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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Scuba diving, safe for seniors
By Zosimo T. Literatus, R.M.T.
Breakthroughs
Age has a way of making us let go of a lot of things we love—sugary and fatty food, vigorous and physically demanding lifestyles, and even the sports we have loved all our lives. But not scuba diving!
A 2003 study, led by Heather Frederick, showed that even a gradual decline in lung function due to advanced age cannot be bad enough for elderly divers to take the plunge into the waters.
In the study, the researchers used hyperbaric (high-pressured) chambers to simulate the effects of diving at a depth of 60 feet underwater as tools to measure lung performance of elder divers as against young divers. The responses of a group of 10 healthy people, ranging in age from 19 to 39, was compared to another group of healthy older adults aged 58 to 74. None of the divers had a history of lung or heart disease.
Results, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology (February 2003), showed that older and younger divers did not differ significantly in how their lungs responded to increased water pressure (increased levels of retained carbon dioxide) both statistically and clinically.
Carbon dioxide retention is a major safety issue for scuba divers because it leads to mental confusion, seizures, and even loss of consciousness while underwater.
The study, however, did not look at the issue of decompression sickness, known among divers as “the bends,” a potentially dangerous condition that occurs when a diver comes to the surface too quickly, producing bubbles of nitrogen trapped in the bloodstream. This often results to numbness, tingling, joint pain and possible paralysis or death.
“And aged man,” wrote W. B. Yeats in the poem Sailing to Byzantium in his book The Tower, “is but a paltry thing/ A tattered coat upon a stick, unless/Soul claps its hands and sings.” This proves something very important to remember always—even old age could not keep a determined person from living in full, not to mention, from plunging into the depths of the sea. (For comments and suggestions, email to ztliteratus6046@lycos.com or text to 0927-979-3519.)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 24, 2006 issue)
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