Sneaky Dangers Of Snorkeling And Scuba Diving Too Many People Ignore
Diving into the sea provides a wealth of mental and physical benefits. Beyond its natural allure for virtually anyone kicking back on vacation, the ocean, lake, and other recreational water areas make for an exciting aquatic landscape for water sports, oceanic exploration, and general wonderment. We have been scuba diving for many years and have been lucky enough to see wrecks, marine life, and brilliant coral formations in many parts of the world.
The weightlessness and freedom to float through the environment, twisting and rolling with feathery ease, is a sensation unlike any other. But the ability to toss your cares to the side and dip beneath the surf doesn't come without its fair share of risks. Scuba divers know complications can occur, leaving them to problem-solve rapidly in an unfriendly environment that can just as easily kill them. Some of the most dangerous dive sites in the world have claimed hundreds of lives through simple mishaps.
But scuba diving isn't the only potentially dangerous aquatic endeavor that holidaymakers and recreational swimmers can engage in. Snorkeling can be just as risky, perhaps even more so considering the lack of training and nonchalance that typically surrounds the activity. Most people likely think snorkeling is the same as routine surface swimming, reducing the risks to a minimal level, but that's actually quite far from the reality. These sneaky risks affect snorkelers and scuba divers alike, and you should be careful any time you head into the water for a closer look at the marine life beneath the waves.
Unexpected tidal strength
Snorkelers and scuba divers alike can easily be lulled into a false sense of security when it comes to the tides, currents, and other forces above and beneath the water. Tides can be immensely strong, pulling a swimmer or diver far off course before they realize the distance they've covered. A strong current can force a swimmer to traverse a lengthy return to shore or a boat, creating the conditions for significant exertion. A swimmer who isn't prepared to kick hard against the current to return to their entry point can be taken off guard by the energy required and potentially begin to panic when the realization sets in. Panic is a swimmer's worst enemy, even more so than the predatory wildlife beneath the depths!
Another feature far scarier than you might initially think is rip currents, undertow, and other hidden, intense tidal forces. A strong pull can leave you working hard to return to the beach or boat, but a rip current easily thrusts swimmers far out into the ocean, potentially stranding them well beyond their comfort zone and swimming capabilities allow for. A strong tidal pull is dangerous, and it's something that a snorkeler will have to contend with specifically (scuba divers, too, but to a different and sometimes lesser extent). Focusing on fish and coral takes your eye off the anchor point on shore or at the boat, allowing you to potentially drift quite far before you realize where you've been dragged. Check out how to spot rip currents during your beach vacation.
Hypoxic blackout (losing consciousness while holding your breath)
Holding your breath is a common skill displayed by snorkelers. Scuba divers won't generally need to do this, but the ability to stay calm underwater when a regulator comes free requires breath-holding skills. A snorkeler might want to snag a closer look at something below the surface, leading to drawing in a big breath and taking a plunge lower. Holding your breath creates a natural reflex to suck in air that only grows over time. This reaction occurs when carbon dioxide builds up in your system.
If you take multiple deep breaths before diving, you can stave off this reflex by flushing a bit more carbon dioxide out of your system, but the lack of oxygen remains a crucial factor. It's entirely possible for an inexperienced snorkeler to feel lightheaded and eventually lose consciousness as a result of low oxygen levels in their body. This is called a hypoxic blackout and remains an important risk to keep in mind when doing anything beneath the surface of water. Unless you're carrying an oxygen cylinder, you can't immediately suck in air while underwater, making a blackout a potentially fatal occurrence.
General water inhalation
A snorkeler experiencing a hypoxic blackout may inadvertently suck in water instead of air when submerged, but this isn't the only time you might take on water. Inhaling water can happen any time you're beneath the surf and is caused by all manner of small issues. Your mask or snorkel might not fit as securely as it should, or you might dip a little farther under a wave than expected, submerging the top of your snorkel. Facial hair or non-standard dental structure can also contribute to a loose seal in your snorkeling gear, allowing water to seep into critical areas.
Inhaling a little water isn't a particularly large problem on its own. The issue comes from the involuntary actions your body will take once water enters your lungs. Coughing is a common reaction, as your body seeks to expel water from your respiratory system. Coughing underwater can lead to even more water being sucked in, however. Your body may also exhibit laryngospasms and other involuntary behaviors that force more of whatever is in your immediate environment into your lungs — typically air, but in this case, water.
Contact with boats or other hard surfaces
In snorkeling areas, plenty of explorers splash around, checking out coral structures and schools of colorful fish. Snorkeling from a beach launch reduces the risk of collision with a boat but doesn't eliminate the potential presence of watercraft. Launching from a boat, however, introduces the possibility that yours or another may move through the area, potentially harming you if the driver doesn't know where you are. Even experienced snorkelers should avoid exploring specific parts of the ocean or other aquatic environments where boats frequently traverse. The hull of a boat can knock a snorkeler unconscious, rendering them in immediate danger, or the propeller may deliver a potentially fatal wound.
Other hard surfaces can be equally dangerous. Anyone who has jumped into a shallow pool understands the danger of hitting their head on the bottom! But a head strike isn't the only risk. Coral reef structures and rocky areas are often craggy, randomized surfaces with plenty of gaps and crevices. If you get too close, you may end up snagging an arm, foot, or piece of clothing inside a tight area, trapping you underwater. For this reason, it's always a good idea to swim at a safe distance from underwater structures. Generally, you'll want to avoid touching just about anything beneath the surface to prevent contaminating delicate ecosystems and keep you safe from harm. You also want to choose top-rated snorkeling beaches around the world that offer safe and delightful experiences.
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a real issue among scuba divers and snorkelers. The water is almost guaranteed to be colder than the surface environment you've just left. This can effectively cool your body as you're submerged in the aquatic atmosphere. The longer you stay in the water, the more dramatic this effect will become. Even in a tropical, warm climate, water temperature can be cool enough to severely chill your body if you stay submerged for long enough.
To combat this, swimmers may opt to wear a wetsuit. This thin (sometimes relatively thick) neoprene outer layer traps a small film of water against your body, warming it up with your own heat and insulating you against the cooler water beyond the suit. Even with a wetsuit on, you'll need to be careful of prolonged sessions in the water. It's still possible to experience the effects of hypothermia with a wetsuit on. Moreover, a "shortie" (short-sleeved wetsuit) leaves more of your body exposed than a full-length suit and is often a go-to choice for swimmers in more tropical regions.
If you're experiencing the early warning signs of hypothermia, it's time to get out of the water and work on warming yourself up. These signals include shivering, drowsiness, muscle stiffness, and confusion. You may even have trouble speaking or communicating with your swim buddies in other ways. Don't take these symptoms lightly, even if you're in a warm, sunny environment on a pristine day.
Heatstroke
The opposite effect is also a potential danger for those splashing around in the sea. Not only can a cool ocean temperature pose a risk of hypothermia, but the decisions you make regarding your attire and other factors can place you at risk of heatstroke or even sun poisoning. A wetsuit is a great tool to help stabilize your buoyancy in the water and will assist in staving off the effects of cold water. But these suits trap heat against your body and can lead to overheating if you wear the wrong type or keep the suit on your body after you exit the water.
Scuba divers might strip their suit off entirely between dives, given the fact that they'll often wait 40 minutes to an hour between submersions if they're tackling a multi-dive day. Sometimes even longer — this depends on calculations using a dive table to ensure adequate safety every time. At the very least, if you're spending more than a few minutes on the surface, you'll want to take off the upper half of your wetsuit to allow the heat to dissipate.
Heatstroke is also a potential issue for non-wetsuit wearers snorkeling near the surface on a particularly warm and sunny day. While splashing around in the water, you are unlikely to notice the effects of the sun on your body. But its rays are still potent and can damage your body even if you're floating in the water. If you begin to feel a headache or dizziness coming on, and you aren't cold, you may be experiencing the beginnings of heatstroke. Additional symptoms include an intense heartbeat, high fever, and even vomiting.
Fatigue, dehydration, and cramping
Dehydration is typically an early issue that people experience on the way to heatstroke. However, it's not something that you should take lightly (considering it a benign signal that worse is on its way if you don't soon exit the heat). This condition on its own, though, is a severely problematic danger. If you begin to feel thirsty, you're entering into dehydrated territory, signaling that it might be a good idea to take a break and drink some water.
Dehydration also speeds up other problem areas like your tiredness level. Fatigue can be a real threat when you're in the water because there's no good way to take a break and relax when you're swimming around. This is especially true for those who've floated away from shore or their boat and need to return to the safety of land or a floating platform to recover from their fatigued state.
Moreover, dehydration and tired muscles can lead to cramping. This is a problem that's not difficult to solve on land and merely presents itself as an inconvenience. In the water, however, alleviating a cramp is much harder to accomplish, although not impossible. Cramping muscles can stress out a swimmer tremendously, leading to panicked breathing and extreme energy exertion to try to stay afloat. It can go downhill from here quickly.
Nitrogen narcosis
Finally, we arrive at some of the more extreme dangers that present themselves specifically to divers. Nitrogen narcosis is specifically relevant for advanced scuba divers. The phenomenon of compressed gas creates a unique reaction in the body when it's inhaled at certain depths. Nitrogen narcosis isn't a symptom you'll experience on a shallow dive, and it's equally not a state you can actively avoid or work to eliminate when delving deeper into the ocean.
The reality is that at roughly 30 meters or 100 feet down, you'll begin to experience a lightheadedness reminiscent of being drunk. Decision-making skills are impaired, and your body starts to feel a little funny. We are divers with a standard advanced certification, meaning we can dive to depths beneath this threshold, and we had to complete a dedicated deep dive during the training. This was included specifically to experience narcosis under the supervision of an instructor. The first time you feel these effects, your regulator might slip out of your mouth as your jaw inadvertently relaxes — something that's definitely fairly dangerous when you're quite a ways down underwater.
Narcosis itself won't hurt you, and the most experienced divers have learned to cope with the phenomenon through countless interactions with its presence. However, for recreational divers who don't often get this far down, the passage into nitrogen narcosis territory can sneak up on you and present numerous external dangers, from poor muscle control to impaired decision-making, leading you down plenty of potentially hazardous roads.
Barotrauma
Barotrauma isn't a word that most casual snorkelers will be familiar with, but plenty of divers know it well. This is a more extreme form of the pain and discomfort you feel when equalizing your sinuses and ears doesn't quite go to plan. As you descend, you'll begin to feel the pressure build up in your ears as the soft tissues in your head and elsewhere are under increasing atmospheric pressure. This is due to the weight of the water above you, similar to how the air-filled atmosphere above us on land exerts its weight down on us. Humans are used to the atmospheric weight at sea level and even at extremes above that, but we're not adapted to even the subtle changes in pressure that take place below the surface of water.
Scuba divers may try to push through the pain of a bungled equalization, reckoning that it will remedy itself as they continue their descent. This can lead to actual physical damage to your body, however. Alternatively, blasting through safety stops, perhaps during an emergency surfacing maneuver, can damage your lungs as the soft tissues aren't given enough time to equalize with the resulting reduction in pressure. Barotrauma isn't relegated just to divers, though. Snorkelers can dive down deep enough to expose themselves to this condition. And since they aren't likely to be on the lookout for damage resulting from increased pressurization, they are potentially more susceptible to blowing through the discomfort and damaging their bodies.
Decompression sickness, also known as DCS and 'the bends'
At its more severe end, barotrauma takes the form of decompression sickness, commonly known as "the bends." This is a reaction within the makeup of your body to pressurized gas exposure and a lack of proper decompression protocols to rectify the metabolized gas. It's not an issue that snorkelers will have to worry about, but scuba divers are trained to think about this traumatic ailment from the first moment they strap on a BCD (they also learn not to fly right after a dive!).
As a diver descends, nitrogen is absorbed into the bloodstream. This is unavoidable in recreational diving (and is the process that ultimately causes narcosis symptoms) and generally non-threatening. But if you don't take your time coming back up to the surface, the nitrogen dissolved into your blood may not clear properly as your pressurized atmosphere becomes less intense. For this reason, divers perform a safety stop at 15 feet on their way up from most dives, even if the standard protocol doesn't mandate it. (This is a requirement on most multi-dive plans and for dives beyond the 100-foot mark.) Divers will arrive at a 15-foot depth and engage their BCD to initiate buoyancy so that they float at this level for 3 to 5 minutes.
If you fail to fully flush out the nitrogen from your blood, it can reform as bubbles in your blood vessels when you reach the surface. This creates an incredibly painful phenomenon that requires a diver to enter a decompression chamber to resolve. At its most intense, the bends can kill a diver who didn't take decompression seriously enough.