Recommendations when practising diving

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More and more travellers are going to tropical areas to practice diving. Although it is generally a safe practice, diving accidents can be extremely serious. Furthermore, some places lack the necessary infrastructure or specialised staff for correctly attending to diving accidents.  

For these reasons, you should stay well-informed and always take caution.  

The main risks related to diving are: 

Earache

Injuries. The main injury is barotrauma, a physical injury that occurs in the body as a result of the expansion and contraction of the tissues due to the change in pressure during immersion. Barotrauma of the ear is the most common diving injury. It can cause pain, ringing in the ears, a blocked feeling and reduced hearing.  

Hyperbaric chamber

Decompression sickness. This is due to the formation of gas bubbles in the tissues or the blood vessels. The symptoms may vary depending on the degree and the location affected: chest pain, weakness or paralysis, tingling sensation, convulsions, joint pain or difficulty breathing. It is considered a medical emergency, as it can develop into permanent effects or even death if it is not urgently treated with a hyperbaric chamber.  

Leg injuries

Skin lesions due to scrapes against coral, bites, stings from jellyfish or other marine animals. The risk of the wound becoming infected, and the presence of foreign bodies such as urchin bristles or venom must be taken into consideration.  

Radiodermatitis or skin burn on the face

Sunburn, hypothermia, drowning.  

The donations that can be done through this webpage are exclusively for the benefit of Hospital Clínic of Barcelona through Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica and not for BBVA Foundation, entity that collaborates with the project of PortalClínic.

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