First Aid for Freedivers Free-diving is one among many diving activities in which one holds their breath while diving underwater. Some use this diving practice when doing activities such as spear fishing, underwater photography, and various competitive activities such as competitive apnea. Yet despite the experience of some and the inexperience of others, emergency situations do occur since free-diving does not include the use of a breathing apparatus. There are various different situations that can occur in free-diving that involves the use of specific first aid to rectify the situation. These situations can include shallow water blackout, (SWBO) and motion sickness, which are amongst the most common ailments while free-diving. Shallow Water Blackout This is one of the greatest risks when free-diving and it doesn’t always happen in shallow water, but it can happen in any depth of water. If you are with someone who experiences shallow water blackout, there are some first aid steps you must take to ensure the well-being of your diving buddy. This is one reason why you should never free-dive alone. You must first recognize the signs of shallow water blackout. The best way to do this is by watching your diving buddy from the beginning because the symptoms can be recognized before blackout occurs. This is going to be your goal in order to keep the situation from getting worse. Recognize The Signs Your diving buddy may be experiencing shallow water blackout if they stop swimming, their arms fall limp at the sides of their body, their eyes roll back into their head or close, their head rolls forward to their chest, the diver is sinking, and the diver is convulsing or twitching. If you see any of these, you want to bring the diver to the surface because they will most likely regain consciousness within minutes after reaching the surface. You want to make sure you do this in a timely manner, though because the natural reflexes of the body that prevents water from entering the lungs only lasts for so long. The main one of these natural reflexes is Laryngospasm, which is when the vocal cords are closed off to prevent water from entering the lungs. et the longer the diver is under the water, the more likely they are to drown since the Laryngospasm will eventually relax itself, but when their head is held above the surface the Laryngospasm will let go and allow regular breathing to occur. What To Do This is a simple first aid technique since it simply means bringing the diver’s head above the water. But if by some chance it has taken a while to reach the diver and their breathing is not resuming within moments of being brought to the surface, they may have taken on water and need CPR. Promptly get them to a flat surface and perform the CPR procedure. Motion Sickness It doesn’t matter what skill level the diver is, they all tend to get a little motion sickness now and then, which can make them feel terrible. It is like having the flu when they’re not sick at all. That is why it is always good to keep a little Ginger on hand. Ginger reduces the electrical activity within the stomach and in turn reduces the contractions that cause nausea. A diver can carry Ginger around in the form of Gingersnaps, candied Ginger, and Ginger Ale, so it isn’t necessary to carry around the actual spice. This is a great alternative to medicines such as Dramamine that can have some adverse effects, which are effects you don’t want when you are going to be free-diving. Other first aid Other accidents can happen such as cuts, animal bites, and bee stings, so you want to make sure you have your basic first aid kit with a bee sting kit included. That way you have band-aids, gauze, sterile pads, antibiotic cream, medical tape, ice packs, etc. with you in the case of a general accident that requires one of those items. With this said, when free-diving, be sure to keep the symptoms of shallow water blackout in your mind as well as carry along a ginger-based food or beverage for those who get motion sickness. You can never be too careful when free-diving, but most of all it is through prevention that your free-diving adventure will be even more fruitful.

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