News
Diving after COVID-19 – Update from Coronavirus Survivor Douglas Ebersole MD
By Douglas Ebersole, MD – Medical Director for RAID
I am a dive industry professional and a COVID-19 survivor. I am sharing my story in hopes of decreasing the fear these days in the diving community. In my “real job” as a cardiologist and while wearing my N95 mask a few weeks ago, I was exposed to a severely ill patient that subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. He ended up in the ICU for a few days, but did not require a ventilator. He was discharged home after a two-week hospital stay and is doing well.
I began having symptoms of fatigue, shaking chills, and fever to 102 degrees about 10 days after my exposure and tested positive for COVID-19. I had no shortness of breath, a normal oxygen saturation, and a normal chest x-ray. I was one of the fortunate ones with symptoms no worse than a bad case of the flu. After 10 days of quarantine at home, my symptoms resolved though my exercise tolerance was decreased. My usual exercise regimen is 30 minutes on a stair master and 30 minutes on an exercise bike 3-4 times per week, but after COVID-19 I fatigued doing minimal yard work.
As gyms are closed in Florida, I used my home rowing machine to get back into shape. After a week I was able to row 30 minutes per day without symptoms. As I have access to a treadmill and a pulse oximeter, I exercised on my office treadmill after work with good exercise tolerance and no decrease in my oxygen saturation. As a result, I plan to return to diving as soon as Florida opens up the marinas and state parks. I will start with shallow no-decompression diving and slowly build back up to decompression diving, cave diving, etc.
Recently, a report of six divers in Austria who had severe lung changes on CT scans several weeks after COVID-19 despite feeling well has been widely circulated on social media. While this is interesting and suggests further studies are needed, no firm conclusions can be drawn from such a small number of patients with such a short follow-up period. While we do not have enough data yet to make any firm conclusions about the effect of COVID-19 on divers or when infected divers can safely return to scuba diving, it is unlikely that it will be a “one size fits all” approach. For now, we should all be aware that while COVID-19 is usually a mild disease in young healthy individuals, others can become severely ill and even die despite having no underlying medical problems.
We should all follow CDC guidelines, practice social distancing, wear masks in public, etc. in an effort keep ourselves and others safe. If despite this, a diver contracts the virus, he or she should wait for resolution of symptoms, then increase their exercise as tolerated, and see a physician knowledgeable in diving medicine prior to returning to scuba diving. Finally, please get your diving information from organizations like Divers Alert Network, the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, and the South Pacific Underwater Medical Society instead of from social media! Safe diving everyone!
Douglas Ebersole, MD is an interventional cardiologist at the Watson Clinic LLP in Lakeland, Florida and is the Director of the Structural Heart Program at Lakeland Regional Health. He has been diving since 1974 and is an avid recreational diver, technical diver, rebreather diver, and cave diver. He is also a recreational, technical, and rebreather instructor for several training agencies. Additionally, he is a cardiology consultant to Divers Alert Network, the medical director for RAID, and is on the Board of Advisors for IANTD and the Training Advisory Panel for TDI/SDI. In his spare time, he is the Florida Sales agent for KISS Rebreathers.
Source: www.divenewswire.com
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
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SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
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More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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