October 2009    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 24, No. 10   What's this?

Why Divers Fail to Disclose Medical Conditions

there’s not much trust in the system

from the October, 2009 issue of Undercurrent  

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Not long ago, we asked our subscribers via email if they were truthful on their medical forms when they go diving. A preponderance of the respondents said no, many emphatically. What struck us was the range of conditions divers refused to disclose and how they justify their secrecy. In many cases, the reasons seem quite valid, as you shall see.

I can think of another sport where each time a participant goes out with a paid operator, he is required to list his medical history and disclose his medications. And where a check in the wrong box will disqualify you -- at least until you track down a physician who will approve your participation. One can take vigorous hikes with a travel group, go mountain biking or do some serious kayaking without having to tell the trip organizer your medical history. Accidents off in the wilderness can mean distant rescue and trip disruption for all participants, just as it might in diving. Maybe it’s because diving is conducted underwater that it merits such close scrutiny by operators – and insurers.

What became clear in reading our respondents’ comments was that not only did many of the divers believe their medical information and their willingness to participate based on their medical history was their own busi- ness, they also didn’t want to be knocked out of the box because of arbitrary decisions made by schoolboy divemasters halfway around the world, with no way to appeal. After all, every medical condition has enormous shades of gray. A bout of depression ten years ago doesn’t seem to have much impact on whether you should go diving today. But because you have no clue what the divemaster will say or do, it’s best to stay mum, so our readers say.

Particularly our aging readers. The people who spend money for serious dive travel are the 50-plus crowd, and as they age they manage their changing bodies with drugs to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and to keep away the hot flashes. But to many dive operators, such drugs are a sign these folks shouldn’t go near the water. For example, B.D. from Shelby Township, MI (I’ll just use initials here to keep divers anonymous to dive operators) says, “My wife has used a mild and common medication to control her high blood pressure for many years. On a dive trip to Cozumel, she filled out Aqua Safari’s waiver and was told she couldn’t dive because she was under medication. We were shocked as this had never happened before. We walked down the street to Dive Paradise and filled out their medical history checking the ‘NO’ box next to ‘Are you taking any medications?’We went on to dive our normal three dives per day, plus a few night dives that week.” ...