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Diving Madeira
Diving Madeira

Required reading

Medical Clearance for Diving

Every dive operator in Madeira will ask you to complete the DMSC/RSTC medical questionnaire before they take you in the water — Discover Scuba included. Most travellers tick "no" to everything and proceed normally. If you flag a condition, you need a physician's clearance before you arrive, not at the centre.

This is not medical advice. Consult a doctor familiar with diving medicine for your specific situation. The Divers Alert Network (DAN) maintains a referral database of dive-medicine physicians.

Why this matters

Diving puts your body through pressure changes that interact dangerously with certain medical conditions: anything that affects your ears (history of ear surgery, recurring infections), your lungs (asthma, recent pneumothorax), your heart (any heart disease or recent surgery), your nervous system (epilepsy, recent concussion), or your blood (anemia under certain thresholds).

The DMSC/RSTC questionnaire flags these. The rule: any flag requires a physician's "Approved / Not approved" sign-off — physicians cannot give "approved with conditions". If you arrive without that sign-off and you flagged something, the dive operator is legally and ethically required to refuse. You don't get a refund.

The process

  1. Download the DMSC/RSTC form 2-3 weeks before your trip. Search "PADI medical statement" or "DMSC RSTC form" — the standardised English-language version is what every operator uses. (PADI's variant is called the "Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire".)
  2. Fill it in honestly. The questions cover ~25 conditions: heart, lungs, ears, neuro, pregnancy, surgery, medications. If everything is "no", sign and bring it to the dive centre.
  3. If anything is "yes": see a physician. Ideally one with dive-medicine experience (DAN's referral database is the canonical list). They'll review the condition + clearance form and sign one of two boxes: "Approved" or "Not approved".
  4. Bring the signed form to the dive centre. If the operator can't see a physician's signature on the form, they must refuse the dive — this is a legal / insurance condition, not optional flexibility.

Common conditions that need physician sign-off

  • Asthma (any history, even childhood) — typically requires a current pulmonary function test
  • Heart disease (any), recent cardiac surgery, ongoing arrhythmia
  • Epilepsy / seizure history
  • Recent ear surgery (within 6-12 months) or history of recurring ear infections
  • Recent pneumothorax (collapsed lung — generally a permanent contraindication)
  • Pregnancy — universally a no-go for sport diving
  • Diabetes — possible with sign-off + good glycemic control
  • Recent surgery of any kind (within 6-12 months depending on type)
  • Anti-anxiety medications, certain antidepressants — depends on dosage and specific drug

Don't try to skip the form

Some travellers think "I'll just tick all 'no' boxes — they'll never know". This is a bad idea for three reasons:

  1. Insurance. Most travel insurance + dive insurance excludes claims where the diver knowingly misrepresented their medical status. If you have a problem in the water, you and your family pay for it.
  2. The conditions are flagged because they really matter. Asthma + the pressure changes of diving = potential pulmonary embolism. Heart disease + cold-water stress = potential MI. The flags exist for genuine reasons.
  3. Operators sometimes ask follow-ups. If you say "no asthma" and then cough on the boat, a good instructor will probe. They've seen everything.

Get the form signed early. It's annoying paperwork but it's the difference between your dive trip happening or not.

Other Madeira-specific safety basics

  • Don't fly within 12 hours after diving — operators always tell you this; the rule is for residual nitrogen reasons. 24 hours after multi-day diving is safer.
  • Buddy system mandatory on every dive (recreational standard).
  • Deco buoy required by Portuguese law on every dive — the operator provides; verify the boat has one.
  • Hydrate well before diving. Madeira's dive boats can be exposed in summer (Porto Santo crossing especially); seasickness + dehydration is the most common preventable problem.
  • Don't dive hung-over or on heavy painkillers. Most centres can spot this and will refuse.

Got it sorted?