Nurses

[fooks]

Just curious more than anything. When someone has to go into the chamber because of DCS, a nurse or other medical professional usually acompanys them to watch over them while in the chamber. My question is, do the nurses feel any affects of the chamber? Can they get the bends from being in the chamber?

Thanks

 

[BillP]

Hi fooks:

There isn't anything special about having particular initials after your name that protects you from the effects of breathing gas under pressure. Chamber attendants have to equalize with pressure changes and off-gas inert gases just like everyone else. Their inert gas absorption and elimination, oxygen toxicity, etc. will be monitored just like the patients', and the attendant will also have a decompression schedule. Not all chambers have room for an attendant, but those that do frequently have airlocks that allow attendants to enter and leave the chamber as necessary.

Hope this answers your question.

Bill

 

[Dr Deco]

Dear fooks:

Yes, indeed, chamber attendants can get decompression sickness while with patients. It is considered more than just an embarrassment, since there is now another person to treat. Unlike scuba diving, the exposure in a chamber can be quite long. Attendants can also breathe oxygen at the end of the treatment period to reduce the risk of the exposure.

It would also be advisable that attendants exposed to pressure not be the same people who lift and haul the patient after treatment. This could cause nucleation in the attendant and result in DCS.

Dr Deco
:doctor: