Can skin diving be made safe?

Abstract

Most, if not all, skin diving fatalities are caused by accidents and not diseases. Prophylaxis, then, is much more important than treatment because of the simple fact that drowning intervenes before the victim can be brought to medical attention in the severe cases. In the milder ones treatment is usually unnecessary. “The bends” is the exception and can be handled only by the nearest Navy decompression chamber and the Navy personnel familiar with it. No amateur diver should ever dive below 150 feet with a single-tank scuba. A very large majority of diving fatalities are absolutely preventable if adequate education and experience with equipment precedes actual ocean diving. NAVMED-P 5054, “Submarine Medicine Practice,” obtainable from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. for $2.00, contains a tremendous amount of information and is strongly recommended for further reading by those interested.