fainting & scuba diving

[anonymous]

Has anyone fainted while scuba diving? i have vasovagal syncope, and faint from really sharp pain or seeing excessive amounts of my own blood, but can give warning prior. This only occurs about once a year or so. Should this prevent me from scuba diving?

[DiveDevil1966]

Well, fainting underwater is usually not a good thing, even if it only happens once. I would say that very likely it will only happen once anyway. The reason for this is that very likely after you fainted, you will drown and die.

You should not Scuba Dive with such a conditon full stop. You say that you will be able to give notice prior fainting, which measn that you could inform your dive buddy. Personally I would not go diving with you even though you could warn me about your fanting. It is also very unlikely that you will ever be cleared for diving by a proper diving physician. We need to understand that not everybody can and should be diving.

I am sorry for not having better suggestions to you your question.

Dive Devil

Definition of Vasovagal Syncope
Vasovagal syncope is the most common cause of fainting. It occurs when your body reacts in an exaggerated way to such triggers as the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress. The trigger results in a sudden drop in your heart rate and blood pressure, which reduces blood flow to your brain and causes you to briefly lose consciousness