Reported DCS on plane

[lowflyer]

If this is a just-graduated med student, and he is about to start his internship (residency), believe me, that is another stressor.

"Medical student disease" is most evident in the second year of med school when typically pathology is studied, and all those diseased organs are placed in front of you for the first time. But it still occurs later when students are faced with real patients.

I can imagine a newly-wed returning home from bliss, suddenly facing the reality of life and the stressful first year of residency, and he is a bit anxious, then starts fretting over having recently dived, symptoms worsen, and he diagnoses himself with DCS...

Just my imagination...

 

[yle]

Could it be he just had an anxiety panic attack worrying about getting DCS which caused a feeling of breathlessness and tingling in extremities?

That would be my diagnosis. I'm not a doctor, but I have common sense.

 

[Storker]

Could it be he just had an anxiety panic attack worrying about getting DCS which caused a feeling of breathlessness and tingling in extremities?

Well, breathlessness is a common effect of panic attacks, and tingling in the extremities is a common effect of hyperventilation.

I've once assisted a person who had an anxiety panic attack. The situation appears extremely serious to the patient, and unless you realize what's happening you'll probably believe - sincerely - that you might be dying. It's uncomfortable as heck, and it's very easy to think of a bunch of life-threatening conditions that you may suffer from. Very much not a laughing matter, but the DCS self-diagnosis seems rather implausible.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I also wonder if it was 15 and 30 meters instead of feet. As for no fly time, I give myself at least 24 hours. Either way, I'm glad to hear he is OK.

 

[tursiops]

I also wonder if it was 15 and 30 meters instead of feet. As for no fly time, I give myself at least 24 hours. Either way, I'm glad to hear he is OK.

If he only did three dives, then DSD is likely, and 15-30 feet is even more likely.

 

[outofofficebrb]

If he only did three dives, then DSD is likely, and 15-30 feet is even more likely.

Most of us here are pretty crazy about diving and the idea of diving only 3 dives while in Mexico on a honeymoon sounds blasphemous. However, not everyone is like that and if his new wifey doesn't dive and they are on their honeymoon, it might also be possible that he did so few dives so he doesn't feel like he is abandoning her on their honeymoon and that she doesn't feel abandoned. There is a possibility that he is a certified diver.

 

[tursiops]

There is a possibility that he is a certified diver.

I suppose that is a possibility. But then I suspect he'd be more likely to deny DCS than to claim he has it!

 

[Esprise Me]

The article indicated they both went diving. I don't think the fact that he/they did only 3 means it was or wasn't a DSD; not everyone who's certified is as...well, certifiable about diving as we are. They might have had additional priorities on their honeymoon. But since he's an American flying home and making an emergency landing in the US, where the story is being reported, I really doubt anyone mixed up feet and meters. Who would have even brought up meters?

 

[Altamira]

Hey, give the guy a break! I suppose DCS could happen since he was on his honeymoon, and he was probably "working out" a lot-several times a day and night. At least that's what I remember from some 50 years ago.

 

[yle]

Most of us here are pretty crazy about diving and the idea of diving only 3 dives while in Mexico on a honeymoon sounds blasphemous. However, not everyone is like that and if his new wifey doesn't dive and they are on their honeymoon, it might also be possible that he did so few dives so he doesn't feel like he is abandoning her on their honeymoon and that she doesn't feel abandoned. There is a possibility that he is a certified diver.

Possible he's certified, but not relevant. According to the "victim", he and his wife did three dives between 15 and 30 feet on the day before they left Cancun. They flew 19 hours after their last dive, and 20 minutes into the flight he felt dizzy, nauseated and both hands were "tingling". So he immediately decided he was suffering DCS... and now the news media has blown it up, praising his awareness and emphasizing the hazards of scuba diving.

Certified or not, the evidence does not point to DCS. I suggested he was DSD-ing because (a) the shallow depths and (b) he gives the impression he is inexperienced with all things related to scuba.