As you learned in your open water scuba course, divers must  be neutrally buoyant. This means, while you’re diving, you don’t float up to the surface and you don’t sink down to the bottom. Here are  some reasons to have a good buoyancy :

Protects both you and the marine environment. If you don’t have control over your buoyancy, you could crash into delicate corals or land on a sea urchin.Improves your air consumption and reduces fatigue. When you’re neutrally buoyant, you don’t have to work so hard to maintain your position in the water.Helps you control your ascent and decent rates which will decrease your risk of decompression sickness.Increases your confidence in the water and massively improves your overall diving experience.If you have ambitions to become a wreck or cave diver, mastering your buoyancy is a top priorityTo master any skill, you need to know the fundamental principles. In the water your body displaces the surrounding liquid, exactly like when you sink in a bath and the water level goes up. Your body is pushed up by a force equal to the weight of the water your body is displacing. Neutral buoyancy is the point where the weight of your body and all its equipment pushing you down is equal to the weight of the water your body has displaced, it’s a fine balancing act.

There are four keys to perfecting buoyancy: trim, weighting, breathing, and BCD use. Master all four and you too will become a master of buoyancy.Trim is a flat and steady position in the water, also known as the prone position. To achieve this, you need to be in the most efficient position in the water: body completely flat, with the knees bent at 90 degrees, and your fins pointing backwards. This position is ideal since you present the least surface area, which leads to the most streamlined position. When combined with proper frog kicks, this position allows you to simply kick and glide with all the power from your kick strokes being directed backwards.Proper weighting is the second key to perfect buoyancy. Many novice divers are too heavy underwater. All the extra weight they are carrying means they must compensate for it by putting air into their BCD. It is much better to drop those extra pounds and dive with the correct weight.

To find out if you are weighted correctly, follow this simple check. On the surface, you should float at eye level with a totally empty BCD. When you inhale, you should rise out of the water, and when you exhale deeply, you should sink until your eyes are submerged. Adjust your weights and perform weight checks until you are perfectly weighted.Using your lungs, you can make minor buoyancy changes without the need to inflate or deflate your BCD.When you breathe in and out, you are effectively adding or taking air out of your overall buoyancy balance. If you want to drop a little in the water, just exhale a little more than normal. On the other hand, if you want to rise in the water column, then inhale a little more deeply than usual. In either case, once you’ve executed the manoeuvre before returning to normal breathing, you’ll maintain your new position in the water column.Divers should be aware they can’t keep repeating this process endlessly, eventually they’ll have to adjust the buoyancy in their BCD by either inflating or deflating. Never hold your breath! Remember to breathe continuously.

Learning to use your BCD perfectly does take some time, until you develop a ‘feel’ for it. The most important aspect to using a BCD is not to confuse the inflate and deflate buttons for up and down button respectively. It might sound counterintuitive to beginners, but they are the opposite! You add air as you descend to maintain neutral or slightly negative buoyancy, and you release air when ascending to maintain depth control and stay neutrally buoyant.The second mistake inexperienced divers make is pressing the buttons for too long. You should only use short presses of both the inflate and deflate buttons. Try for no more than about half a second of inflation and about a second of deflation. You can always repeat the press until you hit the point you want.Long applications in either direction will regularly take you past your neutral point, resulting in yo-yo diving, and force you to take corrective action. Also make some holes in your boots can help to the buoyancy ( the air get trap on the boots ,especially if are thick boots )  

Is your scuba diving equipment blowing bubbles or making a hissing noise? Then you might be losing more air than you think. Small leaks are normal and rarely amount to more than one breath per hour, but a larger leak could be dangerous or drain your tank at a quick rate.If you’re rushed before your dive, you’ll likely carry that franticness underwater  meaning you’ll breath heavier than normal. Keep your cool by arriving to the dive site with enough time to check in for your dive briefing and arrange your equipment.Do you really need that dive light, selfie stick, and spare snorkel for this dive? Remember, too many lead weights mean an overinflated BCD which of course leads to more drag.Test and purchase a pair of fins that will allow you to kick further with less effort. When we’re nervous or afraid, we tend take shorter, inefficient breaths, this uses more air. One way to practice breathing techniques is to meditate. You can do this by spending just a few minutes a day by sitting in silence and focusing on your breath or by practicing yoga. When we’re fit, our bodies are capable of handling physical activity more efficiently, allowing us to take deep, oxygen-rich breaths. Run, swim, dance, or do whatever activity is fun for you work out with at least thirty minutes per day.Whether you’re waiting for your buddies or swimming to an anchor line, there’s likely to be a lot of time spent at the surface where you’ll want to breathe through your regulator. Use your snorkel instead.Cold bodies need more energy to stay warm. The more energy you need, the more oxygen you use. Invest in the right wetsuit for your dive to keep your precious energy from being wasted. 

Novice divers might assume that frequent, shallow breaths are better for diving. After all, it’s like taking little bites of a pie instead of feasting on it, right? Wrong. Long, deep breathes allow more oxygen to get to your lungs and therefore bloodstream. Shallow breathes also create fatigue, meaning that you’ll eventually breathe more to catch up.

The faster you swim, the more air you’ll use. Interestingly, the Elements of Physical Oceanography notes that someone swimming twice as fast have four times as much drag and use up to eight times more energy! Slow down by minimizing movements, going with currents, and remaining calm.Neutral buoyancy is key to using less air. When we’re too heavy or too light, we often fiddle with our BCDs, kick, and flail around to get under control. Getting to neutral buoyancy should be a priority for every dive. The more you focus on it, the better you’ll become. Remember all those physics facts you learned during your open water course? The deeper you dive, the more air you use. Though this isn’t always possible to control depending on your dive site, if you have a sloping reef, stay towards the shallower end to use less air.

When swimming, use your fins rather than your arms. This makes sense when we look at how small our hands are in comparison to our fins. Which has more surface volume and power? Kicking gets you further, using less energy. When kicking, pull your hands to your torso instead of letting them dangle behind or out to the side.

The best way to reduce air consumption while diving is by diving frequently. Experienced divers are generally calmer, more confident, and are more skilled at staying neutrally buoyant. Take an advanced course or make a pact with a dive buddy to go on a regular basis. The more practice you have, the less air you’ll use.

Having a clear understanding of what nitrogen narcosis is is an important thing divers can do for their own safety.Nitrogen narcosis is an alteration in consciousness that occurs while diving a depth.

Narcosis is a Greek word that is derived from narke, which means temporary decline or loss of senses and movement, numbness. Divers commonly refer to the experience of this altered state of mind as “getting narked” or “feeling narked.”

Nitrogen Narcosis is caused by dissolved gas in the body. Breathing nitrogen at a high partial pressure seems to be the main contributor. Partial pressures of the gases we breathe increase with depth, so remember that as you descend deeper and deeper on a dive, the partial pressure of the nitrogen you are breathing is increasing more and more.

Though nitrogen narcosis is an ever-present factor for scuba divers, it is most common for divers to begin to feel some effects beginning around 100 feet/30 meters. This is why it tends to be a larger consideration in planning for deeper dives, or dives past 66 feet/20 meters.

Divers do seem to have varying susceptibility to nitrogen narcosis, however, and it can be experienced at shallower depths, so it is always important to pay attention to your actions underwater, as well as your buddy’s.However, cases of noticeable nitrogen narcosis are extremely rare on shallow dives or dives less than 60 feet/20 meters. Remembering that partial pressure is directly proportional to depth, staying shallow is your best strategy on how to easily prevent feeling the effects of nitrogen narcosis. 

Luckily, the effects of nitrogen narcosis do not get worse after about two minutes at a given depth. Narcosis can be safely handled underwater and having it does not necessarily mean that your dive needs to end.

Same symptoms are :  

    Poor coordination

    Loss of decision making ability

    Slow reaction to signals

    Holding regulator in mouth

    Taking regulator out of mouth

    Loss of dexterity

    Anxiety

    Foolish behavior

    Over confident – disregard for safety

    Feeling drunk/ giddy

    Feeling euphoric

    Loss of balance

    Forgetfulness

    Fixation on thoughts

    Tunnel vision

The effects of nitrogen narcosis are not life threatening if caught early on and managed. The real danger of this altered state of mind comes from poor decision making.

Like we said earlier, the symptoms are close to those of being drunk. You may loose coordination, your ability to focus or short-term memory. Some divers feel sleepy. None of these effects are safe for being over 100 feet under the sea.

The good news is nitrogen narcosis is easily reversible. If you experience “the rapture of the deep” or notice it in your buddy follow these steps to make sure you stay safe while scuba diving.

You should do :

Let your buddy know. What’s the hand signal for I’m narked? It’s the same as the crazy sign. Move your index finger in circles at the side of your head. Slowly ascend to a shallower depth with your buddy.Stay at your new depth and wait for the effects to subside. Stay calm, it’s very normal. Often, divers feeling nitrogen narcosis symptoms find their heads clear if they ascend as little as 10 feet/3 meters. Patience and communication with your buddy will be key at this stage.

be confident and determine your limits -get extra training

descend slowly -plan your dive & dive your plan-dive safety

One of the most important rules in scuba diving is to breathe continuously and never hold your breath.In basic scuba training, you are taught that you must avoid holding your breath underwater and trapping air in your lungs. If you ascend while holding your breath, your lungs could expand ("explode") as the air expands. This is known as a pulmonary barotrauma.Just explaining this is often enough to frighten students into following the rule, but the details of what happens to a diver's lungs when they over-expand are usually glossed over. For example, did you know that other conditions and actions besides holding your breath can cause lung over-expansion?

Barotrauma refers to a pressure-related injury. The word pulmonary refers to your lungs. A pulmonary barotrauma may also be called: lung over-expansion, burst lungs, or exploded lungs.

May Occur on a Small Scale

The term "exploded lungs" makes a pulmonary barotrauma sound like a very dramatic injury, but it isn't very likely your lungs are actually going to explode. The alternate names for pulmonary barotraumas make the condition seem catastrophic, but pulmonary barotraumas more often occur on a nearly microscopic level.

At depth, air is caught in the tiny air sacs (called alveoli) where gas exchange takes place in a diver's lungs. These air sacs are made of extremely thin and fragile tissue. If air is trapped in the sacs as a diver ascends, it will expand from the change in pressure and burst the sacs like many tiny balloons. This air escapes from the lungs and causes various types of damage depending upon where it travels.

Pressure Change

Very small changes in pressure can cause a pulmonary barotrauma. Because the lungs' air sacs are so tiny and thin, even the pressure that occurs over a few feet can cause injury if air is trapped in the lungs. Divers should remember that the greatest pressure change underwater is near the surface, so all divers, regardless of depth, are at risk. Pulmonary barotraumas have even been documented in swimming pools.

Who Is at Risk

All divers are at risk. Pulmonary barotraumas are caused by expanding air trapped in the lungs and are not related to depth, dive time, or the amount of nitrogen a diver has absorbed underwater.

Actions and Conditions That Cause a Pulmonary Barotrauma

There are three main causes of pulmonary barotrauma:

-Breath Holding

If a diver holds his breath and ascends as little as 3-5 feet, he is at risk for a pulmonary barotrauma. While most divers know they the shouldn't hold their breath underwater, panic, out-of-air situations, sneezing, and even coughing can cause a diver to inadvertently hold his breath underwater. Remember that underwater, the simple act of holding your breath will frequently cause you to become positively buoyant and ascend, so it is best to avoid breath-holding while scuba diving.

-Rapid Ascents

The faster a diver ascends, the more rapidly the air in his lungs will expand. At a certain point, the air will expand rapidly enough that it can not efficiently exit a diver's lungs, and some of the expanding air will become trapped in his lungs.

-Pre-Existing Lung Conditions

Any condition that can block and trap air in the lungs can lead to pulmonary barotrauma. Even conditions such as asthma, which only partially obstructs air from exiting the lungs can prevent expanding air from exiting the lungs efficiently on ascent. This includes temporary conditions, such as bronchitis or a cold, and permanent conditions such as scars, fibrosis, and tuberculosis. Aspiring divers with a history of lung problems should undergo a full medical exam by a doctor knowledgeable in diving medicine before undertaking scuba diving.

Scroll down for a more complete list of medical conditions that predispose divers to pulmonary barotrauma.

Main Types

Pulmonary barotrauma can manifest in several different ways.

-Arterial Gas Embolism (AGE)

If the thin wall of the lungs' air sacs rupture, air can escape into the small blood vessels in the lungs' tissues. From there, the tiny air bubble travels to the heart, where it is pumped to any of several places, such as the arteries of the heart and brain. As the diver continues to ascend, the tiny bubble of air will continue to expand until it becomes too big to fit through an artery and is trapped. An air bubble trapped in an artery blocks blood flow, cutting off the oxygen supply to organs and tissues. In extreme cases, an air bubble in the heart's arteries can cause cardiac arrest, and an air bubble in the brain's arteries can mimic the symptoms of a stroke.

-Emphysema

A burst air sac can also force expanding air into the tissues surrounding the lungs. There are two main kinds of emphysema caused by pulmonary barotrauma:

Mediastinal emphysema - Air is forced into the tissues surrounding the heart and trachea. Characterized by pain under the sternum, in the chest, and shortness of breath.

 Subcutaneous emphysema - Air is forced into the space under the skin around the neck and collarbone. There is a characterized "crunchiness" under the skin around the neck and collarbone.

Pneumothorax

Pneumothorax is perhaps the most dramatic of all the manifestations of pulmonary barotrauma. In pneumothorax, air from the burst lung expands into the pleural cavity, or the area between the lungs and chest walls. As the expanding air pushes against the lungs' thin tissues, it exerts pressure which collapses the ruptured lung. X-rays of pneumothorax show the area once occupied by the lung almost completely filled with air, with the deflated lung compressed to a fraction of its original size. In extreme cases, expanding air on one side of the lung cavity can exert pressure on the heart, trachea, and other lung, causing a tension pneumothorax. This pressure can be so extreme that it visibly distorts the trachea, stops the heart, or collapses the second lung.

Medical Conditions That Predispose a Diver

Both temporary and permanent conditions can predispose divers to pulmonary barotrauma by completely or partially obstructing expanding air from exiting the lungs. Here are some examples of conditions that can cause barotrauma.

Temporary conditions - Bronchitis, respiratory tract infections, congestion from allergies, active asthma

 Permanent conditions - Scarred lung tissue, fibrosis, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, lung abscesses, damage from severe pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, persistent asthma, tumors, calcified glands, mucous obstructions from heavy smoking

 BLEBS - Research indicates that BLEBs, balloon-like extensions of the lungs air sacs, BLEBs are believed to reduce the lungs' elasticity. They release air more slowly during exhalation than the lungs' air sacs. As a diver with BLEBs ascends, expanding air may not be able to exit the BLEBs rapidly enough, and some expanding air may become trapped in the BLEB, causing it to burst. BLEBs are normally found in chronic smokers but have been observed in non-smokers as well. Divers may be tested for BLEBs using breathing tests, x-rays, and CT scans.

Can Be Distinguished From Other Decompression Illness

While many symptoms of pulmonary barotrauma are similar to those of decompression sickness, pulmonary barotrauma can be distinguished from other dive-related injuries because its effects are immediate, which is not the case with the majority of decompression sickness incidents. According to scuba-doc.com,

"Out of 24 cases of pulmonary barotrauma in United States Navy divers, symptoms of pulmonary barotrauma appeared in 9 cases while the diver was still ascending underwater, in 11 cases within one minute of the diver reaching the surface, and in 4 cases within 3-10 minutes of the diver reaching the surface."

This seems to indicate that if a diver surfaces with chest pain, stroke-like symptoms, immediately falls unconscious, or manifests other symptoms within a minute or two of surfacing, pulmonary barotrauma should be suspected.

Prevention

Never hold your breath underwater.

Ascend slowly. Most training organizations recommend an ascent rate of less than 30 feet per minute.

 Don't dive with pre-existing medical conditions that are known to cause pulmonary barotrauma. If you are unsure whether you are fit to dive, get a diving fitness exam from a qualified physician.

 Don't dive if you are likely to panic underwater. This frequently leads to inadvertent breath holding and rapid ascents.

 Follow good diving practices such as monitoring your air supply to avoid out-of-air and low-on-air situations; practice good buoyancy and properly weight yourself to avoid uncontrolled ascents; use well-maintained gear; and dive with a good buddy who can assist you in case of an equipment failure or other emergency.

By now, you have probably heard the acronym DCS used in conversations quite a bit and remember that it is often referred to as “the bends.” DCS happens if you go up too fast from a dive ,but there’s a lot more to it. Reacquainting yourself with the specifics of decompression sickness (DCS) is always a good idea before a dive trip because, if recognized quickly, it can be treatable.Decompression Sickness is a disorder caused by nitrogen bubbles forming in body tissues and the bloodstream. DCS occurs when you ascend from deeper water to shallower water in too short of a period of time. As you dive on an air tank, you breathe compressed air made up of about 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. Your body uses the air, but stores the nitrogen in your tissue and blood. As you ascend, the nitrogen begins to come out of solution.If you follow your dive table/dive computer’s limits and make a slow ascent, this process is usually harmless. However, diving past your limits by staying at depth longer than your No-Decompression Limit, ascending faster than 30 feet per minute or skipping required safety stops can cause nitrogen to leave your blood and tissues too quickly, forming nitrogen bubbles and causing DCS.Decompression sickness can have a variety of results. Depending on where the nitrogen bubbles move to and what area of the body is affected, DCS damage can range from everything from fatigue to minor joint or muscle pain – referred to as “the bends”- to unconsciousness and death. Here are the most common signs and symptoms of DCS

  Pain, particularly near the joint 

   Numbness or paresthesia

   Constitutional concerns such as headache, lightheadedness, unexplained fatigue,    malaise, nausea and/or vomiting, or anorexia

    Dizziness or vertigo

    Motor weakness

    Cutaneous, or skin, problems such as an itch, rash, or mottling (“cutis marmorata”)

    Muscle discomfort

    Impaired mental status

    Pulmonary problems such as breathing difficulties (“the chokes”)

    Impaired coordination

    Reduced level of consciousness

    Auditory symptoms such as hearing sounds that are not there or having a hard time hearing

    Lymphatic concerns such as regional swelling

    Bladder or bowel dysfunction such as retention of urine

    Compromised cardiovascular function

If you or your dive buddy think you may be predisposed to DCS or you are diving on the edge of the recommended limits, keep an eye out for these decompression sickness symptoms and report them to your dive company and/or boat captain as soon as you notice them! here are some factors and situations that put certain people more at risk for decompression sickness than others.

Some factors that may contribute to DCS are:

-Cold Water: Circulation to extremities reduces as a diver gets cooler during a dive, slowing nitrogen elimination from those areas.

- Dehydration: Being dehydrated reduces blood circulation, making nitrogen elimination slower.

-Injuries/Illness: These may alter or restrict circulation leading to localized areas where nitrogen isn’t eliminated as rapidly.

-Excess Fat Cells: Nitrogen is released from fat more slowly than muscle.

-Age: As you get older, the circulatory system can slow down, making gas get exchanged at a slower rate.

-Alcohol: Drinking before or after diving alters circulation patterns, dilates capillaries and promotes dehydration, all of which can alter nitrogen elimination and bubble formation.

- Excess Carbon Dioxide: Skip breathing may raise carbon dioxide levels altering circulation and gas exchange.

- Heavy Exercise: Diving can accelerate circulation so more nitrogen than normal dissolves into body. After a dive, exercise accelerates circulation altering nitrogen elimination.

-Altitude/Flying: Dive tables/computers are based on surfacing at sea level, thus exposure to lower pressure increases the tissue pressure gradient and may cause large bubbles to form – returning to sea level doesn’t usually alleviate the bubbles once formed. The good news is that decompression sickness is usually treatable. The sooner you get medical attention, the less likely there will be permanent effects from the DCS. The bad news is that besides minor cases of cutaneous DCS, or “skin bends,” you will probably land in a hyperbaric chamber.

The first aid and first level of care for any DCS is the same and should always be treated seriously. The affected person needs to lie down on their left side, head supported. You can grab a boat seat cushion or have another diver sit cross legged supporting the victim’s head & neck. The person needs to be put on 100% O2 and rest. The patient should NOT sit up or move around, even if they feel better. Emergency services should be contacted right away.

For most cases, the patient will be taken to a hyperbaric chamber. In this chamber, the patient will be put back under pressure in a specialized room and given pure oxygen to breath. This pressure allows the nitrogen to be reabsorbed into the tissue and slowly released. It is the only way to treat severe DCS.

Under NO circumstances should you try to reverse the effects of DCS by re-submerging under water! Even if you use 100% oxygen, the recompression process can take hours. Going back to depth in an attempt to reverse the DCS can make matters worse and make it impossible for medical professionals to treat you.The dive limits you learned in your open water course were created to make scuba diving as safe as possible. Following those initial guidelines on how to prevent decompression sickness on EVERY DIVE is the key to having a safe diving experience.

Things to Remember on Every Dive:

-Deep diving allows for less time at depth. Plan your dives before you get in the water and stay well within recreational dive limits.

-Ascend very slowly, making sure to go up slower than 30 feet/5 meters per minute. Ensure buoyancy control by releasing some air from your BCD before you begin ascent.

-Safety stops are created for you to off-gas nitrogen. It’s best to take a safety stop at 15 feet/5 meters EVERY dive. Even if you aren’t required to stop, it’s always a good idea to take one.

-Begin your ascent with MORE than enough air in your tank for your safety stop. Be a great diver by planning to have enough air to donate to another diver if they need it in to complete their safety stop too!

-Take extra time on safety stops after repeat, deep, strenuous, or cold water dives, and make sure all ascents are slow and controlled.

-If available, hold onto a descent line or hang bar to ensure you stay at proper depth for your safety stop. Since your scuba tank will have less air at the end of the dive, it gets lighter, making it harder to stay neutrally buoyant during your safety stop.

-If you are feel you are floating away towards the surface during your safety stop, make sure you deflate your BCD completely. Air can get stuck in the corners of your BCD, so situate yourself upright, and don’t forget to learn about and use your dump valves.

-Be sure to avoid strenuous exercise directly before or after any dive.

-Learn about your dive computer before you use it.

-Abstain from alcohol around dive times.

- Be honest with yourself about your health. Shallow diving is best if you feel you may be at risk for DCS.

Major dive organizations such as PADI and the Divers Alert Network (DAN) suggest a fixed time for flying after diving. If you have done several recreational no-decompression dives in a row, you should wait 18 hours until you fly. This is from the time when you exit the water until the time when you board the plane. 

Give yourself plenty of time to off-gas the nitrogen build-up in your body. This is especially important if you have done repeated dives over several days, like on a liveaboard dive trip.

If you’ve only done one no-decompression dive, wait at least 12 hours until you fly.The main concern with scuba diving and flying is decompression sickness. It was one of the first things you learned in your Open Water course. By scuba diving and flying soon after, increase your risk of Decompression Sickness (DCS) or “the bends” due to decreased ambient pressure on the plane. 

Decompression Sickness is caused nitrogen bubbles forming in the bloodstream and tissues of the body. When you go scuba diving, you descend below the surface of the ocean, where there’s an increase in the pressure around you. During your dive, nitrogen is absorbed into your body tissues and bloodstream from the air you are breathing in proportion to the pressure surrounding you.

If you stay at pressure, the nitrogen in your body tissues is not an issue. As you ascend, the built up nitrogen becomes tiny bubbles and leaves your body. If you are diving within recreational dive limits, this should happen at a safe rate with low risk of injury.  

However, if the pressure around you is reduced too fast, the nitrogen comes out of solution and creates bubbles in the bloodstream and tissues. Divers get decompression sickness from having large nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream which can cause major injuries. If you fly directly after diving, the decreased ambient pressure in the plane has the same effect as ascending too quickly from a dive. It can cause residual nitrogen in your blood to come out of solution too rapidly, creating large nitrogen bubbles in your blood stream.Scuba diving and flying soon after is not always going to cause serious injuries. That being said, the risk you take by not waiting the suggested amount of time is a big one with decompression sickness symptoms ranging from pain in the joints all the way to an untimely death. 

As the ambient pressure decreases on your flight, the nitrogen begins to dissipate quicker. This causes the nitrogen bubbles to get bigger and bigger. They then become trapped in your body and can travel through your blood system. This leads to blocking of vital functions. 

Injuries such as numbness, paralysis, circulatory shock and disorders of higher cerebral function have been documented due to Decompression Sickness.

Remember, you can’t just call for help and get taken to a doctor or chamber facility if you start to experience symptoms of “the bends” mid-flight. You’ll have to wait to get medical attention until you land. This will make the injuries more severe over time.Asking yourself if you are fit enough to scuba dive is one of the first things divers should do for their own safety. Being out of shape or having pre-existing health issues can increase your risk of DCS. This is true not with just scuba diving and flying, but diving in general. Diving when you are tired, dehydrated, or stressed out can make it harder for your body to expel nitrogen.

All modern dive computers take into account a recommended no-fly time. If you use a dive computer, it will calculate a conservative surface interval for you.  Before you go on your holiday, read the manual of your dive computer, and make adjustments if necessary.

You may also want to bring/download the manual for questions that come up while you are on your trip. While you’ve got the manual out, make sure you are fresh on the rate of ascent indicator and no-decompression limit time, which will help you follow a safe dive plan.

Alcohol can have effects on the body up to 24 hours after consumption and can negatively impact your ability to dissipate nitrogen, especially if you begin drinking right after your last dive.

The deeper you dive and the closer you come to your No-Decompression Limits (NDL), the greater your risk of DCS. Do so, you’re accumulating more nitrogen on each dive than if you were to dive more conservatively.

These dives can be safe and fun, just try to organize them towards the beginning of your dive vacation. Deeper dives or longer dives should be scheduled for when you first arrive. Leave your shallower and easier dives for the last day or two of your trip.