Health and Safety

Chest compressions — The first-line response

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Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving skill, helpful in many situations including:•  Cardiac arrest•  Drowning•  Trauma•  Electrical shockThe American Heart Association recommends that everyone — untrained bystanders and medical personnel alike — begin CPR with chest compression. CPR uses chest compression to imitate how the heart transports blood to the whole body. These compressions help keep oxygenated blood flowing … Read more

Dear Undercurrent: We have a problem

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I am the Head Diver for the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Dive Unit, south of San Francisco. We are losing folks; they are aging out and retiring. We are not tough guys, but many recreational divers don’t want to do this type of dirty water diving. We need volunteers and a few paid divers. … Read more

An Unlikely DCS Hit and Lessons to Learn

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A funny thing happened on the way to Tubbataha. On May 6, I landed in Manila, Philippines, to join a dozen diving friends for five days of land-based diving at Crystal Blue dive resort; then we were to move on to Puerto Princessa to spend a week on the liveaboard Solitude One, diving one of … Read more

The Trauma of Third World Medical Treatment

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In our January issue of Undercurrent, we describe the difficulty of getting emergency medical care in Fiji. Here’s a story by one of our writers 36 years ago. Not much has changed, he says. Taveuni, New Year’s Day 1988, 6 AM, I woke up with acute appendicitis. The manager got me a “cab,” and we … Read more