Oh, look - another girl with a skin bends issue...

[wedivebc]

I agree that deep stops for recreational dives are probably not beneficial. One thing I pay attention to religiously since having 3 hits over the years is ascent from last stop to the surface. In each case I was hit I either absentmindedly or accidently rushed to the surface after my last stop.
I make a point of taking at least a minute or two to surface after my last deco stop is complete. I have felt better post dive ever since.

 

[Dr Deco]

Hi Readers:

Some divers also like to pause for a few minutes on the surface before climbing on board the boat. They refer to this as the "hidden stop."

 

[robint]

this is a really interesting topic as I have spoken with several people in the past few years who have had "skin bends".
One person is a Calif diver, female, who got them several times - her problem was diagnosed as being caused by her "new" drysuit which trapped air and caused her to ascend too quickly. She had a wrist valve added so she was able to slow herself better (according to her) and problem hasn't returned.

Another person, 15 yr old boy, newly certified who was free-diving during surface intervals in Cozumel. Did this several days in a row as a rash appeared on his back and daily got bigger and bigger. Parents thought it was an allergy to wetsuit at first and didn't seek medical advice until end of week of diving. Assessment in that case - never free-dive during surface interval, always wait several hours to let nitrogen bubbles clear.

Another person, an instructor, got skin bends when chasing a student making an unsafe ascent in ocean. Her skin bends were in her neck.

So.... all these cases, were caused by quick ASCENT actions by the divers. Does that seem to be the cause with skin bends in MOST cases? I have heard that females are more likely to get them, too. Is that true?

robin

 

[vetdiver]

Well, I am not going to say that I have not chased my NDL up the line a few times when diving without redundancy, but I have always made a reasonable ascent. Let me put it to you this way - rare is the time that I am not passed by another diver doing a faster ascent or shorter safety stop on ascent, and it certainly did not happen in these cases.

In short, I really, really do not think that my issue can or should be compared to someone chasing a student who was making an unsafe ascent.

The bottom line is that for whatever reason, I seem to be a bit more prone to this than the average person, and it has been exacerbated recently. I dove again on Tuesday - same exact dive sites as one of the days I had an issue, and this time, I hydrated well and did a minute or so at 30 ft, 3 min at 18-20 ft, and 3 min at 10-15 ft. I had no issues. That's now twice that I've solved this problem by adding on a shallow stop. The skin/subcutaneous tissues are just a slow-clearing compartment, and I'll just have to allow a bit of extra time in the future.

Allison

 

[Dr Deco]

Hi Allison:

That is a very interesting result. You cannot argue with success.

Thank you for the update!

 

[Kendall Raine]

Hi -



I have now had symptoms consistent with skin bends 3 times.

For what it's worth, a single data point for you: a friend of mine, female around 45 who dives all the time started having frequent skin hits after thousands of symptomless dives. While many of her exposures were deep helium based, she was developing frequent skin hits on both deep as well as shallow long exposures (Mexican caves). She had a TTE with bubble contrast performed which detected a relatively large PFO. She had it repaired. Upon return to diving she has been free of symptoms.

 

[Rhea Lynn]

I was diving Sat here in Colombia. 2 dives, bit deeper then I have in a while, the first 110 ft multi level, safety stops on both dives, but nothing out of the ordinary. (With other people who are fine. )I have logged over 700 dives over 19 years and never had a problem like this.
2 hours after diving I started getting pain in my left chest area, I went to lay down and I started to feel a building, spreading 'fire like' pain and itching in my stomach, hips and thighs (yes the fatty areas of my body) I looked in the mirror and saw a purplish molted looking rash spreading as I watched. There was a lot of surface pain. I also had some tingling in my shoulder.
Needless to say I felt anxious and scared not knowing what was happening. I contacted DAN and was told this was symptoms of level 1. The discoloration disappeared almost as fast as it appeared. I saw a Doctor here and have no other serious symptoms. I am still experiencing tenderness in the area of my stomach where the rash was.
With language being an issue for me here I am looking for some more information. Of course the big questions Why me, Why now? How long should I stay out of the water?And also in this moment do I need to worry about anything else?
I was not wearing a suit, have no allergies and am healthy.
The diving is beautiful here in Cartagena, by the way Warm, no need for a suit.

 

[vetdiver]

Hi -

Well, you really should consult DAN or see your local doctor and get their advice. I have never had a joint issue and wonder if your incident was more serious.

I can tell you that around the time I was having my issues, another woman about 9-10 years older than me who dives locally got bent doing dives within recreational limits, wound up in the chamber for hours. They looked at her computer, and they told her she was barely within limits - her take (and mine, since this skin stuff started happening to me) is that we are not 22 anymore. (Frankly, that pisses me off a bit, I am 39 and in great shape, darn it!!! Possibly better shape than when I was 22!) No more following the computer and assuming we will all be just fine - we take our age, fitness, etc. into account.

Since the time I posted initially, I have done maybe 50 dives, including a few below 110 ft. I hydrate the evening before and day of, lots of water.... I also do a very, very, almost ridiculously slow ascent, including a 3-5 min safety stop and a 3-4 minute additional shallow stop at 10-12 ft. I now carry a pony bottle religiously on boats so I don't have to inconvenience whoever dives with me (and more so I don't feel uncomfortable staying down solo as long as I please at 10 ft!!). I have been issue free and feel comfortable with my current plan.

Best of luck to you

 

[pickens_46929]

So not being a doctor or anything... just a diver with some experience on the Suunto computers and skin bends...

1) Set the conservative factor on the computer up... even though Suunto's are generally conservative, it may not be conservative enough for your particular physiology... and it has a setting for just this thing.


2) If your Suunto is not a newer model with the Deep Stop microbubble model, you should look into upgrading... the newer microbubble model in recent Suunto's adds deep stops as an option to your ascent if needed... that combined with setting it to be more conservative might be part of the answer...

3) NAUI recently amended their recommendations for deep stops... see this thread here on ScubaBoard from June 2008... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...w-naui-standards-deep-stops-safety-stops.html... basically it's recommending a slightly longer deep stop of 2 to 3 mins at 1/2 the distance to the surface and a prefunctory 1 minute safety stop at 10 to 15 ft.

Glad to hear that what you're doing today works for you... only question is have you done 4 dives in a day as you previously had?

 

[Rhea Lynn]

AGE!!!!!! hmmmmmmmm I guess we are all learning lots as all us veteran divers are aging This actually was the birthday bends for me as I experienced this on my birthday. I have always dove even more conservatively then my computer but was feeling a bit teenage like and indestructible ( age denial I suppose) This ended for me with chamber time. I had a connection with the Colombian Navy here and got to see their diving doctor . He put me in the chamber for 2 sessions , mostly just to be sure. What an experience!! I have learned so much this week. He also has said no diving for 6 weeks. When I get back in I will follow your example and take my sweet time coming back to the boat

QUOTE=vetdiver;3877544]Hi -

Well, you really should consult DAN or see your local doctor and get their advice. I have never had a joint issue and wonder if your incident was more serious.

I can tell you that around the time I was having my issues, another woman about 9-10 years older than me who dives locally got bent doing dives within recreational limits, wound up in the chamber for hours. They looked at her computer, and they told her she was barely within limits - her take (and mine, since this skin stuff started happening to me) is that we are not 22 anymore. (Frankly, that pisses me off a bit, I am 39 and in great shape, darn it!!! Possibly better shape than when I was 22!) No more following the computer and assuming we will all be just fine - we take our age, fitness, etc. into account.

Since the time I posted initially, I have done maybe 50 dives, including a few below 110 ft. I hydrate the evening before and day of, lots of water.... I also do a very, very, almost ridiculously slow ascent, including a 3-5 min safety stop and a 3-4 minute additional shallow stop at 10-12 ft. I now carry a pony bottle religiously on boats so I don't have to inconvenience whoever dives with me (and more so I don't feel uncomfortable staying down solo as long as I please at 10 ft!!). I have been issue free and feel comfortable with my current plan.

Best of luck to you [/QUOTE]