Resqdivemedic

Until recently, asthma and diving were considered a big no no. Studies by DAN show that of 3359 cases of decompression sickness collected over the last 7 years, there was no difference between asthmatics and non asthmatics. In Britain, a survey of 104 divers with asthma who had a total of 12,864 dives found that no cases of pulmonary barotrauma (lung injury) were reported. Good news.
DAN, the British Sub Aqua Club, and the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society have come up with some general gudelines for divers with asthma. These are guidelines and should not replace the professional opinion of your physician.
1. A remote past history of asthma should not be a contraindication to diving.
2. Those with a recent history of asthmatic attacks should be evaluated using pulmonary function test while at rest and during excersise.
3. Those with mild persistant asthma and on medications should be evaluated using the pulmonary function test during rest and while excersising.
4. The diver should not dive when signs and sypmtoms of an attack are present.
5. Divers who have used a bronchodilator in the past 48 hours before a dive should not dive.
6. Divers with cold induced astham should not dive.
Reference: California Thoracic Society Positon Paper: Asthma and Sport SCUBA Diving