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Diving and Coumadin

Started by Guest_TexasStarfish_* , Jul 28 2010 11:19 AM

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7 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_TexasStarfish_*

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Posted 28 July 2010 - 11:19 AM

As many of you know I recently got my married and my husband is a certified diver, thanks to me. We went to Fiji on our honeymoon and of course went diving and he had no problems. After the trip he got a blood clot in his leg; we think it was from the kayaking trip. Now he is permanently back on coumadin and I can't find anything that says he can't dive.

A little background. He has a gene mutation that causes him to clot more easily. He has been on coumadin in the past, but got off of it because of his active lifestyle. Now we have gotten rid of the motorcycles and he is back on the anticoagulant. He is tested once a month and sees his doctor regularly. His hemotologist signed him off when I certified him last year. And we love going diving together.

I definitly think he should avoid deeper diving and we understand the increased risk he is taking. So my question to you is what do you think? And do you know anyone who dives on anticoagulants and how has it worked for him or her?

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#2 Landlocked Dive Nut

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Posted 28 July 2010 - 01:19 PM

It would be good to contact Divers Alert Network and get their 2psi on this subject....I'd be interested in hearing their input!

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#3 Guest_TexasStarfish_*

Guests

Posted 28 July 2010 - 01:22 PM

I sent them an email, just waiting on their reply. I'll let you know what they say. I know there are people out there who dive on coumadin, just don't personally know anyone.

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#4 Scubatooth

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Posted 28 July 2010 - 02:07 PM

This is straight out of DANs medical FAQ

http://www.diversale....aspx?faqid=184

Q: My doctor has started me on Warfarin (Coumadin). How will this affect my diving?

A: A diver who has been prescribed an anticoagulant, e.g., Coumadin® or Warfarin®, should be warned of the potential for bleeding: excessive bleeding can occur from even a seemingly benign ear or sinus barotrauma. There is a potential risk that, if decompression illness occurs, it may then cause significant bleeding in the brain or spinal cord. The diver must be able to equalize without difficulty. Also dive physicians would recommend conservative dive profiles to help further reduce the risk of DCI.

I have a good idea as to what the DAN medics are going to say, but contacting the medics at DAN (Dan, Brian, and Marty) is going to be your best bet, or call them between 9-5 eastern time as they can answer your questions.

The risk of bleeding an bruising associated with blood thinners is a major risk and with diving and the pressure is going to cause alot of bruising that wouldn't happen to the average person.

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#5 ScubaHawk

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Posted 29 July 2010 - 01:37 AM

I have one of the best blood docs in the biz and she told me that the coumadin wouldn't prevent me from diving and there would be little extra risk....HOWEVER she said I should not go diving anywhere more than a couple hours away from expert medical treatment due to the increased chance of bleeding. No live aboards, no out of the way places.

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#6 Guest_TexasStarfish_*

Guests

Posted 29 July 2010 - 07:56 AM

That's what we were thinking. Dive in places that are near the medical facilities "just in case."

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#7 Guest_TexasStarfish_*

Guests

Posted 29 July 2010 - 09:02 AM

This is the response from DAN:

"WARFARIN (Coumadin ®) is a highly effective drug as an anticoagulant - but it is a two-edged sword. It causes a person not to clot bleeding from even the slightest of trauma, changing an ordinarily inconsequential bruise into a major hemorrhage or hematoma. This is particularly dangerous to divers because of the hidden nature of the bleeding from barotrauma that can occur with simply descending and ascending in the water column. Barotrauma to the ears can cause marked changes and possible deafness; barotrauma to the sinuses can cause major nosebleeds and damage to the sinus walls between the sinuses and the brain and pulmonary barotrauma can cause severe hemorrhage, obstruction of bronchi and air-trapping with its’ attendant dangers for gas embolism. In addition, it has been shown to worsen spinal decompression sickness. For these reasons, dive medicine physicians feel it would be unwise for anyone to dive while taking Coumadin® or any other anti-coagulant."

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#8 Hipshot

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Posted 29 July 2010 - 07:18 PM

Victoria,

Is he being given Coumadin to make his blood clot normally? (You mentioned that he clots very easily.) Was it prescribed to normalize his clotting, or to thin his blood more than normal? For example, a lot of heart patients are given Coumadin to prevent a stroke in case of an arrhtyhmia, or abnormal heart beat, and their blood is thinner than normal, thus they tend to bleed. That may give it a different context for the DAN response. Just a thought.

Rick

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