Diver Safety
Diver Safety
DIVE SAFETY
DIVE SAFETY
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
Careful training and preparation make medical events related to scuba diving quite rare. However, there are some inherent risks with the sport and with interacting in the natural underwater environment.
Medical Issues
Scuba divers and snorkelers may occasionally experience mild medical issues ranging from coral cuts and sunburn to a jellyfish sting and other animal encounters. Lahaina Divers recommends you seek medical attention if you have issues after you leave a charter with a local facility like Doctors on Call.
Doctors on Call have a team of trusted urgent care doctors, providing fast convenient treatment 365 days a year from 8 am to 9pm in West Maui.
For rare but serious medical emergencies while on charter, Lahaina Divers crew will provide aide and contact emergency medical personnel. All Lahaina Divers vessels have the following safety features on board:
- Automatic Electronic Defibrillator (AED)
- USCG approved medical kit
- DAN oxygen unit
- EPIRB (Emergency Positioning Beacon)
- Life jackets, life raft, fire extinguishers
- Cellular and VHF radio communications devices for immediate ship to shore contact.
Rescue Training & Emergency First Response
We take your safety seriously so we stay up to with rescue training and emergency first response.
Avoiding Decompression Sickness
As an important reminder, stay hydrated! Dehydration is the number one factor to decompression sickness and divers need to be mindful when out in the water to avoid it.
Keeping a safe diving profile is critical, but this also means NO traveling to high altitude within 18 hours of diving. This includes no airplane flights, no helicopter tour and no Haleakala Crater visits. Locations in Upcountry Maui beyond Haliimaile are included in this altitude restriction.
If you have been doing decompression diving, multi-day dives or deep diving, a minimum of 24 hours wait time before traveling to altitude is recommended.
If you are unsure, err on the side of caution and wait at least 24 hours. There are plenty of low altitude activities to enjoy on Maui!
It is good to be aware of the symptoms of DCS. Because decompression schedules are based on unverifiable assumptions, there can never be fixed altitude after diving rules that can guarantee prevention of bends completely. There are no dive tables or dive computers that can guarantee 100% a diver will not get DCS. But if a diver learns how to calculate dive time properly, stays within safe depth limits and ascends slowly from every dive while taking recommended decompression stops, they can lessen their chance of getting bent.
We both have a role in diver safety and health. Except for training classes Discover Scuba dives, and snorkelers, Lahaina Divers require all participants to be certified, and may ask additional screening questions to assess your abilities. You should be forthcoming about your skills, dive history and fitness so we can match you to the best charter. Have fun diving while staying safe and healthy!
