II, 3/08	Rebreather Deaths Are on the Rise, 3/08
Poor Buoyancy Is a Bigger Factor in Dive Accidents, 3/08	Fire Sinks Amigos Del Mar’s Dive Boat, 2/08	Why Divers Die: Part I, 2/08

Available to the Public
Dive Boat Fiascos, 10/07	Diver’s Death Blamed on Few Skills and Faulty Valve, 10/07	When Divers Become Hazards, buddies, trip leaders, even divemasters as potential risks, 10/07
Got a Medical Emergency? Call DAN Again and Again, 8/07	Deaths in the Caymans, 6/07	NOAA Nixes Split Fins, 6/07
Tank Blackout Can Be Fatal, 5/07	Dive Accidents Above Water, 4/07	Why Divers Die, Part III, bad, very bad decisions, 2/07
Belize Divemaster Gets Away With Diver's Death, 1/07	Why Divers Die: Part II, the heavy load of obesity, 1/07	Ladies, Avoid This Dive Instructor, a few others, too, 1/07
Diver Rescued after 56 Hours at Sea. Or So He Claimed?, 10/06	Crikey! Irwin's Death Stirs Backlash, should anyone confront wildlife?, 10/06	Why Divers Die: Part I, embolism, the silent killer, 10/06
Nai'a Crew Rescues All Hands After Grounding, 10/06	Staying Alive until the Boat Finds You, What to do when adrift at sea, 7/06	Surviving Three Days in 68ºF Water, what you can learn from a diver who did it, 6/06
Four Cases of Divers Drifting at Sea: Mistakes Galore, 4/06	Post-Hurricane Cozumel, the reefs? well, they're different, 4/06	The Yellow Fin in the Sand, the case of the dive store owner and his dead wife, 4/06
Dead in Belize Waters, Divers drift three days off Placencia, 1/06	Divers Die, Part III, ... more mistakes to avoid, 1/06	Big Fish, Big Egos, Big Bucks, as the biggest fish die, so do the species, 10/05
Another Couple Swept Away in Australia, 10/05	Left Behind in Florida, another boat heads home short, 9/05	Why Divers Die, Part I, panic and entrapment, 9/05
Two Thai Live-Aboards Sink, 7/05	The Wave Dancer Tragedy, — Belize releases its final report, 4/05	Thumbs Down Advanced Diving Placencia, Belize, 4/05
Divers in the Tsunami, — divers caught in the wave, 2/05	Sixteen Divers Surface to Find Boat Missing, 10/04	Divers Vanish in Fiji, 10/04
Why Divers Die, Part IV, equipment failure ... or operator error?, 10/04	Divers Drift 45 Miles and 14 Hours in the Red Sea, 9/04	Why Divers Die: Part III, the true cause of death – panic, not drowning, 9/04
Dive Boat Strandings: Part II, will we ever learn?, 8/04	Why Divers Die: Part I, ...obesity, conditioning, denial, 8/04	Every Diver’s Nightmare, left behind to drift at sea, 6/04
Squid Fishermen’s Bombs Rattle Night Divers, 5/04	Three Perish in Red Sea Live-Aboard Explosion, 4/04	More on Dropping Weights, 4/04
Crocodile Hunter in La Paz Rescue, 3/04	Relax and Drift, 2/04	Why Divers Die: Part II, in over their heads, 1/04
Drifting the Night Away, 1/04	Shark Feeding Stops: $25 Million Suit for Lost Leg, 1/04	The Belt Goes First, 10/03
Two Live-Aboard Fatalities Raise Question, were safety procedures sufficient?, 9/03	Underwater Suicide, 8/03	Is Your Liveaboard Trip Aboard a Safe Vessel? Part I, what the experts discovered about the Wave Dancer, 5/03
Drifting the Day Away, 4/03	Spoilsport Tragedy, 3/03	Why Divers Die, Part III: are you rusty?, are you rusty?, 2/03
Serious Shark Attack Raises Questions, 1/03

Medical Studies & Other Afflications

For Undercurrent Online Members
Problems with Peeing in Drysuits, 5/10	Risk Factors for Dive Deaths , how older women differ from younger men in dive problems, 4/10	Grand Cayman Officials Say Alcohol and Stingrays Do Mix , 2/10
Divers, You’re Not Using Enough Sunscreen, 7/09	Bacterial Contamination in Rinse Tanks , a new study says don’t dip your mask and regulator, 6/09	Why Divers Die: Part III, the older you are, the higher your mortality risk during a dive, 5/09
Easing Back Pain While Diving, 1/09	The Underwater “Spin Cycle” Known as Diver’s Vertigo, 10/08	Having Trouble Equalizing? Try Sinus Surgery, 9/08
Wait Times for Flying After Diving, 6/08	When Considering Deep Stops, Profiles Rule, 4/08	Donald Sutherland Claims Diving Is a No-No Past Age 50, 3/08
Shooting Saltwater Up Your Nose, 3/08	Women Divers May Be Better Than Men, 1/08

Available to the Public
Secondary Drowning: A Few Drops Can Be Fatal , 9/07	Survival Psychology of Divers, how do you react when the worst happens?, 8/07	Part II: How Many Divers Are There?, injury and fatality rates, 6/07
DAN Debunks Antioxidants Before Diving, 5/07	Would You Please Repeat That?, the connection between diving and hearing loss, 5/07	Heavy Breather? Add 15 Minutes to Your Underwater Time, 4/07
Is Diving Off Limits for Pregnant Women?, 3/07	It's the Salsa, Stupid, 1/07	Why Divers Die: Part II, the heavy load of obesity, 1/07
Women Divers and Their Menstrual Cycles, studies support relationship with DCI and other diving problems, 8/06	Have a Little Nitrox, M'Dear, 7/06	Why Divers Die, Part I, panic and entrapment, 9/05
Watch That Giant Stride, 9/05	The ‘pee factor’ in diving: When the urge hits, should you?, 8/05	Managing Mal de Mer, don’t let it ruin your dives, 7/05
Is Diving Safer Than Skiing?, 1/05	Exercise Before, During, and After Diving, there are DCS risks, indeed, 3/04	DooDoo Redux, 2/04
Why Divers Die: Part III, over weighting is a common contributor, 2/04	CoCo View Cuts the Cheese and (hopefully) Blows Away Turista, 10/03	Deep DooDoo, from the Undercurrent archives, 10/03
Why Divers Die, Part I, learning to say no, 10/03	Panic in Recreational Scuba Divers, yes, the sexes are Venus and Mars, 8/03	Slow Burn, 4/03
Study Finds Diving May Damage Your Lungs, 2/03	More About Those Medical Exams, 2/03

Diving Diseases & Drugs

For Undercurrent Online Members
Transferred by the Rinse Tank: A Nasty Case of Conjunctivitis , 9/08	Malaria on Roatan, 8/08

Available to the Public
Infection Warning, 2/07	Drugs Divers Take, research shows how they affect your skills, 5/06	Managing Mal de Mer, don’t let it ruin your dives, 7/05
Malaria and Divers: Even in Róatán there’s a risk., 10/04	Hidden Heart Defect Raises DCS Risk Five Fold, at least twenty-five percent of divers have it, 9/04	CoCo View Resort, Roatán, Honduras, 10 years later, the same diver paradise, 7/04
CoCo View: Redux, 5/03	How SARS Can Ruin Your Dive Trip ... Even If You Don’t Have It, 5/03

Stings, Burns & Other Nuisances

For Undercurrent Online Members
Keep the Bugs at Bay, 7/10	Asia-Pacific Divers Feeling More Jellyfish Stings, 3/10	Stung Divers: Skip the Vinegar, Use Hot Water, 7/08
It’s Sea Lice Season in the Caribbean Again, 4/08

Available to the Public
The Skinny on No-See-Ums, avoid being bugged by their bites, 9/07	Two Inexpensive Weapons against Jellyfish Stings, 3/07	Latest Results on Insect Repellents, 10/06
Beat the Bite. . . avoiding mosquitoes, 1/06	Don’t Forget There’s Malaria Out There, 10/05	They Sting, Itch, and Raise Angry Welts, — sea lice season is upon us again, 5/05
Malaria and Divers: Even in Róatán there’s a risk., 10/04	Cream Wards off Jellyfish Stings, Stanford Study Suggests, 8/04	Diver’s Shark Tales from Around the Globe, we love sharks, they don’t always love us, 7/04
Getting Nailed by Jellies, a commercial preventative lotion proves effective, 9/03	Who You Callin' Hostile?, 9/03	No-see-um Hazard, 1/00

Diving Practices

For Undercurrent Online Members
Self-Rescue Tips from Readers , 4/10	New Dangers of Rebreather Diving , read this before you buy or upgrade rebreather gear, 3/10	Stoppering the Problem: Do Ear Plugs Work Underwater? , 10/09
Why Divers Fail to Disclose Medical Conditions, there’s not much trust in the system, 10/09	A Better Way to Find Lost Divers , Mike Ball’s invention: special buoys and “dummy divers”, 5/09	A Reminder About Safe Boat Diving from PADI, 4/09
Stranded At Sea? Buy Yourself Some Time, 3/09	When Bad Air is Pumped into Your Tank, a recent study states it happens more often than you think, 1/09	Diver Loses Fingers on the Dive Ladder, 1/09
How Useful Is a Dye Marker in a Search?, 10/08	Downward Dogs Can Improve Your Diving, 10/08	Drinking and Diving: How Much Alcohol Is Too Much? , 10/08
Why Technical Training is Worth Your Time, 2/08	Out of Air? Try Your BCD, 1/08	How to Emergency Breathe From a BCD, 1/08

Available to the Public
New Advice for Divers Caught in Rip Currents, 10/07	Breathing Exercises For Longer Dive Time, 10/07	Industrial Oxygen in My Nitrox?, 9/07
Safety Concerns on Liveaboard Boats, 8/07	For or Against the "No-Pee" Rule? a steady stream of reader comments, a steady stream of reader comments, 6/07	Scuba Shack's No Peeing Rule, 4/07
CDs: The Ideal Surface-Detection Aid?, 2/07	When Bad Things Happen to Good Divers, what do you do if you’re lost at sea?, 2/07	Serious New Regulations in the Galapagos Islands, 1/07
British Expert Calls Short Courses "Madness", 9/06	Deeper into Diving Comprehensive Second Edition, 9/06	When Divers Get Benched: Part III, when your body should keep you topside, 5/06
When Divers Get Benched: Part II, rules made up on the fly, 4/06	Tech Diving, Rebreathers and Wrecks, when it might not be for you, 3/06	No More Diving TodayDivers, why divers get benched, 3/06
Diving After Eating, 10/05	The Lost Art, 9/05	Getting Hooked. . . and Unhooked, 9/05
Divers still get left at sea…, 5/05	Coast Guard Not Required to Rescue Divers, 1/05	Diving Out of the Mainstream, 1/05
The Dangers and Thrills of Deep Wreck Diving, 7/04	Free Diving as an Extreme Sport, 2/04	Gray Around the Gills, are you ever too old to dive?, 9/03
Losing Your Buddy in Inner Space, Bob Halstead says what you’ve been taught is STUPID, 9/01

Dive Travel

For Undercurrent Online Members
Lying About Your Health Could Be Lethal, our medical expert tells you why you shouldn’t fib to dive shops, 1/10	Is That Overseas Dive Destination Safe to Visit? , 8/09	Passport Tips for Traveling Divers, 7/09
A Diver’s Tale of Somali Piracy and the Seychelles Arm, 6/09	Proper Liveaboard Hygiene , 5/08	Diver Car-Rental Scam in Cozumel , 1/08

Available to the Public
Infection Warning, 2/07	When a Passport Isn't Enough, 9/06	How to Go Diving with Nondiving Kids, 8/06
New Luggage Limits Slam Traveling Divers, 8/06	The Right Seats for the Long Haul, 6/06	Consider the Season, 6/06
Photo Gear, Rebreathers Stolen from Divers, And there it is, for sale on eBay, 3/06	Those Divebag Security Screeners, will your strobe arrive with you?, 2/06	Ship Ahead Rather Than Carry Your Gear?, 2/06
Security Screeners and Divers, we get no respect, 9/05	And Don't Forget Your Visa, 6/04	U.S. State Department Warnings, 6/04
Tanks, Rebreather Bottles, and Spare Airs May Be Confiscated, 5/04	Is Your Live-Aboard Safe? – Part II, can you trust it 500 miles at sea?, 6/03	Travel Safety in the Age of Terrorism, Bali? The Red Sea? The Philippines?, 2/03

Other Dangers in Diving

For Undercurrent Online Members
Embarrassing Dive Moment Leads to a Major Diet, 2/10	Death of a Shark Diver, Redux , dive ops rely on sharks for business, but it comes at a price, 7/09	A Diver’s Tale of Somali Piracy and the Seychelles Arm, 6/09
Bahamas Bull Shark Bites Back at Irked Spearfisher, 6/09	Sales of “Shark Shields” Soar in Australia, 5/09	Somali Pirates Also Going After Dive Boats, 5/09
Cave Diver Gets Electric Shock, 8/08	Cayman Dive Operators Protest Safety Regulations, 8/08	Update on the Shear Water Shark Attack Incident, 7/08
A Rusty BCD Connection Can Rocket You to The Surface, 3/08	When Needlefish Attack, 1/08	Shields and Repellants to Keep the Sharks Away, 1/08

Available to the Public
Many Sunscreens are Short on Protection, 9/07	When Lightning Strikes During a Dive, 9/07	Unlucky Fiji Divers Poisoned by Dinner, undetectable fish toxin, 8/06
Ciguatera Facts, 8/06	When Sharks Hunt Us, who's to blame, how serious is it?, 2/06	Watch That Giant Stride, 9/05
Shark Repellent Being Developed, 8/05	Sharks of the World, 7/05	The Dangers and Thrills of Deep Wreck Diving, 7/04
Fly-By-Night Training, 6/04	How "Advanced" are Advanced Divers?, mistaking “advanced” for “experienced”, 5/04	Electronic Shark Repellent Vindicated, 5/03
Is Your Gear Safe with Nitrox?, at what oxygen content is ignition possible?, 1/03	Is That Welding Oxygen in Your Nitrox Tank?, 1/03

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