Scuba diving is an enjoyable way to spend time in the water, opening your eyes to breathtaking sea life and coral formations that can't be seen anywhere else. In pursuing this adventure, divers take varying risks, seeking far-off foreign dives or descending deep into dark, unfamiliar caves.

While most diving excursions leave divers unscathed, accidents do happen, and following every rule in the book, a seasoned veteran can still find themselves – or another diver – in a life-threatening scenario. Many diving organisations include basic first aid and emergencies in their scuba training, but experienced divers should expand their knowledge with emergency first response primary and secondary first aid courses. This essay aims to illustrate the need for this practical training in a diver's ability to handle an underwater-related emergency.

This essay will focus specifically on the importance of first aid for scuba diving incidents. The goal of learning an extensive underwater-related aid program is simple: to be able to save a life in a diving-related emergency. While the chances are that such an event will never occur, the ability to mitigate the scenario and stabilise an injured victim could mean the difference between life and death.

Even if the trained diver is also the one in danger, he or she can inform those assisting what is necessary for stabilisation and proper descent, reducing the prospect of severe injury or fatality because of a delayed response to an emergency. The realm of first aid is large, and particular injuries take years of study to fully understand and treat, but the skills instilled within a diving-specific course can be important in preserving life until appropriate medical care can be provided.

Understanding the Risks of Scuba Diving

When you’re investigating scuba first aid, it is ideal to comprehend the risks involved. The primary risk in scuba is that your gas consumption is greater than your gas supply. Your physical hazards in scuba diving comprise decompression sickness, barotrauma, and the dangers associated with the environment, like cold, heat, and hydraulics. Well-illustrated scuba divers are also concerned about being attacked by animals, with sharks showing the most overall fear. One reason for anxiety regarding marine life is that it is outside the diver's control. Another type of marine life risk consists of encountering large sea animals such as dolphins, some whales, and giant groupers because of their behaviour. It is necessary to understand the risks to minimise them.

Divemaster interns must know the many internal and external factors that contribute to scuba accidents and deaths. External factors include incidents when the survivor followed the law, was well-experienced, trained, and travelled or visited a global location. Though scuba is safe when the guidelines are followed, there are approximately one thousand fatalities every year worldwide among the estimated 10 to 15 million scuba dives completed. Though some of these fatalities are directly the result of diving situations, a substantial proportion is the result of unrelated disorders such as heart attacks or physical issues. In addition to the requirements, scuba divers must also recognise that even the best-educated and most practised divers can confront an urgent underwater situation.

Basic First Aid Principles

Now that we’ve established some of the hazards of diving, let’s talk about the number one reason why you need to train in first aid: safety. The primary dive emergency is running out of, or low on, breathing gas. The next emergency is stress. The third most likely emergency? Accidents and illness. It’s an undeniable fact that if you dive long enough, sooner or later somebody, maybe even you, is going to get sick or hurt underwater.

And since most of the world’s oceans and bodies of water are not a short ride from the nearest medical facility, basic first aid training can quite literally be the difference between living and dying. Even if local conditions are such that you’ll be at a hospital within the hour, 60 minutes can sometimes be too long to wait. You can learn so much more incredibly interesting information about why this class is important and all the skills you can develop.

First aid sets forth four basic principles to manage medical emergencies of all kinds, including on dry land. They are:

1. Protect yourself! Before you dive in or otherwise get involved, assess the situation for dangers. Wear gloves when dealing with bleeding injuries. Do not forget to call for help. You are not a doctor, and even a doctor shouldn’t try to treat himself.

2. Give care. Remember, “He who hesitates is lost,” but be thorough; don’t impulsively yank somebody from the water until you’ve taken a few moments to ensure it’s safe and sensible to grab them.

3. Activate the Emergency Medical Services. In other words, call the professional help you’ll need to carry on treatment.

4. Give attention to life-threatening emergencies, airway obstruction and breathing in particular, but don’t neglect other urgent care symptoms. Underwater, a life-threatening emergency generally means feeling bad and running out of air.

First aid is certainly not limited to dive-related emergencies. Every day, in our everyday lives on the surface, we encounter accidents and sudden illnesses in families, friends, and co-workers.

Special Considerations for Diving Emergencies

Diving emergencies have several special considerations that are not usually present in the first aid course you will take at home. A general first aid course will undoubtedly teach you how to provide basic care to a person who is seriously ill or injured. You will learn basic CPR techniques if you choose the appropriate course. This knowledge is important for many reasons, not the least in helping you to feel more secure. However, diving incidents can be very different from general medical emergencies.

1. Most emergencies will be due to equipment malfunction rather than a medical emergency. Completely different causes require a completely different method of problem-solving!

2. Lost divers or divers closely spaced under submerged or overhead obstructions are also events that can cause injuries and emergencies.

3. Being underwater also causes numerous injuries and potentially life-endangering situations.

4. Some of the manoeuvres used to provide basic care begin to lose effectiveness immediately after surfacing. Scuba diving also has several treatment options that aren’t normally talked about in first aid courses.

As a diver, you are generally going to be in situations that take you some time and effort to get to free-flowing communication with pre-hospital care-trained personnel. A dive leader should have some facility with first aid and be able to manoeuvre underwater with an unconscious or semi-conscious victim. A dive master must know in detail what normal responses are and what may indicate a medical emergency.

Additionally, dive masters and even buddy pairs must know how to interpret dive tables and/or computers. They must be able to effectively render major emergencies, like ascending too fast, somewhat less dangerous by understanding how to follow decompression and organizing appropriate first aid and boat pickup after surfacing. A dive instructor must have the ability to communicate so well underwater that he can easily train others to do the same. He must have the ability to organize a team response to a problem. The use of cramps and light signals does require basic medical knowledge. Finally, a search and recovery team member must be able to effectively communicate and work with a team to render major emergencies recoverable, though quite dangerous.

Benefits of Scuba Diving First Aid Certification

Just as gaining education in first aid and CPR has done for emergency cases on land, gaining the same knowledge for diving is important for water. Diving underwater comes with its own set of risk factors and doubts. So, being educated and trained in how to react in case of problems can be the difference between life and death in an emergency. Additionally, divers who hold a scuba diving first aid certification are likely to be viewed as highly responsible and low-liability candidates by tour agencies.

Final Tip: The real value of gaining scuba diving first aid certification is the fact that it holds the potential of being life-saving throughout your entire diving career.

Benefits of Scuba Diving First Aid Certification

Safety: The key tenet on people’s minds when enrolling in a scuba diving first aid certification course is safety. The course teaches procedures that a diver can use to make sure their buddy is safe when the need arises.

Confidence: One of the main reasons divers enrol in the scuba diving first aid certification course is simply because they feel secure knowing they possess the capability to assist in an emergency. The training gives them the necessary confidence to tackle an emergency if required.

Knowledge: Enrolling in a scuba diving first aid certification course will provide you with in-depth information from experienced professionals. Qualified instructors are always armed with a training tool that you can review at any time. Being updated on current treatment techniques is a great benefit. In the medical field, progress and change happen constantly, and scuba diving first aid education is no different.

Prevention: Even if you’re a cautious diver who adheres to safety guidelines, accidents can still occur. However, diving safety courses help prevent possible accidents. For example, a scuba diving first aid certificate teaches you the signs and scenarios for decompression sickness. Armed with that background, you can take the appropriate steps to avoid decompression sickness. In this way, the diving emergency training increases situational awareness.

Reputation: Once you’re scuba diving first aid certified, you become a positive part of the diving community. Other divers are likely to shop for dive centres or dive touring operators who offer scuba diving first-aid-certified divers. It’s the kind of training that builds the reputation of diving culture. Even in foreign spots, one scuba diving first aid certified diver is likely to find kind help from a stranger.

A Network: In any business, belonging to an association provides you with access to information as well as a network of like-minded individuals. While there is no official association for “Diving Emergency Prevention,” a single culture exists, and the benefits are evident. As an independent instructor, someone who attends an individual travel association seminar benefits. By becoming part of a network, we recognise the lifestyles and daily practices of professional divers and live-aboard staff.

Employment: A diver with a legitimate qualification in scuba diving first aid has a good chance of being selected for a job when applying as a commercial diver, navy diver, or rescue operations team member, or when applying in court for lifeguard activities.

Final Thought

Never underestimate the importance of being scuba diving first aid certified. Think of it as an exemplary form of insurance, an investment in doing the silly things we grew up doing, enjoying bubbling in company. The scuba diving first aid course is money well spent, no matter how many times you attend a session. And when it comes to the safety of yourself and your loved ones, you will certainly be interested in taking such training.

Here are three further resources we recommend you look at. Download our free Dive Medicine “Cheat-sheet” HERE. Read our First Aid for Scuba Divers eBook HERE. Get certified in Dive Medicine through our online Dive Medicine for Recreational Scuba Divers online course HERE.