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C.O.P.D. Obstructed Airway, or just a shallow breather.
Just throwing this out here to see what I get back. Want to know of peoples stories of getting shut down on dive physicals from not having a high enough score on a Pulmonary Function Test - You know the "BLOW BLOW BLOW BLOW BLOW " Test where the nurse trys to coax you into blowing your a****** out your mouth!! Ya that one. Anyway a few years back I got shut down for diving because of a low PFT, I had never passed the test in the first place, I ALWAYS blew like a 73-74, with a passing score being 75. The company I work for had a few diving related incidents, and everyones pucker factor went through the roof, so they tightened up and I was shut down. Now after supervising for a few years and dealing with all the B.S. that entails, I am looking to get back in the water. Just wondering if anyone out there has had experience with having a low score on a PFT, then after a period of time going back in and successfully passing the PFT. Tips, tricks and lies all welcome.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by donald wren on
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you cant buy the lung flute without a prescription. i dont think that sayin i want to be able to pass a pft is enough grounds for getting a prescription for one. kind of a double edged sword, get a script for one might inhibit you from passing the pft......
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Permalink Reply by Dive Diva on
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First question is why are you having to take a PFT?
PFT testing is only required in medical surveillance provisions of specific OSHA standards - those persons that are exposed to Asbestos, Cotton Dust, Benzene and Formaldehyde, etc. The respiratory protection standard, at 29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1)(ii), paragraph 1910.134(e), does not make mandatory the administration of a particular evaluation procedure, such as a PFT.
The most common PFT test is the Spirometry Test with is very subjective based on how well the person administering the test has been trained and how well said technician instructs the testee on how to perform the test. The test should be repeated until the testee gives three good efforts with are repeatable, it's not uncommon for a good PFT testing session to last an hour. If you the testee believe that improperly-trained persons are administering PFTs, you should file a complaint with the local OSHA Area Office.
If ADC wants to require mandatory testing of the diver's breathing response a far better choice in my opinion would be a Hypoxic & Hypercapnic Drive Response Test. Which tests the individual's response to episodes of decreased oxygen inspiration when CO2 amounts are stable and increased CO2 inspiration when O2 is adequate.
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Permalink Reply by Martin Morris on
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Colby, Instead of trying to lie, cheat and b.s. your way thru usings tricks and whatever go to a traditional [ old school ] martial arts school that teaches proper breathing techniques and form. Stay away from those so called mixed martial arts schools. Most of them are staffed by instructors too lazy to spend the time to properly learn a single style martial art. Sodokan or non-olympic style Tae Kwon Do is good. If you are tall I would recommend Tae Kwon Do or one of the other Korean styles such as Tang Soo Do. Don't be lazy, train hard and your breathing will drastically improve. I have seen many kids with athsma practically and totally cured due to proper training. Too many benefits to list. If you have any good clear water nearby go snorkeling as often as possible. The PFT test is there for a reason. Divers should have good lungs. They are what keeps you alive.
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Permalink Reply by Joseph on
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Martin Morris wrote and posted;
...[SNIP}"The PFT test is there for a reason. Divers should have good lungs."{SNIP]
Please show where in OSHA Diving Regulation a Pulmonary Function Test is "Required"?
ADC Consensus in NOT Federal Law.
"Divers should have good lungs." - FWIW MOST "Diver" smoke.
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When some dumass either lets the compressor run out of diesel or shuts off your air and you have to either wait for air or make it to the surface 150' above you then you will see the wisdom to my words. Go ask John Roat why he works out so much. It is not "Federal Law" it is common sense.
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Permalink Reply by Ethan on
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They also have those take home tests where you blow into the tube and try to make the little ping pong ball float up to a desired level. Good for working the lungs and also being able to see where you stand.
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Sorry Marty but I Have to agree with Joseph on this one. You (like many others) associate ventilation with oxygenation, and that isn't always the case. That's also why PFTs are of little value when looking at fitness to dive.
The lungs may be getting adequate oxygen but that doesn't mean
that the oxygen is getting to the tissues. That's why the FAA
requires pilots flying over 12,000 ft to carry supplamental oxygen and pulse oximeters. Ironic that the same factors that put pilots at risk also put divers at risk.
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Hey Red, hows it going. I am just trying to get the man to realize that taking care of his health is better than trying to get one over on the examiner. Besides, complaining about the exam here doesn't do any good unless your just in need of venting. Besides that considering the places we divers tend to go and hang out at it would benefit us to know how to protect ourselves and our loved ones and do it well.
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Hello chere, I'm doing well. I hope life is treating you well also.
Colby points out in his original post that after not passing the PFT he followed up with a Pulmonologist (respiratory doctor) and that the MD found nothing wrong.
PFTs are a good monitoring tool if done correctly, that's why they are used to track lung damage in asbestos workers, etc. I would love to see ADC or OSHA fund a study of changes in diver ling functions over a 10-20 yr period. See if there is a correlation between commercial diving and the development of COPD in divers. Then divers might have an easier time with disability claims. But I don't see that happening.
I am of the opinion that the ADC physical is lacking, expensive and portions are illegal.
I've pointed out in the past that requiring HIV testing is a violation of Federal law that needlessly subject all who require the testing - ADC, the schools, contractors and individuals privy to the test results - to potentially being sued. Plus, it's a federal offense to deny employment based on HIV status.
Furthermore, the test for HIV is expensive approx $150-$200 of the cost of each $500 diver physical is just for this one test. At a time
when diver and contractor alike are trying to cut costs. It's a waste.
Items that the physical could include that would be relevant such as a TB, Mono, or Menningitis test or requiring a flu shot & swine flu shot, MMR, and are cost effective aren't included.
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Martin, If you read the other posts, you will see that a few other people in the industry are privy to some information, that technique is a HUGE part of passing a PFT-also the person coaching you through the PFT can lead you in the wrong direction, the tips, tricks, and Lies I asked about were along those lines of technique. And the Lies part of that was a little thing we like to call Humor where I come from. I do Like what you have to say about going "Old school" Maybe not in the exact way that you outlined, but I agree, divers should be in decent shape. I dont think we all need to be able to do Ironman challenges to do our job, most of it is mental anyway, and that part which is not mental, is becoming more and more mechanically assisted. But a diver in decent shape makes Logical sense. Thanks for your Input and Advice
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I can agree that much of the exam is total b.s.. On top of the other crap please explain to me why a doctor needs to stick his finger up my ass and tell me to squeeze it. I now get my physicals at the Concentra clinics in Houston if at all possible. They don't try to anally probe me. Never could understand why divers drive across state lines to get Doc Serio to do an exam and then b**** about his big fingers.
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The way I heard it, the reasoning behind the anal probing, had to do with a chamber incident involving a diver, a toilet and p. differential. Though how being able to pucker around a finger is suppose to prevent your guts from being sucked out I haven't a clue.
As for the drive to Doc Serio, I've hear tell from some of the divers that some of the ADC contractors won't except divers physicals unless the exam was done by Dr Serio or Dr Bourgois.
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