If you’re looking to shed some pounds from your weight belt, slip into that slimmer wetsuit and take a giant stride into more challenging dive environments, it’s time to commit to some changes. Make 2012 the year to improve your dive fitness.

• A year in review. Before establishing a fitness plan, take an assessment of your current physical status. Talk to your doctor to develop fitness goals for the year and for nutritional guidelines to help you reach those goals. Consider your capabilities and make reasonable targets based on that information. You may want to get a dive physical to ensure you are fit to dive. If you’d like to see a dive physician in your area or if your physician would like a consultation, call the DAN Medical Information Line at +1-919-684-2948.

• Plan your fitness. Make a workout plan; be sure to incorporate cardio, strength training and flexibility exercises. Schedule time for your workouts in writing, then stick to them. After you’ve established reasonable goals, write in benchmarks you hope to achieve, and track your progress. This doesn’t apply just to pounds. Set goals to extend the miles you can run or reduce the amount of time in which you can do it. Always wanted to do a triathlon? Train for it! Recognize that setbacks will happen; don’t let them throw off your whole fitness routine. You can and will reach your goals if you stay dedicated. As you meet your goals, take time to celebrate the success of your hard work; it will help propel you towards your next benchmark.

• Buddy up. The buddy system isn’t just for diving. Knowing that a buddy expects you to meet them at the gym or to go just one more block can help you reach your goals. Support each other as you strive for better fitness.

• Take it to heart. One of the leading causes of dive-related fatalities is cardiac incident, particularly in divers over the age of 40. You can improve your cardiovascular health by incorporating regular aerobic exercise into your physical fitness routine. Take a brisk walk or swim approximately 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Or if you want a greater challenge, run or bike at least three days a week for at least 20 minutes. Vary your routine to challenge yourself.

• Eat healthy. Stock your fridge with foods low in sodium, saturated fats or cholesterol, and avoid trans fats. When picking proteins, choose nuts, lean meats and low-fat dairy products. Stock up on fresh fruits, vegetables and whole-grains. Be conscious of your portion sizes and eat a variety of foods. Wise nutritional choices help promote overall health and physical fitness.

• Enhance your education. If you plan to take on new diving environments this year, in addition to ensuring you meet the physical demands they present, make sure you have the proper training to dive in that environment. Enroll in a training course and continue your diving education to enhance your skills as diver.

DAN Can Help

Learn more about how you can improve your fitness. Read the “Dive Fitness” column available at www.AlertDiver.com. There you can learn about routines to enhance your dive fitness as well as how to make wise nutritional choices. You can also enroll in courses to learn more about dive fitness and dive-specific first aid at www.DAN.org. Enhance your diving experience this year with a commitment to fitness.

The wetsuits are thicker, or perhaps you’ve switched to dry; the air is chillier and the holidays are just around the corner. If you are still trying to figure out what to give your dive buddy, consider some of these gifts.

Add safety essentials to your buddy’s gear bag. Equip your buddy with the tools he needs to ensure his safety. The new and improved surface signal kit helps make sure your buddy is seen, heard and never stranded. It comes with a six-foot orange signaling sausage featuring a 2-inch reflective strip on both sides and a radar-reflective panel located on the inside of the tube as well as a Wind Storm whistle, signal mirror and safety light all incorporated into the sausage’s base. The kit clips to your buddy’s BCD so he can stow it during a dive and access it easily in an emergency.

Or give him a basic personal first aid kit, complete with first aid supplies and waterproof zipper pockets. Accidents can happen; help your buddy be prepared to respond to them.

It’s the little things. Fin straps snap, d-rings break, batteries die and defogger runs out; these simple facts of a diver’s life are often overlooked. Make sure your buddy never misses a dive; give him a complete “oops” kit. Throw in some extra clips, first aid reference guides, a dive slate and some sunscreen. Pack it all up in a waterproof case or drybag, and your buddy is ready to go.

Continue your education. Diving is full of opportunities to continue to learn and enhance your skills. Enroll you and your buddy in a course and develop your skills together whether it’s underwater navigation, drysuit diving or rescue skills. Become better divers together!

Deck your buddy in dive apparel. If your buddy’s gear bag is brimming with delights, perhaps you should help him don some topside styles. Equip your buddy with long-sleeve or short-sleeve tees. Help him stay warm during his surface intervals with fleece hats or jackets. Or get him some dive-themed apparel from his favorite dive destination or his favorite marine-themed artist.

Give the gift that keeps on giving: A DAN membership comes complete with great benefits for both above and below the surface. With a DAN membership, your buddy will get DAN TravelAssist; a subscription to Alert Diver; access to DAN’s online seminars, presentations and workshop proceedings; access to the Worldcue^® Planner Real-Time Travel Intelligence^® Resource; and the option to buy dive accident insurance. In addition, when you purchase your buddy’s membership, you help support DAN’s nonprofit efforts, including the DAN Emergency Hotline and the Medical Information Line.

Happy holidays, and as always, dive safely.

Divers Alert Network (DAN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the safety and health of scuba divers. DAN operates a 24-hour emergency hotline (+1-919-684-9111) to help divers in need of medical emergency assistance for diving or nondiving incidents.

In a dive emergency, first aid oxygen plays an integral role in first response. DAN strives to educate divers to help prevent problems and be ready to assist when the unavoidable occurs. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the DAN oxygen training program, which trains divers in how to recognize injury, take a leadership role in a diving emergency and safely administer oxygen first aid to injured divers.

Why?
Administering oxygen first aid helps to facilitate the process of expelling excess nitrogen from the body by increasing the gradient between the breathing gas (which is zero percent nitrogen) and the nitrogen bubbles, thereby helping to diffuse them. Oxygen first aid not only significantly enhances nitrogen off-gassing, it may reduce bubble size and swelling as well as improve circulation.

Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries, a present-day dive safety essential, was initially pioneered and developed when DAN Research discovered that although scientific evidence was emerging on the benefits of emergency oxygen in first aid treatments, less than one-third of injured divers received it.

In 1984 Dr. Arthur Dick and two DAN colleagues observed the positive effects of oxygen on diving-related injuries when they examined a series of decompression sickness cases that occurred between 1981 and 1982.

• The researchers compared 10 cases in which divers were given first aid oxygen with 10 cases of comparable severity that were not given oxygen first aid prior to treatment; they came to some interesting conclusions:
• Those who received first aid oxygen experienced 90 percent symptom resolution during hyperbaric chamber therapy.
• Those who did not receive first aid oxygen prior to hyperbaric chamber therapy reported 50 percent resolution.
• There was a lower rate of recurrence of symptoms in the group who had received first aid oxygen.
• Recognizing the importance of these findings, DAN worked to develop and make accessible to divers not only a portable oxygen unit, but the education on how to use it.

Training Divers
Since the inception of the program in 1991, DAN Education has trained more than 180,000 providers and thousands of instructors. More and more divers are equipping themselves with the tools to recognize diving emergencies and respond appropriately. In the 20 years since the program debuted, emergency oxygen has become a safety standard throughout the diving industry, and DAN Education has continued to add programs to its lineup, creating the most comprehensive diving emergency training available to divers.  DAN also continues to develop oxygen administration products to help enable greater portability and deployment. If you are not trained in administering oxygen, consider taking the DAN Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries course to enhance your dive safety skills. ■

Divers Alert Network (DAN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the safety and health of scuba divers. DAN operates a 24-hour emergency hotline (+1-919-684-9111) to help divers in need of medical emergency assistance for diving or non-diving incidents.

Heart palpitations, nervousness, shortness of breath and the desire to bolt to the surface—enter a panicked diver. Panic is a sudden, overwhelming, intense reaction to a perceived threat or stressor. There are a lot of conditions that can set the stage for diver panic: poor visibility, overhead environments, hazardous marine life, difficult sea conditions, physical challenges, equipment malfunctions, entanglements and disorientation, and diving outside your comfort zone, among others. Recognizing symptoms of stress in yourself and in fellow divers is an important skill to help avoid panic and potentially dangerous situations.

Recognize the signs
There are some immediately visible signs of panic that may be recognizable. These include:

• Wide-eyed appearance
• Rapid, shallow or inefficient breathing
• Jerky movements
• Awkward kicking
• Rejecting equipment
• Inappropriate or no response to hand signals

Responding Underwater
Signs of stress or anxiety can escalate to panic very quickly, so a prompt response is imperative. The “fight or flight” instinctual response to panic creates a dangerous situation in an underwater environment. A diver’s panicked response may be to bolt to the surface.
If you observe a diver exhibiting signs of stress, first, approach the diver. Try to make contact with him. Ask, “Are you okay?” If the diver appears in danger of panicking, assess the situation: Is there an equipment malfunction? Is the diver entangled or injured? If you can identify the issue, try to help him resolve it. Help him to control his breathing; this can have a calming effect. If you cannot identify the issue, it may be best to make a slow, controlled ascent with the diver.

Minimize Stress
Anxiety when engaging in a new activity is normal. To minimize stress, make sure you are physically fit and well-trained to meet the demands of your diving environment. Always dive within the limits of both your training and comfort level. Mentally prepare yourself for a situation by walking yourself through “what if” scenarios.

Prior to each dive, assess whether you are prepared from all perspectives: mental, physical, equipment and training. Once engaged in the dive, if you start to feel anxious, stop, and take slow, deep breaths. Assess the situation and an appropriate response; only then should you act. If your decision is to end the dive, notify your buddy and, together, end the dive safely, completing a slow, controlled ascent while breathing out. When you reach the surface, inflate your BCD, and if necessary drop your weights. If you feel you have a tendency to panic, identify stressful situations and try to avoid them. For instance, if night diving is extremely stressful, it may not be the kind of diving for you. Seeking out continuing education can also help reduce some anxiety. Discuss concerns with your instructor; he may be able to help you feel more comfortable.

One of the best courses a diver can take is a rescue course. There you will learn how to recognize potential problems before they manifest as well as how to manage them effectively. You can also further your training with dive-specific first aid courses such as the DAN Diving Emergency Management Provider (DEMP) program or the DAN Dive Medicine for Divers Series. You can improve your skills and become a better dive buddy. ■

Divers Alert Network (DAN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the safety and health of recreational scuba divers. DAN operates a 24-hour emergency hotline (+1-919-684-9111) to help divers in need of medical emergency assistance in a diving or non-diving situation.