Type II DCS Caused by..SWINE FLU??

[Rick Inman]

A dive buddy of mine, after a dive last Saturday, spent yesterday doing a table 6. The doc suggested that the reason he got bent was from diving with the flu - possibly the swine Flu.

I was on the dive with him. We were a 3-man team. This was the second dive for myself and one buddy (first dive to 250' with 2 hour SI), and the first dive of the day for the buddy who took the hit. He is a "new" deco diver with only a few deco dives to date. No one else on the team suffered any symptoms.

He followed a VPM cut deco plan, fresh water, conservative 2, set for 2200 feet altitude, 140' for 25 mins using standard bottom & deco gasses. He spent a couple extra mins under the boat at about 12' before ascending.

His symptoms were fatigue, joint pain, a numb right foot, and denial D). Following the treatment, all symptoms resolved except for a small quarter-sized numb spot on his foot, which the doc said was from nerve damage.

The doc never mentioned anything about a possible PFO, and the diver didn't ask.

The doctor suggested that the cause of the hit was that the diver dived before fully recovering from the flu, possibly the Swine Flu. The diver was also dehydrated, and told me yesterday that he was "mostly" over the flu symptoms when we made the dive. He never mentioned anything to me about the flu or symptoms prior to the dive.

He got benched for 30 days, then it's back to diving (when healthy) as normal. IMO, he is lucky the symptoms resolved following one table 6 after waiting so long to call DAN.

Yes, he has DAN insurance.

He is installing a P-valve in his drysuit now that he has some down time.

Do I need to say it? Don't dive when you're sick. Good reminder, because I have done it myself.

 

[BabyDuck]

tsk tsk tsk. i'm glad he's better. yay for p-valves!

 

[openmindOW]

Thank you, Rick for your post. If I may, I do have a few questions - just to get a more complete understanding.

1. How old is the diver?

2. How would you describe his level of physical fitness?

3. Was this his first DCS hit?

4. Were you all breathing air on all the dives?

 

[Rick Inman]

1. How old is the diver?

In his 20's.

2. How would you describe his level of physical fitness?

Good.

3. Was this his first DCS hit?

Yes.

4. Were you all breathing air on all the dives?

Of course not. Like I said, he dived Standard Gasses, which was trimix for bottom gas and 50% for deco. He was OC and we were CCR and we drive a set point of 1.2 and upward of that for deco.

 

[Michael_Lambert]

Just courious why the flu is being targeted as the reason? I could understand the dehydration being the cause of the hit but to start freaking divers out about the swine flu getting you bent seems like a unwise thing.

 

[Rick Inman]

Just courious why the flu is being targeted as the reason? I could understand the dehydration being the cause of the hit but to start freaking divers out about the swine flu getting you bent seems like a unwise thing.

Which is why I found it interesting. I can only guess that the breakdown of the immune system while your body is fighting a flu would decrease off-gassing efficiancy... But those who know better than me on this would know better than me.

I think a little freaking out that ANY flu can predispose DCS is not such a bad thing.

 

[BabyDuck]

maybe his lungs weren't as efficient as they came back from being sick/congested?

lynne? doug?

 

[TSandM]

I'm not aware of any data that say that prior viral infection is a risk factor for DCS, but there is so much we don't understand about DCS. If I were this diver, I'd get a PFO test, especially with neuro symptoms on a dive where no one else had any problems.

 

[Leejnd]

I think a little freaking out that ANY flu can predispose DCS is not such a bad thing.

I agree wholeheartedly! I'm not a technical diver, so I have to be honest that a lot of what is in this thread is beyond my knowledge level. But if this incident is an indication that a flu, or some other viral illness, can cause someone to be more susceptible to DCS, on a dive in which they would otherwise NOT get bent, then I think it can only be a good thing to get the word out about this.

How many of you have gone diving when you weren't quite recovered from that headcold? Maybe if it means that it increases the chances of DCS, that might give us a reason to just say no.

 

[tgsmith]

Of course not. Like I said, he dived Standard Gasses, which was trimix for bottom gas and 50% for deco. He was OC and we were CCR and we drive a set point of 1.2 and upward of that for deco.

Other's may not know what your "Standard Gases" are. There may be club/agency/regional standardized gases, but there is not a worldwide, industry standard. For future references to gases you and others may find it helpful to just name the gases outright in the presence of mixed company.

Some questions:

Was he using any sort of computer with data logging capability that could show ascent rates throughout the dive? If so were these reviewed?

I know you already said VPM but to clarify.....Was his decompression schedule based on bare VPM, or VPM-B? Which software?