DiverGirl1972
Contributor
(Warning: Long Post!) I had a similar situation happen to me with regards to having an unexpected hit of skin bends. We flew to the Philippines for a 2+ week trip. The first 8 nights were to be spent in Dauin/Dumaguete and then we were set to fly to Anilao for the second week of diving.
Upon our arrival into Manila, we just caught the tail-end of Supertyphoon Nina, which caused many cancellations, including our connecting flight to Dumaguete. When we tried to rebook on the next flight, we were told that they couldn’t get us out for 4 days, so we ended up taking the loss on that ticket and re-booked on another carrier into Cebu, which meant we had to stay the “night” in Manila, get up at 3am to catch that flight and then take a 6 hour shuttle ride down to the south end of the island where we finally caught a ferry to Dumaguete and then another shuttle to our resort.
Admittedly, we were probably tired and a bit dehydrated upon our arrival to the resort. We arrived just before lunch, so they told us to get something to eat and they would be able to get us out on two afternoon dives. We were thrilled.
We ate lunch, and I made it a point to load up on water and liquids. At this point, we were feeling great. About an hour and a half later, we made two dives. Both were approx. 45 – 50 minutes in length, our max depth was 65ft and 70ft, though we were only down there for a short amount of time and then proceeded to play in the “shallows” for the majority of the dives. There were no uncontrolled ascents and we completed an extended safety stop on both, as they couldn’t get us our requested Nitrox until the following day. I was actually slightly annoyed at the short(er) length of the dives…we didn’t fly half way around the world for 45 minutes dives, afterall!
We returned to the resort and after the dives, I waited to take a long hot shower after our long day of travel due as I’ve heard this can increase the risk of a DCS hit. We went to the bar and I was just sipping a beer and a glass of water while my bf chatted up some fellow divers. It was about an hour to an hour and a half after getting out of the water. I suddenly started to feel “fuzzy” and I suddenly realized I was scratching heavily at my lower back. I quietly went to our bungalow and proceeded to pull up the back of my shirt to see what was causing the itchiness/discomfort. What I saw initially caught me off guard….deep red and blue marbling and the appearance of bruising on my lower back, buttocks and thighs. I knew immediately what it was and went directly to the resort manager to have her confirm my suspicions.
They put me on 02 and I contacted DAN. DAN recommended that I go to the ER to be checked for neurological symptoms and then I would report back what happened. At this point, I was feeling nauseous and was vomiting, so they loaded me up and we went to the hospital. After going through the explanation to the dr., they refused to believe it was DCS and proceeded to give me Benadryl, a steroid shot and hooked me up to IV fluids. I KNEW I was not having an allergic reaction, but they refused to consider DCS. I was annoyed at this point and it was midnight, so I chose to leave, get some rest and contact DAN again in the morning.
The next day, DAN connected me with the chamber doctor in Cebu. I sent him pictures and spoke to him and he recommended that I make the trip back to Cebu for treatment, just to be safe. I did go and underwent two chamber treatments before they released me. I returned to the resort the evening of December 30. Of course, the resort wasn’t going to allow me to dive, so I sat out the next week.
During my free time, I scoured the internet to see if there was any evidence or guidelines that would indicate it might be ok for me to dive during the second half of our trip. Not going to lie, I was searching for ANY information that would justify what I wanted to do. I did find the following: https://www.uhms.org/images/DCS-AGE-Committee/dcsandage_prevandmgt_uhms-fi.pdf
On page 8 it discussed returning to diving and it states: 2. DCS Type I - Divers with DCS Type I which resolves on initial treatment and who remain asymptomatic may be cleared by a UMO for return to diving 7 days following treatment. (Pending Advance Change Notice)
So, at the end of our week in Dauin, my bf and I had a serious discussion about the risks. I decided I did want to try diving in Anilao and we made a list of things we would do to ensure our diving was conservative in nature (depth limits, Nitrox-only, extended safety stops, intense focus on hydration, etc..). I knew that insurance would not cover any further incident, but I was feeling great, all symptoms were resolved.
In the end, all was fine. I had zero issues in Anilao and did 15 dives. I felt great, we stuck to our “rules” and I guess I was lucky. I certainly understand that most people wouldn’t have made the decision I did, but that’s my choice to make, even if a little foolish. I had over 350 dives under my belt before this incident occurred and I’ve had another 75 dives since with no concerns.
As far as my experiences with DAN goes, I’ve had to use them twice and they were a HUGE help. Trip insurance & DAN covered my missed dives in Dauin as well as the majority of the medical expenses I incurred (and the expenses for the trip delay due to the typhoon). I pretty much came out whole in the end, so no complaints there. I suppose DAN might not be as effective if you can’t contact them.
What I learned was, sometimes sh*t happens! By the way, after speaking with DAN upon my return to the states, I decided not to pursue PFO testing. DAN didn’t feel it was warranted at that point and I likely would not have gone forward with surgery to correct it anyway. That opinion may change should something like this happen again, but so far, so good.
Upon our arrival into Manila, we just caught the tail-end of Supertyphoon Nina, which caused many cancellations, including our connecting flight to Dumaguete. When we tried to rebook on the next flight, we were told that they couldn’t get us out for 4 days, so we ended up taking the loss on that ticket and re-booked on another carrier into Cebu, which meant we had to stay the “night” in Manila, get up at 3am to catch that flight and then take a 6 hour shuttle ride down to the south end of the island where we finally caught a ferry to Dumaguete and then another shuttle to our resort.
Admittedly, we were probably tired and a bit dehydrated upon our arrival to the resort. We arrived just before lunch, so they told us to get something to eat and they would be able to get us out on two afternoon dives. We were thrilled.
We ate lunch, and I made it a point to load up on water and liquids. At this point, we were feeling great. About an hour and a half later, we made two dives. Both were approx. 45 – 50 minutes in length, our max depth was 65ft and 70ft, though we were only down there for a short amount of time and then proceeded to play in the “shallows” for the majority of the dives. There were no uncontrolled ascents and we completed an extended safety stop on both, as they couldn’t get us our requested Nitrox until the following day. I was actually slightly annoyed at the short(er) length of the dives…we didn’t fly half way around the world for 45 minutes dives, afterall!
We returned to the resort and after the dives, I waited to take a long hot shower after our long day of travel due as I’ve heard this can increase the risk of a DCS hit. We went to the bar and I was just sipping a beer and a glass of water while my bf chatted up some fellow divers. It was about an hour to an hour and a half after getting out of the water. I suddenly started to feel “fuzzy” and I suddenly realized I was scratching heavily at my lower back. I quietly went to our bungalow and proceeded to pull up the back of my shirt to see what was causing the itchiness/discomfort. What I saw initially caught me off guard….deep red and blue marbling and the appearance of bruising on my lower back, buttocks and thighs. I knew immediately what it was and went directly to the resort manager to have her confirm my suspicions.
They put me on 02 and I contacted DAN. DAN recommended that I go to the ER to be checked for neurological symptoms and then I would report back what happened. At this point, I was feeling nauseous and was vomiting, so they loaded me up and we went to the hospital. After going through the explanation to the dr., they refused to believe it was DCS and proceeded to give me Benadryl, a steroid shot and hooked me up to IV fluids. I KNEW I was not having an allergic reaction, but they refused to consider DCS. I was annoyed at this point and it was midnight, so I chose to leave, get some rest and contact DAN again in the morning.
The next day, DAN connected me with the chamber doctor in Cebu. I sent him pictures and spoke to him and he recommended that I make the trip back to Cebu for treatment, just to be safe. I did go and underwent two chamber treatments before they released me. I returned to the resort the evening of December 30. Of course, the resort wasn’t going to allow me to dive, so I sat out the next week.
During my free time, I scoured the internet to see if there was any evidence or guidelines that would indicate it might be ok for me to dive during the second half of our trip. Not going to lie, I was searching for ANY information that would justify what I wanted to do. I did find the following: https://www.uhms.org/images/DCS-AGE-Committee/dcsandage_prevandmgt_uhms-fi.pdf
On page 8 it discussed returning to diving and it states: 2. DCS Type I - Divers with DCS Type I which resolves on initial treatment and who remain asymptomatic may be cleared by a UMO for return to diving 7 days following treatment. (Pending Advance Change Notice)
So, at the end of our week in Dauin, my bf and I had a serious discussion about the risks. I decided I did want to try diving in Anilao and we made a list of things we would do to ensure our diving was conservative in nature (depth limits, Nitrox-only, extended safety stops, intense focus on hydration, etc..). I knew that insurance would not cover any further incident, but I was feeling great, all symptoms were resolved.
In the end, all was fine. I had zero issues in Anilao and did 15 dives. I felt great, we stuck to our “rules” and I guess I was lucky. I certainly understand that most people wouldn’t have made the decision I did, but that’s my choice to make, even if a little foolish. I had over 350 dives under my belt before this incident occurred and I’ve had another 75 dives since with no concerns.
As far as my experiences with DAN goes, I’ve had to use them twice and they were a HUGE help. Trip insurance & DAN covered my missed dives in Dauin as well as the majority of the medical expenses I incurred (and the expenses for the trip delay due to the typhoon). I pretty much came out whole in the end, so no complaints there. I suppose DAN might not be as effective if you can’t contact them.
What I learned was, sometimes sh*t happens! By the way, after speaking with DAN upon my return to the states, I decided not to pursue PFO testing. DAN didn’t feel it was warranted at that point and I likely would not have gone forward with surgery to correct it anyway. That opinion may change should something like this happen again, but so far, so good.
