Reported DCS on plane

[DBPacific]

Reading between the lines, I would be willing to bet that his total diving experience is what you just described. That is, he went on three DSDs during his stay.

What does DSD stand for, here?

 

[CuzzA]

If I had to guess, the journalist mistook 15 and 30 meters as feet. Where's the guy from?

 

[yle]

The picture is coming into focus. "Victim" is a 26 yr old, just out of med school (i.e. is starting his residency), was on his honeymoon. The "anxiety attack from worrying about DCS" suggestion would fit with someone who has just enough knowledge about all the things that can go wrong with the human body but no experience with diving.

 

[yle]

What does DSD stand for, here?

"Discover Scuba Diving"... sometimes referred to as "try scuba diving" or a "resort course." It's for non-certified people... they get 20 minutes of the basics (how to clear a mask, keep breathing, don't touch your inflator) and then are taken on a shallow dive for 30 minutes to see the pretty fish.

 

[2airishuman]

Can you really build up and retain enough nitrogen to get DCS on a flight after just 3 dives to a maximum of only 30ft and a 19hr SIT time? even if dehydrated?

No.

 

[bperrybap]

Other reports show that Malik Altoos and his wife Kenda Albaree were from Denver on their honeymoon.
I did manage to find a resident Dr in Denver named Malik Altoos.
Could it be he just had an anxiety panic attack worrying about getting DCS which caused a feeling of breathlessness and tingling in extremities?

 

[WarrenZ]

When I read that article I thought that it was a case of slow news day plus someones hypochondria but if it was 3 dives to 30 meters for a long time approaching the NDL I would still be skeptical without a contributing cause dehydration and PFO perhaps.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

Other reports show that Malik Altoos and his wife Kenda Albaree were from Denver on their honeymoon.
I did manage to find a resident Dr in Denver named Malik Altoos.
Could it be he just had an anxiety panic attack worrying about getting DCS which caused a feeling of breathlessness and tingling in extremities?

Most likely anxiety panic dehydration which dehydration alone can cause severe headaches and other symptoms. Unless as others said it wasnt feet but meters deep and even then its STILL almost a full day so I wouldnt think DCS likely. Im sure others will correct me if im wrong.

 

[tursiops]

And another guess is a possible PFO, if indeed he had DCS....which I doubt.

Haldane's original experiments showed you could reduce ambient pressure by 50% (i.e., from 2 ATA to 1 ATA) without DCS. That is now understood and quantified in dive tables and computer algorithms in terms of one's N2 content, so you can reduce your pressure without fear of DCS by a factor of 1.58 rather than 2.0, if you only look at the N2 and you are using air. [This is why most dive tables don't even start until 35-40 ft, occasionally 30 ft, because you have essentially unlimited NDLs. Current US Navy dive tables start at 30 ft with a 371-minute No Stop Limit, although they do publish a special shallow-water table that starts at 25 ft with a 595-minute NSL.]

The OP had an exposure of 30 ft, so he never made it to 2ATA.

 

[jgttrey]

You can easily get all those symptoms in Mexico without diving or flying. Worst case of "DCS" I ever had was bottle of Herradura Reposado. Turns out that descending only a few inches in one of those can bend you pretty badly.

Unless the facts are very different than reported, it doesn't add up to DCS. Sounds more like too much tequila or local water coupled with an overactive imagination.