Non rebreather masks available in Fiji

This disposable mask provides oxygen for breathing persons who cannot tolerate demand-valve oxygen regulators or when two divers need emergency oxygen.

Adult Nonrebreathing Mask (also called Constant-flow, non-rebreather mask)

• Low-resistance check valves prevent rebreathing and allow exhaled gas to escape
• Clear, soft vinyl for patient comfort and visual patient assessment
• Complete with 7-ft. oxygen supply tubing
• Adjustable nose clip assures comfortable fit

As a reminder, this mask should be used with/on the constant flow barb of your regulator with a MINIMUM setting of 15 lpm to try to maintain a high concentration of inspired oxygen.

Only F$20.00 each + VAT (plus shipping $5 within Fiji)

This mask consists of a mask that has a reservoir bag attached. The bag is separated from the mask by a one-way valve that prevents air and patient exhalation from diluting the oxygen in the reservoir bag. When the patient inhales, the valve opens and the patient breathes primarily oxygen. There are also one-way valves that cover the holes on the mask to allow patient exhalation to escape without allowing large quantities of air to enter the mask.

These masks have this one-way valve on both sides of the mask. Care must be taken beacause if both sides are covered and gas flow ceases, then the patient will not be able to breathe because the valves keep air from entering during inhalation.

The common high oxygen concentration mask has a one -way valve on only one side so that if gas flow ceases, the patient can still breathe.

At a minimum oxygen flow of 15 L/min, as long as the reservoir bag is kept filled and a good seal is maintained, this mask can deliver 60 - 75% oxygen to the patient

But remember, for denitrogenation we need the highest possible concentration of oxygen, so, although this system is better than nothing, all efforts should be made to supply accident management kit with a demand system.

Contact Stuart at Stuart@ResortSupportFiji.com or call +679-336-3625.

The new Alert Diver Magazine is online!

The new Alert Diver Magazine is online!

You will find, as usual, interesting articles on Dive Medicine and important information on Dive Safety.
Alert Diver Magazine, authoritative, reliable, unbiased!

In this issue:

• Medical Line: Cardiovascular Fitness and Diving Diet and Exercise Go A Long Way,
  But Watch Your Medications, Too
• Dive Medicine: Body Composition. BMI Values Increase With Mass - Whether It’s Due to Fat or Muscle
  
• Events: DAN underwater at Legoland Germany with British scientist Lloyd Godson
  
• SPECIAL INSERT of the DAN Legal Network: “The Good Samaritan's Law across Europe”
  

Grab your copy here

DAN DIVERS DAY in Graz, Austria on September 7th 2008

Dear Diver,


As you might have read before, DAN Europe is organising a free DAN DIVERS DAY in Austria on September 7th 2008.

Speakers for this event are internationally known DAN area directors and diving medicine experts. They will present dive safety, diving medicine, and other dive-related topics of interest to the scuba diving community in the main auditorium at the Graz University Hospital.

We are pleased to inform you that the registrations for this event are now open.

A detailed program and more info about the DAN DAY can be found on our online “events” page, or you can click here to access this page directly. You can register for this congress online, using your “MY DAN” page at our website (www.daneurope.org).

If you did not register as a user on our website yet, you will first need to do this in order to get access to your personal “MY DAN” page.

In your “MY DAN” page you will not only be able to register for this free congress, but you also will have the possibility to book one or more of the optional services like a certificate of participation, lunch packet and/or headset for the simultaneous translations (English-German, German-English).

The official language of the congress is English. Therefore the info about the congress will be available only in English and German ( the language of the country where the congress is held).

We also would like to invite you to regularly visit the event page as we will be updating the info regularly.

Please be aware that there only are 300 available seats. We recommend to book as soon as possible if you want to participate in this unique congress.

Kindest regards and hoping to see you in Graz,

DAN Europe

Divers Alert Network (DAN) celebrates its 25th anniversary

DAN Divers Day in Graz, Austria on September 7th 2008.

In 2008 Divers Alert Network (DAN) celebrates its 25th anniversary.

For this reason, DAN Europe is happy to announce a DAN Divers Day in Graz, Austria, a full-day event offered free of charge to attendees. The goal of DAN Divers Days has always been to address safer diving through education with DAN.

Speakers for this event are internationally known DAN area directors and DAN diving medicine experts. They will present dive safety, diving medicine, and other dive-related topics of interest to the scuba diving community in the main auditorium at the Graz University Hospital.

Lectures will be given in English (probably with simultaneously translation into German and also into Italian).
DAN Europe invites all recreational divers, dive guides, diving instructors, search and rescue personnel, underwater photographers, diving physicians and other interested individuals to attend.

Though the participation in the DAN Divers Day is free of charge, we ask for registration.

Preliminary topics:

Fitness to Dive: PFO and obstructive lung diseases – what’s new ?
* The Economy of Decompression: do deep stops make diving profiles safer ?
* The Economy of Decompression: can certain physiological factors and medicaments improve recreational diving safety ?
* Flying After Diving: is it still a problem ?
* Women and Diving: an update
* Children and Diving: do we need a different approach ?
*
A detailed program and online application form will be published soon.

Participation in the DAN Divers Day is free of charge, but registration will be required (not open yet)

Kind regards,
Your DAN Europe team

The key mission of DAN Europe is to make diving ever safer.
Knowing the diving safety rules and keeping constantly updated about the most recent advances is a must for every professional as well as recreational diver.

This is why DAN Europe has started a regular e-mail information service on diving safety and medical meetings.

Depending on the characteristics of each single event, DAN Europe will either inform the divers in the interested geographical or linguistic regions, or the information will be provided nationally and internationally.

CAMPAIGN FOR THE PREVENTION OF BOAT AND PROPELLER INJURIES TO DIVERS PROPELLER INJURIES

DAN EUROPE

The DAN Europe safety and prevention campaign aims at increasing safety awareness and cautious behavior by boat operators and drivers.

---

The Problem
Whoever dives with a certain frequency knows only to well the danger of surfacing due to heavy boating, which quite often with high speeds, criss-crosses over into scuba diving areas, despite the presence of diving warning buoys or dive support boats equipped with dive warning flags.
Vain are the screams and gestures in warning those on dive boats from those monitoring their companions in the water, as often the noise of arriving boats cover up the cry of warning or simply because the boat pilot isn’t paying any attention. . . .
The snorkeler, who contrary to scuba divers, who effect repeated dives, are more prone to such accidents, since they are more often at the surface.
Thus, every year, unfortunately, there are recorded cases of divers run over by boats in transit and even more cases of near misses.

The Regulations
All this despite legislation regulating each Nation, with precise standards concerning dive warning buoys and the required minimum distance to be kept of such warning signs.
The diving community is perfectly aware of these norms of which the large majority of divers scrupulously apply.

The Consequences
When a motor boat, even of small dimension, hits a diver, the injuries caused by the boat and propeller are devastating and often result in death.

What can be done
The only way to reduce the number of these tragic deaths is through an awareness campaign and the advertising of the minimum distance standards to be kept, in such a way the majority number of boat operators are aware of the fact that the diver buoy and/or diagonally white striped red flag means a diver is in the water and therefore warned to avoid hitting them with the boat or worse yet, with the propeller, and is required to transit at a distance.

The DAN Europe Safety Campaign
DAN Europe (Divers Alert Network) has for years promoted a campaign in offering free of charge and for the asking, dive warning stickers to attach at dive centers boards, resorts, the entrances of piers of tourist ports, boat rental areas, or where ever they may be most visible by the majority of people who operate boats in any tourist area where divers may be present.
The campaign is based on the wide and capillary distribution of a simple message of immediate visual warning effect which conveys at first sight, vital information on the prevention of accidents and the observing norms set in place.

How to participate?
The invitation we are extending to all divers and those who love the sea, is that of distributing this message on safety as much as possible and collaborating with us by indicating newspapers, magazines, organizations, web-sites, TV shows who could become involved in this safety prevention campaign of boat propeller accidents.

DAN Pocket Guide to First Aid for Scuba Diving

Know exactly what to do for all scuba diving first aid situations.

High-tech laser printing on hard vinyl sheets make this pocket-sized "how to" guide virtually indestructible and completely portable. Waterproof. Dirtproof. You can even mark up pages with a grease pencil then wipe clean. Spiral binding allows you to fully open the book anywhere and lay it flat. Fully illustrated with easy-to-follow instructions. Index-tabbed pages allow you to quickly access the information you need. "What you really need to know, when you really need it!"

Tabbed sections include: Emergency Assistance Plan, Dive Injury Information Form, Safety Assessment, Injured Diver Assessment, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Bleeding, Physical Assessment, Field Neurological Exam, Positioning of the Injured Diver, Oxygen First Aid, Bone and Joint Injuries, Carbon Monoxide Toxicity, Decompression Illness (DCI), Subcutaneous Emphysema/Mediastinal Emphysema/Pneumothorax, Seafood Poisoning, Heart Attack/Cardiac Arrest, Seizures, Spinal Injuries, Squeeze/Barotrauma, Seasickness (Motion Sickness), Oxygen Toxicity, Allergic Reactions, Thermal Injuries and Marine Animal Injuries.

Pocket Guides are jam-packed with critical information from field experts. World renowned Pocket Guides have had an international almost cult-like following for over ten years.

Virtually indestructible and completely indispensable, Pocket Guides are perfect for enthusiasts and gift giving. Join the experts and carry Pocket Guides. Select from 28 Sports/Hobbies, Fishing and Emergency Assistance titles.

POCKET GUIDES: The Biggest Little Books You'll Ever Need. Finally, you can take it with you!

DAN Incident Report Now Available FREE to All Divers

Important industry report now made available to divers around the world as a public service by DAN.

A 34-year-old male freediver was attacked by a shark while spearfishing in Hawaii. He received a nonfatal bite to the shoulder while swimming back to shore towing a bag of fish. He was able to stand and strike the 12-foot (4-meter) shark with his speargun as it returned. He was assisted from the water by local residents. – From the 2006 DAN Annual Diving Report


Know someone who’s had a similar close call? Interested in reading about more incidents? Are you convinced that you can learn a great deal by reading about divers’ missteps?

The DAN Diving Report, compiled and published annually by DAN Research, is now available to the public at no cost: Simply go to the DAN website and download it. Formerly available free to DAN Members only, the report is now posted where dive professionals, researchers, journalists and all scuba divers can view it with just a few clicks.

You can now view DAN accident and fatality reports from 2001 to 2006. The Diving Report for 2007 is in progress, slated for release later this year.

The latest issue, The Annual Diving Report: 2006 Edition, presents information on Project Dive Exploration, scuba diving injuries and fatalities, based on data collections during 2004. Beginning with the 2005 report, DAN has added sections on breath-hold diving, including summary data and thumbnail case reports.

Want More Info? The entire report is available free of charge.

To download it, go to: http://diversalertnetwork.org/medical/report/index.asp

When you need information, DAN is here for you.

DAN Announces DES Quest II

DAN Challenges divers to improve their skills to become Diving Emergency Specialists

The DES Quest II has begun, time for divers to challenge themselves to dive deeper into dive education and hands-on experience in rescue. Last year more than 250 divers met the challenge: This year could be yours.

Beginning June 1, DAN is challenging all interested divers to pursue and achieve the level of Diving Emergency Specialist (DES), a training recognition program designed to commend divers who have continued their education and training in obtaining knowledge and becoming both better buddies and better divers.

To achieve the level of Diving Emergency Specialist, a diver must:

1. be a rescue-level (or higher) diver with their training agency

2. hold a current CPR and First Aid certification

3. hold a current certification in Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries (or equivalent)

4. complete three of the following:

· Advanced Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries (or equiv.)

· First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries (or equiv.)

· AEDs for Scuba Diving (or equiv.)

· On-Site Neurological Assessment for Divers (or equiv.)

· Remote Emergency Medical Oxygen (REMO₂™)

The DES Quest II runs from June 1 – Dec. 31, 2007. During the Quest, when DAN is notified of a diver’s achievement of DES, that diver will receive a specially designed T-shirt and ballcap prize package. In addition, the diver will automatically be entered in a drawing for a DAN Gift Certificate worth $250^Ñ.

Plus, you’ll have the added confidence of training. Join the growing ranks of DES providers by completing the DES Quest II.

To find out more and to download an application, go to http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/news/article.asp?newsid=971

New Book, SCUBA DIVING SAFETY Just Released

Dan Orr and Eric Douglas from Divers Alert Network collaborate on impressive new book for divers of all levels.

Like all adventure sports, scuba diving comes with risk, but with proper preparation, these can be minimized. A new resource, Scuba Diving Safety, provides up-to-date safety and rescue information for today’s evolving diving world. This vital reference arms serious and advance divers with buddy and self rescue techniques, first aid advice, and safety recommendations for virtually any type of dive location or scenario. Novice divers can benefit from real-life scenarios and lessons learned while diving.







Through this easy-to-understand guide, scuba enthusiasts will learn about the full range of dive environments and safety precautions. They will find rescue techniques for surface and underwater situations, open-water resuscitation, and removing a diver from water. Included are strategies for avoiding and surviving entanglements, currents and dams, overhead environments, faulty or damaged equipment, and dangerous marine life.

Veteran dive instructors and safety personnel Dan Orr and Eric Douglas share real-life situations and resolutions that bring instruction to life and make Scuba Diving Safety an essential resource for anyone involved in underwater exploration.

Dan Orr is president and CEO of the Divers Alert Network (DAN). He has authored, coauthored, or reviewed more than 15 books and manuals on scuba and various aspects of scuba safety and rescue.

Eric Douglas is director of training at DAN, where he researches and develops dive safety training programs. He is also a diver medical technologist, a dive instructor, and master trainer for first aid and basic life support.

Contents

Safety Planning

Chapter 1. Safety and Prevention

Chapter 2. Equipment Use and Maintenance

Chapter 3. Emergency Assistance Plans and Evacuation

Chapter 4. Emergency Recognition and Prevention

Rescue Techniques

Chapter 5. Missing Diver Search

Chapter 6. Surface Rescue Techniques

Chapter 7. Underwater Rescue Techniques

Chapter 8. Open-Water Resuscitation

Chapter 9. Towing and Removal From Water

Chapter 10. Dry-Land Resuscitation

Chapter 11. Diving First Aid

Special Environments and Situations

Chapter 12. Currents and Dams

Chapter 13. Overheads and Entanglements

Chapter 14. Dangerous Marine Life

Chapter 15. Freediving

DAN Launches Brand New Online Seminar

Latest innovative DAN online seminar addresses respiration issues.

Did you know that in scuba diving, immersion reduces your lung volume by shifting blood from the legs to the chest? That breathing resistance increases with depth? And that results when the density of your breathing gas increases, while restrictions in your breathing apparatus increase as well?

“Breathing Underwater is an Unnatural Act” is DAN’s newest addition to a growing list of online seminars, where divers and aficionados alike can delve deeper into diving topics — ears, decompression, inert gas exchange or diabetes.

Diving is easy under ideal conditions, but life on dry land doesn’t prepare us for what we’ll experience underwater, where conditions can be far from ideal. How these conditions affect respiration and consciousness is the subject of this presentation by former Navy SEAL and current DAN vice president of research Richard Vann, Ph.D.

Did you know that divers who breathe high oxygen partial pressures can generate more free radicals than the body can deactivate? But this is not usually a problem if divers ventilate properly and observe a few simple guidelines. This presentation gives divers the tools to understand the relationship of ventilation to carbon dioxide retention.

Want to know more? It’s as easy as a click: go to www.diversalertnetwork.org/training/seminars/

Cost for this seminar – and others – is $25. The presentation on "diving and diabetes" is free.

Dive in and know more. And when you have questions, DAN is here for you.