Medical Forum
This not an emergency service, in case of a diving incident, please contact your local Coastguard, nearest recompression chamber or emergency services.

All questions are answered by Dr Oliver Firth, one of the doctors at the London Diving Chamber. Dr Firth has had a wide variety of experience as a doctor in both the UK and Australia. He writes regularly for ‘Sport Diver’ Magazine and gives talk on hyperbaric medicine.

Because of the confidential and sensitive nature of advice given in the medical forum, questions DO NOT post direct to the forum page but are sent to the doctor for his comment and reply. Once a reply has been sent, both the question and answer will post to the forum page.

Questions are shown in Red and the answer from Dr Firth is shown in Blue. Once an answer is posted, it is then possible for other users to post additional comments, these are shown in black.

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Last Post
Question - Are there any restrictions to diving after artificial disc replacement surgery? I
I had the surgery 5 years ago (ActivL disc at L5/S1) and apart from some occcasional back pain, usually brought on by too little activity rather t ...
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23 July Friday, 6:51 PM
Question - Learning to dive - After Spinal Surgery
Hi, About 6.5 years ago I had Spinal Fusion to treat Scoliosis. After about 1-2 years post op my Surgeon lifted all restrictions. He informed ...
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19 July Monday, 2:01 PM
Question - Wanting to get my PADI Open Water Cert but have a question about some recent surgary i have had.
Hi There, I have a copy of the PADI medical form and answer no to all the questions, but would like to make sure. Recently i was a victim o ...
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9 July Friday, 3:43 PM
Question - Hello. I have just been diagnosed with bronchitis. What are the implications for my diving career and what sort of questions should I be asking my GP
I am a 35 year old male diving instructor. I smoke approx.5-10 cigarettes a day (hopefully now stopping totally) I am generally of good health. I ...
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6 July Tuesday, 10:07 AM
Question - How effective is a hyperbaric chamber for the recovery of bone fractures?
This is for an Extended Project Qualification I am doing in school on sports injuries and treatments Thanks
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2 July Friday, 3:00 PM
Question - Return to Diving with very mild Asthma is there anything I should be awaer of?
I have not dived for 5 years and would like to do some refresher training on holiday this year. I was/am a PADI rescue diver with 100 logged dives ...
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8 June Tuesday, 5:03 PM
Question - My husband has just had surgery for the removal of his stomach due to cancer., After surgery he developed a chest infection which in turn caused a ...
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7 June Monday, 4:28 PM
Question - Hi Doc, After having several pieces of shrapnel removed from my brain and some which had to be left in there, and a large titanium plate screwed o ...
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27 May Thursday, 4:45 PM
Question - how to prevent getting water in the ears
Would it be ok if i use an ear plugg while diving? I am fedup with getting water in my middle ear and then wait 2 weeks for it to get better.
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10 May Monday, 12:53 AM
Question - I have been taking citalopram for several months for work rlated stress and anxiety, my gp has changed the medication to Venlafaxine. I am hoping ...
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28 April Wednesday, 3:52 PM
Question - Can a carrier with antitrypsin defeciency dive safle o is the depth restricted?
I have never dived this is for my daughter (12 yrs) who wishes to join diving club at local pool. Many thanks
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26 April Monday, 1:28 PM
Question - Return to diving after Spontaneous Pneumothorax?
Dr Firth, Having dived in perfect health for 11 years (stand fast one foolish bend due to dehydration), I suffered a non-diving related spontan ...
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12 April Monday, 1:14 PM
Question - Best method of treatment for meniscus tear to be able to continue diving for years to come?
I've seen a doctor about my knee and they believe that i've possibly torn my meniscus. x-rays have been taken and I've been referred to specialist ...
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7 April Wednesday, 11:49 AM
Question - HSE Diver medical. I need one todo my PADI Instructor exam. Can anyone tell me the best place to get it? Money and quality wise? Thanks
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25 March Thursday, 4:04 PM
Question - My wife is booked to come diving with me in Barbados and we have happily just discovered she is pregnant. I know there are mosquitos and other bit ...
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12 March Friday, 10:13 AM
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Disclaimer:
The views expressed by Dr Firth & Dr Jules are their own and the publishers accept no liability for the advice and views expressed by Dr Firth , Dr Jules, or other users, which are provided as a general service to divers. Users are warned that secondary posts are the views of other users and may not be medically correct.