A good dive medical includes several components that a medical professional should inspect. General examinations include visual acuity, cardiovascular fitness, visual acuity, barotrauma, and gastrointestinal function. Additional tests may be recommended by doctors to assess your diving skills. It's important to talk with your dive doctor if you have a history of ear infections. Even if there is no history of ear infections or you have never had them before, a diving physical will provide all necessary information.
Checking out cardiovascular fitness
Before diving as a hobby/career, it is important to assess your cardiovascular endurance. While this may seem like an easy task, it is far from simple. If you're unable to walk a single block, then you shouldn't register for a diving program. Instead, exercise for 20 to 30 minutes five times a week. Even walking for a mile is not enough.
Examining the digestive function
It is important to examine the gastrointestinal function of divers during a scuba diving physical. Ischemic colitis can happen during a dive expedition. Divers may exhibit belching and abdominal discomfort, but there is little information on severe gastrointestinal complications associated with the activity. Rare gastrointestinal conditions, such as gastric leakage due to intra-gastric pressure expansion and massive pneumoperitoneum (which results from lung barotrauma), have been reported. However, mesenteric vein thrombosis, acute ischemic colitis, and hemorrhagic colitis have never been linked to scuba diving.
Examining visual acuity
Dive physicals are designed to ensure that divers are able to perform the required skills, and to assess a diver's vision. To assess if a diver's vision is good, a diving professional will ask the diver to fill out a visual acuity questionnaire. The test is designed to measure a person's vision acuity and distance vision.
Checking for barotrauma
If you plan to scuba dive, it is important that you take extra precautions in order to avoid barotrauma. Barotrauma derives its name from the Greek words baros which is pressure and trauma which refers to injury. The pressure changes that occur during a dive can cause injury or damage to key parts of the ears. This condition can be caused by diving while having a cold or congestion. It can also lead to symptoms like vomiting or pain.
Asthma: Check for it
Before diving, it is a good idea to consult your physician if you suspect you may have asthma. Your asthma symptoms can become more severe or less severe over time. They can also be triggered by diving. To treat asthma, your doctor may prescribe oral steroids. You should always keep an inhaler onboard your dive boat as a precaution. A physician can perform an exercise test to assess your asthma and also do a test of your lung function to determine the severity.