An international survey of divers has found that many put themselves at risk by taking medication just before a dive.
Researchers at the Emergency Department of the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre in the US say that the body processes medication differently in the high-pressure environment underwater.
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The way drugs are metabolised can interfere with a diver's fitness, they say.
Many common medications taken Dr Simone Taylor and colleagues conducted a postal survey of 346 Australia and 363 US dive club members between the ages of 31 and 50, who had been diving for at least eight years.
Reporting their results at a conference of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, Taylor said one quarter of divers took medications daily.
Almost 10% of the divers took prescription medicine for heart disease, hypertension (8.9%) or asthma medication (2.8%).
Another 0.3% took medication for epilepsy and 0.7% took drugs for diabetes.
Many divers regularly took nasal decongestants, pseudoephedrine, seasickness medication and medication to prevent injury caused by shifts in pressure - within two hours of diving.
Divers should avoid medication as far as possible prior to scuba-diving, especially within two hours of diving. – (Health24)
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