A good dive exam should cover a number of different areas that a doctor should be looking for. A general exam includes checking your cardiovascular fitness, gastrointestinal function as well as visual acuity and barotrauma. Your doctor may recommend additional tests like x-rays to help you assess your diving abilities. If you have ever had ear infections, it's important that you speak with your dive doctor. Even if you do not have any ear infections in the past, a dive medical will give you all the information that you need.
Assessing your cardiovascular fitness
Before diving as a hobby/career, it is important to assess your cardiovascular endurance. While this may seem like an easy task, it is far from simple. If you are unable to walk a block, don't sign up for a diving class. It is better to exercise 20 minutes four to five time per week. Walking a mile might not be enough.
Examining the gastrointestinal function
Because ischemic colitis is possible during a diving expedition, it is crucial to check the digestive function of divers. Belching and abdominal discomfort may be experienced by divers, but little is known about serious gastrointestinal complications. Rare gastrointestinal conditions, such as gastric leakage due to intra-gastric pressure expansion and massive pneumoperitoneum (which results from lung barotrauma), have been reported. However, scuba diving has not been shown to cause mesenteric blood clotsis, acute Ischemia colitis, or hemorhagic Colitis.
Examining visual acuity
Dive physicals are done to make sure divers can perform the necessary skills and to assess a diver’s vision. To assess if a diver's vision is good, a diving professional will ask the diver to fill out a visual acuity questionnaire. Although the goal of the test is to evaluate a diver's near and distant vision, it also measures the person's visual acuity.
You should check for barotrauma
Barotrauma should be checked if you are going scuba diving. Barotrauma comes from the Greek words trauma (meaning injury) and baros (meaning pressure). Dive pressure can cause damage or rupture to the eardrums. If you have a cold or congestion, diving can cause this condition. It can also cause vomiting and pain.
Checking for Asthma
Before diving, it is a good idea to consult your physician if you suspect you may have asthma. The symptoms of asthma can become worse or more severe, and can be triggered by diving. Asthma treatment can be provided by your doctor with oral steroids. As a precaution, you should keep a supply of inhalers on board your dive boat. A physician can perform an exercise test to assess your asthma and also do a test of your lung function to determine the severity.