Diving to cure DCS

[ShakaZulu]

How does your answer pertain to the question .. As webmonkey and thalsssamania point out its probably not smart but I bet a lot of older commercial divers have been cured that way. I know 2 or 3 personally. One would still do it that way but I for one would not.

It should not even be an option, cause the equipment required and technical ability of the support divers will not be available in a recreational environment. This risks involved far out ways the reward. I can just see some Hillbilly trying to do IWR with some DIY tools

 

[OldNSalty]

Joe21,

You are thinking about this all wrong I think-If it is minor why would you not take the time to get it treated correctly? The only time I would consider the 'go back in cure' would be if it was serious and we were so remotely located that there was just no other option then to try it but for most divers that would probably never be the case. Just my opinion.

 

[Buccaneer]

IWR is a bad idea. If you have joint pain after a dive and think it might be DCS, call DAN and see what they think.

Terry

Seriously, dude...

*** are you generalizing , or are you asking becaus you think you have symptoms? Call me crazy- but mild join pain, isn't that mild of a DCS issue... maybe some skin tingling in the legs. Even theoretically I would want more info- what were the circumstances? Was the dive outside of recreational limits (time and or depth) did you simply ascend too fast? etc...

 

[Teamcasa]

After reading a little about it, I would not try it unless it was really the option of last resort. Like on a remote island or on a boat in the middle of the sea. Short of that, I'd seek professional care.

 

[rmc77]

IWR is definitely not a good idea for OW divers, but it does have its niche: If you're in a very remote location, no ways to contact DAN or other type of support and/or treatment, IWR is definitely an option. Nevertheless, you cannot do it on your own; you will need TRAINED SUPPORT divers, full-mace masks, plenty of oxygen supply ...
There a couple of IWR tables available, mostly military, and in the past, some technical certification agencies used to include IWR on their training programs, but nowadays this isn't true anymore. Why? Because of the high risk of in water convulsions and loss of consciousness due to O2 toxicity that could result in drowning, allied to the sparse information in the effectiveness of this technique.
In summary, IWR is also risky and has a complicated logistics of it's own and should not be considered as the main emergency plan. Needless to say it requires proper training and dedicated support personnel.
As for the OP’s question, data for IWR success rate is very scattered, so I doubt there are any numbers we could call an Official Success Rate.

 

[Joe21]

I dont have the symptoms Im just generalizing but Ive heard cases of this working.

 

[tc]

I dont have the symptoms Im just generalizing but Ive heard cases of this working.

And there have also been cases where it was fatal- there was one here in California a few years back.

 

[scubadude79]

ERROR - HALT - FAIL!
Never place a diver suspected of DCS back into the water for re-compression.
There are very few exceptions to this rule, and it always requires special training if not a PhD., MD attached to your name.

 

[Thalassamania]

And there have also been cases where it was fatal- there was one here in California a few years back.

Please tell us more.

 

[Teamcasa]

Please tell us more.

He works at the local Chamber on Catalina - He would know.