diving with allergies

[gwilson]

A friend of mine is allergic to quite alot of food stuffs, this is all due to past medical problems which ended up with her GP and hospital Dr's prescribing alot of different pills during a period of illness. As a consequence she is now allergic to most food. So long as she eats the kinds of foods she knows is not going to affect her she is fine. In the last 2 years or so she had suffered 2 analyptic (spelling) shocks, which causes her tongue to swell. She is keen to dive however, how much of a problem is this going to cause? Obviously if she eats food she knows is not going to affect her she should be ok. Are there any diving drs north of the boarder she can talk too? She carries addrelin at all times just in case.

Gareth

[Paddy Diver]

Tis a area where alot of consideration is needed alright but if it was me I;d ask her (or doc) a few questions first like, How long would it take for an analyptic shock to set in if she did eat something she wasnt ment too? because she it was instant or almost instant (within say 5mins) then she (in my opinion) would be grand coz she wouldnt be eating out on a boat before she dived & there would be no problem,or does that sound stupid?

And is it just food she is alergic to? Anything else such as rubber or latex? Just thinking about mouthpieces and the like,then there would be an issue.

Im no medical dude but it doesnt seem to big a deal to me, maybe Im missing some major point tho.

[purple vonny]

Because she suffers from severe allergies and has had 2 episodes of anaphylaxis, she will need medical advice. It's a life threatening condition. I imagine that due to the nature of this type of allergy the answer would be "no" to diving for several reasons and the specialist who treats /monitors her would be the best person for her to speak to.

It is not jut a case of her avoiding eating certain foods and then she would be OK. If she has severe food allergy, even skin contact with someone who has eaten what she is allergic to, could cause a severe reaction. This could take from 5 minutes to a few hours to manifest itself.

[Paddy Diver]

Originally Posted by purple vonny

If she has severe food allergy, even skin contact with someone who has eaten what she is allergic to, could cause a severe reaction. This could take from 5 minutes to a few hours to manifest itself.

Ah see you do learn something new everyday, thanks Vonny.

[gwilson]

I dont think its as severe as skin contact causing a reaction. So long as she sticks to known foods then she is ok. Its more if when eating out and spices are used or any foodstuffs on a very long list then she takes a reaction from mild to needing hospital treatment. Personally my opinion is she needs medical clearance which is what i had recommended to her.

I was just wondering if anyone else on here has a similar condition after reading the threads about divers with diabetes, any various different opinions that they had been given as to whether it is safe or not.

Gareth

[MATTBIN]

Gareth,
I suffer food intolerance (rather tha severe allergic reaction), in as much that I come down with hay fever like symptoms if I eat dairy produce, so I also need to be careful what I eat. Mainly mine is controlled through diet and Beconase (nasal spray), although the reaction does take a while to come on (and control) so I dont have the severe problem your friend does. Beconase I have seen as 'recommended' for people who suffer breathing problems as it actually opens up airways and obviously helps as far as a diver is concerned.

Hope you get the info you are looking for and your friend can dive.

Matt

[Paddy Diver]

Originally Posted by gwilson

after reading the threads about divers with diabetes

Gareth

Well I'd be one of those, did take a while for me to sort of doctors & medicals but I now can dive and have a very understanding doc who does reads up on the subject (diving that is) and we stay in regular contact about various aspects of my diving. But no diabetes hasnt stopped me diving. So maybe your friend just needs time to sus it out.

Ian

[Richard Mason]

Another issue worth thinking about is what she may come into contact with in the water itself, particularly seawater which can contain all sorts of plankton and associated proteins.

Personal experience with an ex-work colleague who had a severe egg allergy was that if a foodstuff containing egg as an ingredient even touched his lips, this was enough to set him off.

[Mary]

This would need very carfeul looking at.

a) Some food allergies eg avocado are linked to latex allergies. There is enough latex on the average dive kit let alone a boat full of divers.

b) You hear some horror stories about fills (the dive shop next to the chinese restaurant springs to mind with sweet and sour pork flavoured gas).

c) what's floating around in the water. Shellfish is another common allergy that people suffer anaphylaxis with.

There seems an awful lot to go wrong, and even after using her epipen she still needs an urgent check over (and possibly further treatment) by medics.