persistant diving related sickness

[Iguana Don]

scubadoc,

Some weeks back, there were some posts on excessive physical labor after diving bringing on the onset of DCS, Could part of his problem be that? He mentioned that they were doing a large amount of physical exertion after diving.

Don

P.S. Spell check would be noce!

 

[scubadoc]

Hi Don:

This question is a mixed bag - there being reports that indicate both sides of the question are true. The inveterate runner or hiker on a dive trip often wants to know if there is any harm in exercising after diving. For hiking at sea level there is no evidence that shows that exercise after diving increases the rate of decompression sickness. There are mixed reports of exercise causing increased DCS in altitude exposed individuals (Pilmanis). On the contrary, there is evidence that exercising while decompressing is helpful in reducing decompression accidents. Muth et al, have found that exercise increases the elimination of nitrogen post-dives that are non-DCS producing. Jankowski has shown that exercise during decompression reduces the amount of venous gas emboli. Of course, mountain climbing after diving requires the same precautions as does flying after diving and one should use the same guidelines.

References about this can be found on our web site at http://www.scuba-doc.com/exerdcs.html

 

[seacritter]

WOW!!! This board is a wealth of infomation!! To give you an update. We had our regulators overhauled but, I have not dove again to date. My plans are to dive Monday and Tuesday using my spare regulator. I'll dive on this regulator for a couple of weeks or if the symtoms return. If not I'll start using my primary regulator. This will r/o my primary regulator as the culprit or just the fact it needed servicing. Thanks again, Sea Critter

 

[Dr Deco]

Dear Don:

I have posted several replies to questions regarding exercise during the offgassing portion of the dive in the Ask Dr. Deco forum. At NASA, we have investigated many aspects of this in conjunction with our program to reduce the oxygen prebreathe time prior to EVA.

Exercise will always produce gas micronuclei, but mild exercise will produce only small ones that are of little consequence for decompression. Mild exercise, however, is good for increasing the perfusion rate (= local blood flow in the tissue) and increasing the rate of nitrogen elimination. This is the reason that I have argued for divers to move arms and legs while in the water while at the safety stop, to move limbs while back on the boat, and not to go to sleep following a dive.

There is a problem if one engages in strenuous exercise since this can cause DCS problems through bubble formation (so-called stress assisted nucleation from hydrodynamic cavitation). Under this category, I have suggested that climbing ladders with full gear following a dive is not sound biophysics. Other proscriptions would be moving scuba tanks and other heavy pieces of equipment. While it depends on the dive profile, avoidance should be within the hour after surfacing – roughly.

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[sp]Dr. Deco