Kota Kinabalu: Scuba divers should review essential underwater safety practices following the recent death of a 31-year-old woman off Pulau Tioman, whose post-mortem confirmed the cause of death as arterial gas embolism (AGE).
Sabah Dive Squad Club medical adviser Dr Eugene Tan said AGE is a serious injury caused when expanding air tears lung tissue and enters the bloodstream during an ascent, potentially blocking blood flow to the brain or heart.
He advised divers to breathe continuously while ascending, exhale throughout a rapid emergency ascent, ascend slower than their breath bubbles, keep their ascent rate below nine to 18 metres per minute and make a three-minute safety stop at a depth of five metres.
Dr Tan also stressed the importance of the buddy system, advising divers to maintain close contact, search for a separated buddy for no more than one minute before making a slow ascent to regroup at the surface and avoid diving if they have asthma, chest infections or lung congestion.
The internal medicine specialist at the Kota Kinabalu Regional Armed Forces Hospital in Sepanggar said a diver who surfaces confused or unconscious should be given 100 per cent oxygen immediately, laid flat and transported urgently to a hyperbaric chamber.
