ADDITIONAL SAFETY TIPS FOR DIVERS

ADDITIONAL SAFETY TIPS FOR DIVERS

The following rules should be set for public safety divers in all waters.

• Remember: Tides, winds, and illegal and accidental dumping mean that divers never can be sure that a site is free of contamination. Therefore, always assume the worst and dive as safely as possible.
• Never clear condensation inside a mask by flooding it with water while diving, and do not rinse a mask off in potentially polluted water after spitting in it (a common method used to prevent fogging). Contaminated microscopic water droplets entering the eyes and nose can cause problems. Rub the inside of the mask with toothpaste or a soft-scrub or defog product and then rinse as part of gear cleanup procedures to prevent fogging on the next dive.
• The diver should never rinse his/ her mouth with water while diving. Divers should drink plenty of water before diving so that dry mouth will not be a problem while diving. Water should never be swallowed to help
• equalize pressure in the ears. Always assume that all water is contaminated.
• Regulators must be serviced a minimum of once a year. “Wet” breathing regulators that pass moisture through during inhalations are unacceptable and need to be serviced or replaced.
• The regulator never should be removed from the mouth except when switching to an alternate source in an out-of-air emergencysituation. Divers have a terrible tendency to remove the regulator from the mouth while on the water’s surface, which makes water aspiration and ingestion inevitable and increases the chances of drowning. This bad habit must be erased during repeated drills.
• If there is a suspicion of pollution, the regulator and mask should not be removed until the diver has been properly hosed down. Otherwise, water from the hood and face may enter the eyes, nose, and mouth.

EARS

Ear infections are among the most common problems of diving in polluted waters.¹ Even in clean water, the number of bacteria in a diver’s ear dramatically rises within 30 minutes due to the sealing off of the ears by the dive hood.^2,3 These bacteria can continue to be a problem after the dive due to increased humidity and temperature in the ear. Plugging the ears with cotton while diving in polluted waters may add to the problem and make equalization difficult.⁴ The following suggestions can help reduce the incidence of ear infections related to diving:

When wearing a drysuit, the hood should have good seals and a proper underlayer headpiece to allow for equalization of ear pressure

• and a tiny amount of ventilation for the ears.
• Postdive prophylactic eardrops may help reduce outer ear infections for divers as well as for surface personnel who may have polluted water splash into their ears or may touch their ears with wet fingers. The ears should not be rinsed with salt water, as salt crystals will keep moisture in the ear for extended periods of time. Instead, rinse them with clean fresh water and then with a mixture of alcohol and acetic acid (which will help keep a proper pH level of about 5.5) for about three to four seconds; rinsing for a longer period of time can deplete the ear’s cerumen (wax).
• After rinsing, the outer ear should be towel-dried, and if possible, the external ear canal should be gently dried with a flow of heated air. An inexpensive hair blowdryer is a good thing to have on the rescue rig.
• As our ENT (ear, nose, and throat) physician says, “Don’t ever stick anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.” Scratches from fingernails, pens, and other objects before, during, or after diving can increase the chances of outer ear infection.
• Consult an ENT physician as soon as possible if an ear infection is suspected, and certainly don’t dive with an ear infection.

WOUNDS AND PERSONAL HYGIENE

Diving in polluted water with wounds increases the chances of infection and should be avoided. If it’s unavoidable, cover the wound with a petroleum-based antibiotic ointment before the dive and wash with soap and fresh water after the dive to remove the ointment.⁵

Taking personal showers soon after diving should be standard protocol for public safety clivers, particularly for wetsuit clivers and surface personnel who have come in contact with water that could be polluted. A thorough washing with soap and fresh water can reduce infection from bacteria, yeasts, and fungi. Wash hands before touching the face.

DECON

The following minimum decontamination procedures should be done for every’ dive:

• A decontamination station that can be cleaned after the diver has been decontaminated should be set up and a water runoff area secured before the dive. Tarps made from plastic are preferable to those made of canvas or other absorbent fiber materials. If the diver uses the same ground tarp to dress in and gear down, the tarp also should be disinfected.
• All surface personnel should wear proper exposure suits to be protected from water splashes, direct contact with wet gear, and divers.
• During the first washdown, the diver should be brought directly from the water to the decontamination site in frill gear: None of the gear should be removed. The diver should be washed while in a standing position from head to toe with fresh water from a high-pressure hose. A standby tanker should be on site to provide water if no other source is available. The washdown should take a minimum of four to five minutes.

The second washdown is done with a surfactant, solvent, or disinfectant (in the case of microbiological pathogens), depending on the known or suspected contaminants involved.

The diver is washed for a third time—with fresh water from head to toe.

• A tender in protective clothing then helps the diver remove the gear and suit, which may require additional decontamination and/or disinfection.
• The diver and surface personnel, if necessary, should wash their ears and take a personal shower with soap and water.
• Some additional considerations applicable to the washdown include the following:
• The spray nozzle should be held at a downward angle from one to three feet from the diver; doing this helps prevent splashing the tender.
• The nozzle should not touch the gear or diver, or it may become contaminated.
• All areas that may trap contaminants—such as zippers, suit seams, gloves, boot soles, deployment lines, knives and sheaths, weight belt-buckle areas, and regulators—must be thoroughly washed.
• Because divers and tenders are susceptible to heat exhaustion during the washdowns that may keep them in suits for 15 to 20 minutes, washdown areas preferably should be in the shade or under a high tarp.

SUITS

Wetsuits are inadequate for diving in contaminated water. These suits allow the water to directly contact the diver’s skin, and they can act as a sponge—absorbing contaminants. Moreover, neoprene and other wetsuits—and, in some cases, neoprene drysuits—can pose additional dangers during washdown procedures. Neoprene can be degraded by some contaminants such as hydrocarbons, making it possible that a high-pressure spray washdown could force contaminants through the degraded neoprene directly to the diver.

Rubber vulcanized drysuits do not degrade easily and can be cleaned of most contaminants. Vulcanized rubber suits do not have cracks and crevices to trap pathogens and other contaminants. Vulcanized rubber drysuits should have, at the minimum, rubber/Latex dry’ hoods, dry’ gloves, and heavy rubber dry boots. If the bottom of the body of water has debris that may tear the dry suit, some type of protective coverall also should be worn over the drysuit to prevent holes that can permit contaminants to make contact with the diver.

Endnotes

1. Joseph, S.W., Conway, J.B., Kalichman, S.G. “Aquatic and terrestrial bacteria in diving environments: monitoring and significance.” Undersea Biomedical Research (1991): 18:3.

2. Brook, I., Coolbaugh, J.C. “Changes in the bacterial flora of the external ear canal from the wearing of occlusive equipment.” Laryngoscope (1984): 94: 963-965.

3. Brook, I., Coolbaugh, J.C., Williscroft, R.G. “Effect of diving and diving hoods on the bacterial flora of the external ear canal and skin.” J. Clin Microbiol (1982): 15:855859.

4. Marine Resources Information 123University’ of Rhode Island. See Grant Advisory Services, Sept -Oct. (1982): 1-2.

5. Schane, W. “Prevention of skin problems in saturation diving.” Undersea Biomedical Research (1991): 18:3.

6. Ibid.

7. Rollins, D.M. “Diving equipment as protection against microbial hazards.” Undersea Biomedical Research (1991): 18:3