Diving first aid is similar to normal first aid with a few differences. The most important difference is that a diver learning first aid must include the training to administer oxygen. Why? 100% oxygen on the surface is the universal treatment for decompression sickness.
Anything higher than an Open Water Diver certification requires a class called Rescue Diver or Stress and Rescue. First aid with current certification in CPR, AED, and O2 (oxygen) administration is a prerequisite. I started with first aid because knowing that for ANY dive is important.
DAN (Diver’s Alert Network)
My certifying agency is SSI. The normal SSI first aid class is called React Right. However, Diventures does not teach this. Instead, they teach DAN’s Diving First Aid. DAN is an organization that provides members options for emergency medical evacuation coverage and dive accident insurance. They also do detailed analysis of dive accidents and post many of their findings as well as articles on safely diving with certain medical conditions (like diabetes).
If you dive, have dive accident insurance. DAN is a good option (and no, I don’t get any benefit from saying that). You will specifically want coverage for evacuation. I strongly recommend you up your level of coverage if you leave the country. You will also want coverage for treatment. Hyperbaric chamber treatment for decompression sickness is not cheap. Regular insurance frequently doesn’t usually cover it for diving related accidents.
E-Learning With DAN
I received instructions on how to set up my account with the DAN E-Learning system. The first thing I noticed was that there were more courses available to me than just the first aid class I was taking. After I did my First Aid class requirements, I also completed a couple of others and learned a lot more useful information. I will be going back to some of the ones I’ve not done yet.
The e-learning system was very comprehensive. It was also a lot more than just diving first aid. There was quite a lot of data on regular first aid treatment for things like burns, cuts, heavy bleeding, poisoning, and so on. While I’ve had a comprehensive first aid class previously (2 credit hours in college), it was over 30 years ago so my knowledge and skills were a bit dated. The refresher was nice.
Will, the Instructor
One of the things I liked about the class was that Will would address more detail on things that he’d seen in person as an EMT and some of the reality of treatment vs the “book” knowledge. It’s important to note that even for doctors, they call it the “practice” of medicine. That’s because once all the book knowledge is there in the first couple of years of medical school, they still send medical school students on a couple of years of rotations and training in clinical environments. Will shared some of that type of knowledge with us.
The other thing I really liked was his thoroughness on showing us practical skills. We had to demonstrate our ability to do not just CPR and AED usage, but also assembling and using the emergency oxygen, splints, packing heavily bleeding wounds, using triangle bandages, and physical examinations of victims.
One final note for my instructor review. Will didn’t hesitate to say, “I’ve not seen that yet” when we asked him his experience with some situations. I really appreciate that from anyone. He didn’t feel a need to inflate himself in front of us.
Neurology
A large part of diving first aid is learning about neurological exams. Decompression sickness will present with various neurological symptoms, so we had to learn and demonstrate our knowledge of how to conduct a neurological assessment. You will track progress once treatment is started. This is relayed to trained first responders what has happened and what you’ve observed to allow for better treatment later.
There are a lot of acronyms to learn to keep it straight. The kit we got with the class has this great set of waterproof cards with them on it so you can keep them in a first aid kit as a reminder, so you don’t forget anything. I really appreciate that forethought.
I’ve Experienced That
I had a bit of an interesting time when a new situation would come up in class. I’ve had a lot of the injuries we were learning to treat (not the diving related ones). Fairly severe burns on my face in junior high (2nd degree), two TIAs (sort of like a mini stroke), a broken bone and multiple joint problems (seven surgeries so far) are just the highlights of my . . . misfortune.
On top of all that, I was a guinea pig. My dad (a physician) used 11-year-old me as a test subject to create a training video on neurological exams for a class project (he was the oldest guy in his class in medical school).
Final Thoughts
Every diver should take this class. EVERY DIVER SHOULD TAKE THIS CLASS. Why? Because it doesn’t matter if your dive guide is certified or not if he or she is the one who is in need of assistance.
The diving community is unique in the world for one very important reason. You may meet a person for the first time at a diving event (local or on a trip) and buddy up with them for a dive. In that situation, you are literally putting your life in the hands of someone you just met and they’re doing the same with you.
So, be the best buddy you can and get trained to respond. Take diving first aid and stress and rescue (or rescue diver or whatever it’s called). Make them a priority in your dive training. At the time I’m writing this, I’ve been certified for four months. I have 26 dives. By the end of January (7 months in), I’ll have First Aid and Stress and Recue done, and I feel like I’ve been slow getting to them.
