Whether you are a regular scuba diver or a beginner, flying after diving is a BIG NO so if you think you’re immune to all the dangers, think again. When it comes to scuba diving and flying, this is something that is often overlooked. We do not want to be going on a nice vacation and coming back home suffering from Decompression Sickness (DCS). But, why is flying after diving so bad? What’s really going to happen to our body? Well, buckle up, you’re in for a ride.

Let’s begin with the most obvious question, what is Decompression Sickness? Decompression Sickness, or DCS for short, describes a condition that arises when dissolved gasses transfers from the solution to the body in certain conditions, one of them being a drop in pressure. In the case of diving, DCS occurs when nitrogen bubbles, also known as decompression bubbles, are formed in the blood stream and tissues of the body. DCS is most common in underwater diving situations but, may also be experienced in other depressurization situations; for example, flying in an unpressurised aircraft at a certain altitude. Scuba diving, in relation with pressure due to high altitudes during flight, may cause decompression sickness (DCS).

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During diving, your body tissues absorb nitrogen into the body and into the bloodstream from the air you are breathing. This is due to the underwater pressure around you. At this pressure, there is little to no effect of the nitrogen in your body. However, when rising up to the surface, built up nitrogen in your body becomes tiny air bubbles and leaves your body. Rising too quickly would cause a sudden pressure drop in your surroundings, causing large nitrogen bubbles to form in your bloodstream. Flying gives the same effect of rising too quickly as flying causes a sudden drop in pressure thus, causing decompression sickness.

Nitrogen air bubbles are able to form anywhere in the human body, however, it is most commonly found in the shoulder areas along with the elbows, knees, and ankles. This is why most DCS symptoms are found in these areas. In situations where DCS is found in high altitudes, including flying, DCS is referred to as “the bends” where DCS victims may experience a loss of breath or the feeling of choking. As we have mentioned before, DCS can be found anywhere in the body, although they are all classified as DCS, they do have different names. Hence, how many types of DCS are there?

To be honest with you, there is quite a number of DCS types that has been observed and it would be much too long to mention it all here, besides, we are here to talk about flying and diving. Some examples of DCS would be the musculoskeletal DCS which can be found in large joints of the elbows, shoulders, hip, wrists, knees, and ankles. The symptoms include deep pain in the joints during motion. Pulmonary DCS occurs in the lungs and can be observed by the dry, persistent cough that comes with it, along with shortness of breath and chest pains. Constitutional DCS is one that is found in the whole body and is observes as a string of headaches followed by unexplained fatigue and constant aches all over the body.

Now, how long do you have to wait before flying? If you have done a number of recreational, no-decompression dives in a row, you would want to wait for a minimum of 18 hours. The time of waiting should begin as soon as you leave the water surface and ends when you board the aircraft. If you have only done one, no-decompression dive, it is required of you to wait for at least 12 hours before you take off in an aircraft. Waiting gives your body time to release and/or reduce the amount of nitrogen buildup in your body. Often, open water courses takes 3-4 days. When you take courses like these, you must wait 18 hours before flying. During diving, the weight of the water above a diver causes the diver to be under pressure and hence, causing air to be absorbed into our body and air bubbles to form in our bloodstreams. When divers rise back up to the surface, they are told to rise up slowly. This is done to allow the gasses to transport itself out of the body, mainly through breathing.

What will happen if I don’t wait? Nobody’s got the time! Trust me, you might want to find time. Flying within the time frame of your drive with your flight will result in a series of problems that would be classified as ‘symptoms of DCS’ such as the joint pains mentioned above, in the more severe cases however, an untimely death may occur. As mentioned previously, flying gives the same effect as rising too quickly to the surface of the water when diving, when large air bubbles form in this scenario, blockage in the bloodstream are common to occur. Some of the injuries related to DCS have been found to be numbness, paralysis, circulatory shock, and many more. The worst part is, the situation worsens overtime! As time goes by, more and more symptoms show up and mid-flight would be THE WORST time ever to be experiencing DCS as it would be incredibly difficult to handle along with the fact that it may take up to several hours before the patient is able to get help from the nearest hospital.

With all this in mind, I would suggest you to squeeze your diving schedule way up to the beginning of your trip and enjoy some sightseeing in the end instead. This way, you will have ample time to let the nitrogen air bubbles dissipate out of your body. If you really must have your dive within 24 hours of your flight, make sure that you give enough time, 18 hours or 12 hours accordingly, before your flight and refrain from drinking ANY alcohol as alcohol slows down the rate of air bubble dissipation. Another step you can take is to stick to shallow dives in the last 2 days of your trip. If you follow all these steps, you will be fine! Remember, prevention is better than cure!