Decompression Illness (DE)

Diving, like many other sports, involves risks and accidents that, no matter how expert you are in this sport, can happen unexpectedly. Decompression sickness, ED (curves) is one of them. There is usually great fear in the world of diving and it is no wonder since it entails very serious consequences for the diver.

But what is an ED about? Going in parts, we will make a synopsis of everything you need to know about this disease if you dive so that once again you keep in mind that thorough planning of each dive is the basis of safe diving.

What is an ED?

Due to long stays under pressure or high pressures, the nitrogen in the respirable mixture is absorbed by the tissues, thus creating saturation. This is nothing more than a high level of nitrogen in the body, so the way we use to desaturate our body with that nitrogen is the famous deco stops.

How does our body absorb that nitrogen?

Nitrogen is a very compressible gas, thus losing volume the greater the pressure to which we subject the body. At the same time, the breathable mixture will be denser, which multiplies the amount of compressed nitrogen that we provide to our body with each inhalation and is absorbed by it.

Boyle-Mariotte law

Higher pressure = Lower volume

Lower pressure = Greater volume

Adding that amount of nitrogen to long stays under pressure, the greater the increase will be in our body, reaching the point of saturating the tissues.

What is the problem with that saturation under pressure?

Saturation under pressure presents a problem in the ascent, since as the nitrogen ascends it will expand again due to the lack of pressure, converting the saturation into supersaturation, which will be the culprit of this ED.

What are the symptoms?

Numbness of the extremities.

Mild to severe joint pain affecting the arms or legs. The intensity varies from mild to severe.

Itching in the soles of the hands and feet, which can progress to Other symptoms of decompression sickness.

Rashes that may be accompanied by itching.

Joint pain.

Pain and inflammation of the lymph nodes.

Pain in the head, neck or torso, which is usually indicative of a severe ED stroke.

Babbling or language problems.

Nervous system complaints, such as weakness on one side of the body, numbness, pulling pains in an arm or leg, inability to urinate or defecate, stroke, or other symptoms.

"Shocks" such as burning in the chest, cough and difficulty breathing.

The diver staggers (a symptom indicating an inner ear problem), including a feeling of vertigo, deafness, ringing in the ears, or vomiting.

How do we avoid it?

In the deco stops, what we achieve is that the body desaturates the tissues thanks to the higher level of oxygen compared to nitrogen (the percentage is the same, but the volume of nitrogen is greater, thus having fewer nitrogen particles in each inhalation), since Oxygen traps nitrogen molecules to discard them during expiration, thus achieving a lower and lower level of nitrogen in our body.

There is no standard decorative stop, but it will depend on how deep we have dived and how long we have remained at the bottom.

Hence the importance of knowing the deco tables or diving with a diving computer, since with the tables we can make the deco stop adjustments ourselves and the computer will tell you in real time at what depth and how much time will be necessary to the deco stop.

One more reason (and a compelling one) to never dive alone since our buddy can be a vital help, either taking care of us during the stop or as an alternative source of air in case the stop is long. and our air supply is scarce.

There are a large number of dives in which jumping the no-decompression limits is almost an obligation, especially in the deep ones, so these dives have to be clearly organized on the surface and making sure that the amount of air is more than enough.

In any case, it is not easy to enter deco in a recreational dive, since the stays are not so long nor the depth so high. For example:

A dive at a constant -20 meters gives you a bottom time of 45 minutes without deco.

A dive at a constant -30 meters gives you a bottom time of 20 minutes without deco.

As you will see, at -20 meters you will hardly have enough air supply to meet those times with a 12 L bottle at 200 ATM (remember that at 50 ATM you should already abandon the dive).

Perhaps it is easier to enter deco at -30 meters since the time is shortened a lot, although the air breathed is also denser which also shortens the supply time, but if you go to that depth the idea of entering In deco it is almost a religion.

More than half of divers who suffer decompression sickness symptoms report symptoms within 1 hour on the surface. 95% of victims show symptoms within 6 hours and almost all show symptoms within 24-48 hours.

Released nitrogen bubbles cause damage by mechanical means that obstruct blood flow and may also cause local chemical alteration of vascular beds.

Any scuba diving accident victim with signs or symptoms of decompression sickness, which can cause death or permanent paralysis, should immediately seek emergency medical attention and administer O2 immediately. br />
Therefore, once again we emphasize the careful planning of each dive, even more so if it is at great depth. Make it clear what you intend to do, what role each of the participants in the underwater expedition occupies, have a plan B for everything... Everything must be made very clear to avoid ED-type accidents. Having diving experts to guide you or simply to share unforgettable experiences will make not only the dive safe but also make each day of diving spectacular. We recommend that you take a look here at the best clubs and diving schools strong> that you can find in our country. Learn, share and let yourself be carried away by the beauty that the oceans hide.

On the coasts of the Caribbean especially there is a legend of Miskitu origin that says that Decompression Sickness occurs when the mermaid named Liwa Mairin stares at you . Even so, whether or not you believe in myths and although you would like to come across a />