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Sea Divers

A sea diver is anyone who has attempted to go underwater for any amount of time. There are a few different types of divers, skin divers, or free divers, and scuba divers. Free diving is the oldest form of diving, having been practiced for thousands of years. It doesn’t require any special equipment, but is limited by the amount of air that can be held inside a diver’s lungs. Sometimes heavy rocks or special weights are employed to achieve greater depths. This form of diving is still used for gathering certain types of seafood.

Another type of sea diver is someone using a scuba system to breath underwater for extended periods of time. Scuba stands for self contained underwater breathing unit and requires specialized supplies and training to be used safely. Most scuba systems contain a tank, regulator, mask and fins.

The extreme pressure of water makes sea divers vulnerable to many pressure and gas related disorders. The most common is among scuba divers and is called decompression sickness, or the bends. It occurs when the internal pressure of the body’s gas is different from the external pressure and can cause extreme pain and even death in severe circumstances. Properly ascending and stopping at specified decompression zones helps prevent the bends.

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