Scuba Diving for Asthmatics

I love a good snorkel, hell I practically learned to swim in the blissful waters of Hawaii with a mask and snorkel dangling from my face. I am still a reasonably good free diver, even better than in my pudgy teen years (all that floaty fat). But I’ve always wanted just to dive dive dive dive.

The terrible thing is that I can’t. In addition to my oh-so-fun allergies (documented here, here and here), I also have asthma. My triggers are dust, mold, and pets of all shapes, sizes and furriness. And asthma and SCUBA diving just don’t mix.

The reasons are sensible: asthmatic lungs are twitchy. The cold, dry air (like the air that comes from an O2 tank) is a known irritant. As is exercise and panic. You don’t want a person freakin’ out and having their airways close 100 ft below the surface. Not good.

Historically, diving surgeons and instructors have just flat out banned asthmatics from getting certified to dive.  In Australia, still the most stringent country on lung function standards, you have to pass a spirometry test to prove you don’t have asthma before they’ll let you dive. No cheeky lying on your medical history (which, come on, most people with controlled asthma probably do).

But times and attitudes are changing: check out this very informative article from the Divers’ Alert Network on the topic. In the UK, the country with the most liberal standards, asthmatics are allowed to dive so long as they don’t have cold or exercise-induced wheezes and they haven’t used a bronchodilator (rescue inhaler) in the last 48 hours. Sounds fair. I am not sure if I would make that cut off (I don’t wheeze while skiing in frigid conditions, but I do sometimes while walking briskly in very cold climes...). What’s more, the rough statistics they do have show no real increased risk for asthmatic divers. Score.

In any case, I would probably have to pass some sort of lung function test - usually measured by a peak flow meter. And LUCKY ME, I actually have one. So of course I ran upstairs to check how I scored. For a 5’10”, 25 year old (the closest match, though I am slightly shorter and older), I should have a peak flow of 490. On my first huff, I scored a 450. On the second a 460.

That was yesterday. I just tried it again and scored a measly 415 - the same as a 5’5” 60 year-old). But I figure with a little slight of hand and I’ll be underwater in no time.

Of course I could just lie.