Medication, recreational drugs and diving : a review of the effects of drugs in the hyperbaric environment

Abstract

Many divers take prescribed, over the counter or even recreational drugs routinely or intermittently, despite the limited available information on the effects of drugs in diving conditions. In the hyperbaric context, drugs cannot only be considered in terms of their therapeutic effects at normobaric conditions. They should also be analysed with respect to the consequences of their possible side-effects in the underwater environment and with their interaction with gases at hyperbaric pressures. Studies of the effects of drugs on the physiological and psychological performance of the diver in the aquatic hyperbaric environment at conventional scuba depths have not been extensively carried out. This review collates the knowledge published to date of the effects of various pharmacological classes of drugs in diving conditions.