Decompression Sickness

Decompression Sickness

CASE STUDY

By: Tammy Ngo & Tina Nguyen

Introduction:

-My Personal DCS/DCI ("Bends") Story By: Alan Levy time: May 24th, 2002

- Did two dives on this past Friday (May 24th, 2002) as part of PADI MSDT training

- Ended up with decompression sickness

Mechanism of injury:

Dive 1

- 80 Feet maximum depth for a total bottom time of 40 minutes (average depth was 37 feet and the water temperature was 54 degrees)

Dive 2

- Maximum depth of 45 feet for a total bottom time of 56 minutes (average depth was 23 feet and the average temperature was 46 degrees)

* I had ample dive time left *

Symptoms:

-felt fine, no joint or muscle pain, but he felt kind of "foggy" on the brain

- next morning, left leg and arm felt "strange",

-same symptoms were present after a couple of hours

- loss strength in left leg compared to the right

Treatment:

Examination:

-decompression chamber

The Ride:

- brought down to 60 feet and then to 30 feet.

-each level breathed 100% oxygen for 20 min

After:

-joint pain was gone and “foggy head”

-only one treatment was needed

- at least one week off

-symptoms were mild and treated in time

QUIZ TIME!

How can you get decompression sickness?

List three symptoms or signs of DCS.

His Final Thoughts/ Prevention

1. You can do everything right - by the book and still get a hit of DCS.

2. Trust that inner voice; it knows when something is wrong.

3. If something is wrong, get it looked at and if there is something wrong get it treated ASAP - with DCS time is our enemy.

4. DCS is a scary thing but the camber ride isn't - I lost part of a day saw two good movies and got to sit on my back for four hours.

5. If you think you might have DCS, get it looked at BEFORE you step foot on any airplane, if you fly it will only make treatment harder and the time we don't dive longer

What kind of treatment is used to treat DCS?

SOURCES

• http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/Decompression_Illness_What_Is_It_and_What_Is_The_Treatment

• http://www.thelevyhome.com/alan/scuba/bends.htm

• http://www.scuba-doc.com/dcsprbs.html

• http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/travel/diseases/decompression_sickness.htm

• http://www.scubadiving.com/news

TREATMENT

• Mild forms of decompression sickness can resolve themselves
• Hyperbaric chamber
• Follow-up treatments, along with physical therapy

PREVENTION

• Always ascend slowly
• Use dive tables (shows how long you can remain at a given depth)
• Do decompression stops (stopping at certain depths in the water for a calculated length of time)
• Be hydrated
• Don't drink alcohol before/after diving
• Don't fly within 24 hours after diving

MECHANISM OF INJURY

INTRODUCTION

What Is Decompression Sickness?

• Nitrogen is taken into the body's tissues
• Main risk factor: diver ascends too fast
• Other risks: deep or long dives, cold water, hard exercise at depth
• Bubbles forming in or near joints

• It's a condition that results when sudden decompression causes nitrogen bubbles to form in the tissues of the body.
• Affects divers and other people who are in a situation that involves pressure rapidly decreasing around the body.
• Occurs most frequently during deep sea diving

SYMPTOMS

How do you Diagnose the Condition?

• Diving history will give some indication as to whether it could be decompression sickness.
• Can diagnose DCS through examining the balance, coordination, sense of touch, reflexes and muscular strength.

SIGNS

• Blotchy rash
• Muscle weakness
• Difficulty urinating
• Confusion, personality changes
• Amnesia
• Tremors
• Staggering
• Collapse or unconsciousness
• Coughing up bloody, frothy sputum

SYMPTOMS

• Skin itch
• Pain in joints and/or muscles of the arms, legs or torso
• Dizziness
• Unusual fatigue
• Ringing in the ears
• Shortness of breath
• Numbness, tingling, paralysis

• Other names:

• Diver's disease
• the Bends