AY Honors/Skin Diving/Answer Key

2. Name three prerequisites for a person who wishes to engage in skin diving.

Ability to swim at an intermediate level.

3. What equipment is essential for skin diving?

The Mask

Always buy a proper fitting mask. It is the most important piece of equipment for snorkeling; it is your window to the underwater world. A correctly fitted mask will keep water out.

The Snorkel

Your snorkel allows you to breathe through your mouth while floating face down in the water. Using the snorkel efficiently and comfortably requires practice. After all, humans are used to breathing through their noses. To make matters easy, you can get a snorkel with a purge valve to help remove unwanted water.

The Fins

Snorkel fins ought to be flexible and lightweight. There are two basic styles: full foot and adjustable strap. Full foot fins are typically lighter, but adjustable strap fins allow you to protect your feet by wearing booties. Neoprene booties guard your feet from jagged coral and any sharp objects on the bottom or in the sand.

7. Describe the skills involved in communications, hyperventilation prevention, and mask clearing.

You may be able to avoid hyperventilation.

- Breathe through your nose. It is harder to hyperventilate when your mouth is closed because you can't move as much air through your nose.

- Loosen your clothing. Tight belts and waistbands, girdles, bras, and skintight jeans can all restrict breathing and cause shallow, upper-chest breathing.

- Learn belly-breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) techniques and practice them. People who hyperventilate typically take shallow breaths, filling only their upper chest when they inhale.

- Experiment with different relaxation techniques and see what works best for you.

- Talk to friends, family members, or a counselor to help you relieve anxiety. Keep a journal to help you focus on your problems and find workable solutions.

- Eat a nutritious diet. Reduce the caffeine in your diet by limiting your intake of caffeinated coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolate.

- Exercise. Regular aerobic exercise forces you to take full breaths and helps you to reduce anxiety that contributes to hyperventilation.

- Make sure you get good sleep at night. Being rested may help reduce daytime anxiety.

Hypothermia Treatment

• Dry the hypothermic person and cover him or her with blankets.

• Shelter the person from wind and water.

• Provide heat to the neck, underarms, and groin. Initially, heat only the trunk to avoid core temperature afterdrop. Afterdrop occurs when the extremities cool faster than the trunk. If the extremities are rewarmed, the colder blood within them will reenter the circulation and temporarily worsen the hypothermia.

• Keep the person lying down.

• Administer warm fluids only after the victim stops shivering (loss of the shivering reflex signifies significant hypothermia).

• Avoid suddenly moving/jarring the person because this may trigger an abnormal heart rhythm.

• CPR may be necessary. Resuscitation efforts should be continued until the person's body temperature rises to at least 95°F/35°C (never give up: one reported victim recovered in a morgue). All temperatures indicated are rectal measures, which give a closer indication of core temperature. If the person with hypothermia is cooperative, the temperature may be taken by mouth or other method.