how do you recognize dcs?

[The Chairman]

Cold makes my hands itch. It always has. Cold feet will result in a myriad of joint issues and if they get cold enough, it will conclude with explosive diarrhea. However, I am pretty impervious to the cold per se'. I hardly ever dive caves in anything more than a t-shirt and trunks. I can go 4 hours before I feel any discomfort, and that will never get my feet cold.

 

[flymolo]

To OP: for the price of a dan membership you can call their hotline at any time and speak directly to a doctor specializing in dive medicine.

 

[saxman242]

However, I am pretty impervious to the cold per se'.

Words I never thought would follow "if my feet get cold, I get explosive diarrhea."

 

[ginti]

Hi @ginti ,

I think the closest anyone can reasonably get over the internet is that DCS can't be ruled out in your case, though I'm not sure what you mean by "ear problems".
DDM

ear problems = some kind of pain, not very hard at all. But I feel my nasal sinus a bit congested now, which is very likely the reason why I do not feel my ears "normal"

Hi @ginti ,
Is the itch associated with a rash of any kind?
DDM

Not at all

So, using few words, in cases like this it is basically never possible to rule out a DCS? Even if it is absolutely likely that other external factors actually caused these reactions? And even if there were no sympthoms right after the dive (they appeared the morning after, let's say with 16h delay)

 

[The Chairman]

Words I never thought would follow "if my feet get cold, I get explosive diarrhea."

It's the truth. I can be dry or wet when it happens. I'm not the only one.

 

[The Chairman]

Words I never thought would follow "if my feet get cold, I get explosive diarrhea."

I misunderstood your comment. The temps have to be quite cold and really get to my feet for this to happen. I often wear slippers to prevent issues. However, I am quite cold hardy otherwise. I wear shorts when others are wearing jackets and hardly ever wear exposure suits.

 

[saxman242]

I misunderstood your comment.

It's not that big of a deal. I just found it amusing you said the cold doesn't bother you, followed by except it gives you explosive diarrhea.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

ear problems = some kind of pain, not very hard at all. But I feel my nasal sinus a bit congested now, which is very likely the reason why I do not feel my ears "normal"



Not at all

So, using few words, in cases like this it is basically never possible to rule out a DCS? Even if it is absolutely likely that other external factors actually caused these reactions? And even if there were no sympthoms right after the dive (they appeared the morning after, let's say with 16h delay)

You have quite a constellation of symptoms, and from your description and your answers to the posts in the thread I think that other things are probably more likely than DCS, but I don't think DCS can be ruled out, most certainly not over the internet.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

@Duke Dive Medicine I'll defer to you of course! Would you still recommend OP try O2 in a situation like the one he describes (symptoms that may indicate DCS, unable to speak with a doctor for a day or more)?

I think that if he did use O2 and the symptoms disappeared it would raise the index of suspicion for DCS, but going by the information in the thread, in this particular case I don't think it would be diagnostic.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[ginti]

You have quite a constellation of symptoms, and from your description and your answers to the posts in the thread I think that other things are probably more likely than DCS, but I don't think DCS can be ruled out, most certainly not over the internet.

Best regards,
DDM

As I said before, my interest is not in this particular case, which I posted just as an example, it is more in general.

It happens relatively often that I have similar sympthoms (usually for a shorter period, like one day) after conservative dives (less than 35m deep, well below the decompression limits, air or nx32). Also, I never had any sympthom just after the dive - sympthoms start the day after usually (sometimes I feel fatigue some hours after the dive, and I need to sleep, which happened once after a 9m training dive - probably it was more fatigue due to training than due to deco issues).

I just wanted to know if anybody has similar issues, which apparently is not the case (at least, it is not the case for people who saw this thread). If there isn't any way to rule it out, as it seems to me from your comments, I guess the best idea is to discuss this problem with a doctor to be sure that there is nothing else.

And maybe a heated undergarment, just to be sure that these sympthoms have nothing to do with cold, would be a good investment (when I will find the money...)

Thanks a lot to everybody for your comments!