Many of those who engage in diving in Cebu are jetsetters. These are people who love to travel, staying in the area for a couple of days before heading to the next destination. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that unless you’re thinking about diving.

One of the golden rules in diving is to make sure that you don’t fly so soon after you’ve come out of the waters, and this article will tell you why.

The Culprit That Is Decompression

A lot of people think that they breathe in nitrogen only when they dive. That’s not entirely true as the atmosphere itself is made up of lots of nitrogen. In fact, as you read this, you are breathing it. But diving puts a person in a peculiar situation because of the tank.

The tank is usually filled with oxygen and nitrogen – yes, the same components that make up breathable air – so you can survive under the water for long periods. However, so you won’t encounter problems with these gases, they must at least be balanced in terms of partial pressure.

Yet as you go deeper, the amount of nitrogen that enters the body starts to decompress. You can just picture nitrogen from the air and the tank squeezed by a block in all directions, which may stand for increased pressure primarily due to water depth. As more nitrogen occupies the body, the more it becomes saturated and fills every available space.

For this reason, a person needs to ascend slowly to decompress and allow nitrogen to properly get out of the body. Otherwise, a fast ascent can lead to bubbles forming into the tissues, causing bends and other symptoms, which can be life threatening such as damage to the central nervous system.

But Why Can’t You Fly Immediately?

Decompression is also one of the main reasons why divers are, as much as possible, advised not to fly at least within the next 24 hours or at least a day more. This to make sure that you’re giving your body enough time to decompress after Cebu diving and avoid complications.

What About Diving After Flying?

Hopefully, we’ve established why it’s not a good idea to fly immediately after diving. But what about if it’s the other way around—that is, flying before diving? Should you have to wait for a few hours or days after you land before you hit the water’s depth?

In general, the answer is no, because decompression doesn’t happen that way. Besides, the amount of inert gas you take in during flying is significantly lower than that when you’re underneath the sea.

Nevertheless, flying before diving can still affect the latter in other ways including increasing your level of physical and mental stress, decreasing your alertness. This can potentially put you in a very tight spot when you’re already diving.

Simply put, don’t dive yet unless you can personally attest your body and mind are ready to do so. If you’re suffering from jet lag, wait for a day and spend your time upon arrival relaxing.