Diving hazards

Diving hazards are potential dangers or conditions that can pose a threat to the safety of divers. These hazards can be environmental, physiological, or due to the equipment used in diving.

Environmental Hazards

Environmental hazards are those that are present in the diving environment. These can include:

• Ocean currents: These can carry divers away from their intended location, making it difficult to return to the surface or to their boat.
• Marine life: Some marine creatures can be dangerous if provoked or threatened. This includes sharks, jellyfish, and certain types of coral.
• Underwater visibility: Poor visibility can disorient divers and make it difficult to navigate or identify hazards.
• Cold water: Diving in cold water can lead to hypothermia, a potentially life-threatening condition.

Physiological Hazards

Physiological hazards are those that are related to the physical effects of diving on the body. These can include:

• Decompression sickness: This occurs when a diver ascends too quickly, causing nitrogen bubbles to form in the body's tissues.
• Nitrogen narcosis: This is a state of confusion or impaired judgement caused by breathing nitrogen under pressure.
• Oxygen toxicity: This can occur when a diver breathes oxygen at high pressure, leading to seizures or lung damage.
• Barotrauma: This is injury caused by changes in pressure, such as ear or sinus damage.

Equipment Hazards

Equipment hazards are those that are related to the use of diving equipment. These can include:

• Equipment failure: This can include failure of the diving regulator, buoyancy compensator, or dive computer.
• Entanglement: Divers can become entangled in their own equipment, or in underwater objects such as fishing nets or marine debris.
• Incorrect use of equipment: This can lead to a variety of problems, such as incorrect buoyancy control or failure to monitor air supply.

See Also

• Scuba diving
• Diving safety
• Diving medicine