Nothing like a Type 1 DCS hit to put everything into perspective...

[diverlady]

A friend of mine just completed the first of 2 chamber rides this AM. Not good. You learn how dangerous DCS is but when you don't encounter it or know anyone who has, you kind of become a bit complacent about it. It's still there and still a concern but it's not front and centre.
Well it is now - for me at least. Nothing like having a friend take a hit and a ride. I'm glad he's going to be okay although he still cannot feel a pinprick in any of his fingers yet.

I'd also like to point out that the DMs involved insisted he go on O2 immediately upon surfacing just as a precaution. The diver in question thought he had only been narced when he got dizzy and that the tingling in his arm was due to pressure on a funnybone smack the previous day. Nice that it was taken seriously by everyone involved!

Tidbit:
Funnybone smacks cause tingling in the pinky and ring fingers only.
The thumb and first 2 digits are what get affected by DCS most often. (I didn't know this part so I thought I would share it)

Diverlady

 

[rmediver2002]

It sounds like he is getting the proper treatment and will most likely be back in the water with no residual symptoms in a few weeks!!

I am curious about the symptom being diagnosed as type I though, the symptoms were neurological?

Also you mention two treatments, are these follow up treatments or was there a long delay in treatment after the initial symptom onset?

Hope everything works out well...

Jeff Lane

 

[diverlady]

rmediver2002 once bubbled...
It sounds like he is getting the proper treatment and will most likely be back in the water with no residual symptoms in a few weeks!!

I am curious about the symptom being diagnosed as type I though, the symptoms were neurological?

Also you mention two treatments, are these follow up treatments or was there a long delay in treatment after the initial symptom onset?

Hope everything works out well...

Jeff Lane

This diver had smacked his funnybone the day before so when he went down the line and got squeezed by his suit causing pain in the same spot, he thought it was just sensitive due to the bang it took. Also, this diver went down the line more quickly than he would normally as his buddy had gone down quickly and he was trying to catch up (hindsight is 20/20!). He had experienced dizziness due to descending too quickly in the past. So his dizziness at depth he felt was due to that rather than DCS.

Dizziness and tingling were on Sunday. O2 delivered immediately on surfacing. Diver felt fine on the surface. Diver declined further medical assessment that day but monitored the sympoms closely. Tingling never worsened but when tingling began in the other arm approximately 24hrs after the dive, he immediately contacted DAN and got the number for the closest chamber.

He reports that the dizziness he has recently experienced when diving may be neurological.

I cannot comment on the diagnosis of Type 1. That's what he told me so I assume that's what he has been told by the chamber doctors.

He might very well be physically fit enough to be diving in no time but I think his wife will kill him if he tries it!!

Diverlady

 

[learn-scuba]

I'm confused -- how does one go about getting bent on descent? Is that even possible? For some reason this just sounds odd... I would be more inclined to think mini-stroke or something like that rather than DCS. or am I just being dense and missing something?

Edited to add an afterthought

Or is it possible he embolized near the surface prior to the decent while bouncing around in the surge? Embolisms can appear as DCS.

 

[diverlady]

learn-scuba once bubbled...
I'm confused -- how does one go about getting bent on descent? Is that even possible? For some reason this just sounds odd... I would be more inclined to think mini-stroke or something like that rather than DCS. or am I just being dense and missing something?

Edited to add an afterthought

Or is it possible he embolized near the surface prior to the decent while bouncing around in the surge? Embolisms can appear as DCS.

I'm not sure that's when DCS occurred. He has experienced dizziness on descent 4 times altogether (beginning a year ago) and attributed it to going down too quickly. He has reported to me that this dizziness may be neurological. I guess he got that from the chamber doctors.
Both the dizziness and the arm tingling occurred at depth.

Perhaps someone with more medical knowledge of DCS can comment on the possibility of embolism at the surface. (Sunday was a very calm day with very small waves on Lake Ontario)

Diverlady

 

[Otter]

everything I have heard. I hope one of the Medical Regulators / Experts comment. DCS hit on descent seems counter-intuitive.

 

[rmediver2002]

I'm confused -- how does one go about getting bent on descent? Is that even possible? For some reason this just sounds odd... I would be more inclined to think mini-stroke or something like that rather than DCS. or am I just being dense and missing something?

More than likely the diver was just going back through his day attempting to identify any other potential causes of the pain / numbness...

The diver also looks at potential causes for his vertigo and assumes it is alternobaric. When the symptoms were not transient then you need to start looking towards other causes I.E.B., DCS, AGE...

Your correct in assuming that both these symptoms could also have been caused by an AGE...

The problem with waiting for symptoms to subside without seeking a medical evaluation is that after a delay the treatment will be far less effective. Initial symptoms can be caused by direct damage from the bubbles but when symptoms remain after the excess nitrogen has been reabsorbed it means the tissue itself has been indirectly damaged from a decrease in blood supply becoming hypoxic or anoxic and often resulting in cell death. This type of damage can be permanant...

The healing process can be greatly increased through follow up hyperbaric treatments with high ppO2 but the outcome is normally not nearly as dramatic as rapid treatment of symptoms.

Hope for the best!!

Jeff Lane

 

[5615mike]

Diverlady

Sorry to hear about your friend but glad to know he is going to be alright. I had not heard that the thumb and index finger were mostly affected by DCS. I am going to have to remember this.

Thanks

 

[rmediver2002]

everything I have heard. I hope one of the Medical Regulators / Experts comment. DCS hit on descent seems counter-intuitive.

I don't think the focus should be on the pain the diver felt on decent.

The symptom is numbness, the pain on decent was more than likely from a mechanical injury from the previous day.

The numbness or tingling the diver felt and is being treated for is effecting the divers nervous system, the injury site is not normally the sign of the symptom in these cases. The pain was most likely not related to the hit.

Your correct in stating the diver could not get DCS on decent.

The DCS and it's symptoms would not present until there was a decrease in ambient pressure.

Jeff Lane

 

[diverlady]

5615mike once bubbled...
Diverlady

Sorry to hear about your friend but glad to know he is going to be alright. I had not heard that the thumb and index finger were mostly affected by DCS. I am going to have to remember this.

Thanks

That's what he is reporting so I assume he got that from the chamber docs.

I hadn't heard of this before either which is why I decided to post this DCS incident in the Basic Scuba Discussion section - to give it maximum exposure. Post has now been moved to a medical forum.

Diverlady