NEW HAND SIGNAL
As part of each of our dives, we review and practise the way we communicate.
Without proper communication, a wonderful dive can end up being a bad experience. The diving industry gives great importance to good communication, and it begins the moment we sign up for a dive - yes, at the precise moment we tell our dive operator to take us diving. The operator must make sure that we have the qualification and experience necessary for the dive or, on the contrary, offer us a plan that adapts to it.
Later, on the boat, when we prepare to dive, comes the "briefing" which is a clear description of the environment we will visit, rules that we must follow and the way we will communicate while underwater.
Hand signals, as a form of communication during diving, have been updated over time, and that is why it is very important to do a brief review of them before each dive.
Without going any further, one of the newest additions in HAND signs occurred just a few days ago.
Due to the number of incident reports that detailed examples such as:
* (Case 1) ..and suddenly the diver made the sign of "something is wrong" and then he was unconscious. Later the diver declared he had felt a strong pain in the chest.
* (Case 2) .. Halfway through the dive, the diver made the sign that something is wrong and touched his head and after a few seconds he quickly ascended to the surface. Later the diver commented that he had a very bad headache.
* (Case 3) .. after 3 minutes of diving, the diver gives the signal to cancel the dive, without showing signs of anxiety or any obvious problem, he ascends with only one of his companions and when he reaches the boat he vomits. The diver claims to have experienced severe pain in the stomach.
In all these cases it was discovered that the diver did not know how to communicate what was clearly happening to him. For this reason, after a long investigation and studies, of each of the cases that occurred, the need arose for a hand signal that reports "I don't feel well."
This sign can be accompanied by "something is wrong" or used independently .. to clearly inform your partner under water that it is not a problem with the equipment, it is, in fact, a physical discomfort.
This new sign "I don't feel well" has been incorporated into PADI training courses and it is recommended that you remember it and incorporate it at the time of the pre-dive briefing.
May we never lack good communication when it comes to diving. That makes a big difference!
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