Reported DCS on plane
- Thread starter chillyinCanada
- Start date
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It doesn't matter. Scuba gets egg on its face either way.
Yeah... me too. Article says the doctor runs the chamber, so you would hope he would know better. Article implies the "victim" got some time in the chamber, which also implies that the experienced doctor agreed with the "victim's" diagnosis.
Of course it's possible he just didn't want to argue with the "victim" and the chamber wasn't busy, so he gave him 20 minutes and didn't bother to pressurize it.
John Bantin
Contributor
A breath-hold ascent could cause embolism/emphysema which could be resolved by recompression.
Is there a definitive test for DCS vs. psychosomatic symptoms? Seems prudent to err on the side of actually treating him. I know one diagnostic tool is breathing oxygen to see if symptoms improve, but if you've convinced yourself you have DCS and you know oxygen will help, wouldn't you feel better after?
That usually presents immediately, not after 19+ hours.
kafkaland
Contributor
Here’s a good test: slap an oxygen sticker on an air tank and ask if they symptoms improve. Then give him an oxy tank with a nitrox sticker, and tell him that’s all we have left. Which one helped more?
Well sure, if you're more concerned with being right than with helping someone who may have a serious medical problem. I would hope a doctor would be more focused on the latter. If it was DCS, which I think we're all skeptical of but can't know for sure, any delay in treating it to play "gotcha" would be malpractice. On the other hand, if there were some type of scan that could definitively say whether or not a person had DCS, it might be worth running first if it could be done quickly. But I don't think that technology exists.
bperrybap
Contributor
What still I don't understand is if they believed it was a serious medical issue due to DCS i.e. a "medical emergency", why would the plane continue on to Dallas for 2+ more hours? Why not turn back since they were only 20 minutes into a 2.5 hour flight?
I'm assuming the cabin can't be pressurized up to sea level
so if it really was DCS, would just breathing oxygen at the equivalent of around 8000 ft really be enough to stop the damage occurring due to the reduced ambient air pressure? Yeah the oxygen helps reduce further nitrogen intake but it seems like the real concern would be the accelerated off-gassing happening due to the reduced pressure inside the plane.
I'm assuming the cabin can't be pressurized up to sea level
so if it really was DCS, would just breathing oxygen at the equivalent of around 8000 ft really be enough to stop the damage occurring due to the reduced ambient air pressure? Yeah the oxygen helps reduce further nitrogen intake but it seems like the real concern would be the accelerated off-gassing happening due to the reduced pressure inside the plane.
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