By Kirk Krack Who would have known that 2020-21 would look the way it does now? I am sure we all made some sort of diving plan for this year only to have us studying every crack and crevice of our homes and yards as we suffer diving withdrawal. …

By Divers Alert Network With its unusual name, its connection to cardiovascular health, and its link to DCS risk, it’s easy to see why patent foramen ovale (PFO) is of particular interest to divers. The good news is that, while the condition is common, it’s typically low-risk—but it can …

By Divers Alert Network Decompression sickness (DCS) is a tricky condition. On one hand, we know a lot about who gets it and when—and even how to prevent it, but we do not have a definitive understanding of the mechanisms of bubble formation or injury. Decades worth of research …

Update – April 24, 2020 – The CDC has updated its recommendations, and some of the cleaning products noted in this article may not be suitable for killing the virus that causes COVID-19. While Steramine is an effective sanitizing product, and some manufacturers recommended it for use on dive gear, …

By Kirk Krack & Ashley Futral Chapman  There is little conclusive evidence supporting mainstream advice that women should stop diving (with compressed air) during pregnancy. The lack of science backing up the counsel is partly due to the fact that experimenting on pregnant women is unethical. That and endless …

By Dr. David Sawatzky In the last three columns I reviewed vision underwater, common refractive errors, and reading glasses/ contacts.  In this column I will finish the discussion of vision and diving by looking at various mask options for correcting your vision while under water. Do You Need to Correct Your Vision? Diving with a …

To accompany our rather good feature on breath hold diving and yoga, here are a few extra tidbits:   Yoga literally means ‘union’ and is based on the principle of harmony between the mind and body. All freedivers can benefit from it but yoga is particularly helpful for those …

Though myocarditis is relatively common the real incidence rate is completely unknown By Dr. David Sawatzky The most common cause of death in divers while they are diving is a heart attack.  These heart attacks are usually the result of coronary artery disease (CAD), in which the arteries in …