Skin Bends symptoms reappearing 48 hours later

[tendi]

2 days ago someone in our group was diagnosed with skin bends. Symptoms included pain in the upper abdomen and a blotchy rash. Diver was treated with oxygen and given IV fluids at the local hospital and told not to fly for 72 hours. The pain has continued but not as severe which he was told to expect but now 48 hours after treatment the rash has reappeared. It is much smaller than the original. We fly tomorrow. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this?

 

[Gareth J]

RIng DAN

 

[Pedro Burrito]

---

---

A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

moved from Near Misses

---

 

[soonerwink]

I would give DAN a call. My dive buddy had a skin bend hit last year at Gulf Shores. He contacted DAN and they recommended that he have a chamber ride. He was transported by helicopter to Mobile, the closest chamber. he did one ride in the chamber and was released the next afternoon. He hasn't had any symptoms since and is back to diving.

 

[tendi]

Called DAN. Was told it's most likely an allergic reaction which I don't believe. It happened after diving and went away with oxygen.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

2 days ago someone in our group was diagnosed with skin bends. Symptoms included pain in the upper abdomen and a blotchy rash. Diver was treated with oxygen and given IV fluids at the local hospital and told not to fly for 72 hours. The pain has continued but not as severe which he was told to expect but now 48 hours after treatment the rash has reappeared. It is much smaller than the original. We fly tomorrow. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this?

That would be a bit unusual. Silly question, but did he make any more dives after the first one, or possibly ascend to an altitude, maybe by driving over a mountain?

Best regards,
DDM

 

[tendi]

No diving and his highest ascent was the climb to his second story room. The rash/blotchy area is smaller this morning.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

He should get seen before he flies out, if he hasn't already. If it is a recurrence of DCS symptoms he should probably get treated.

 

[Rred]

Sometimes I wonder about the use of IV fluids. And then I remember, the IV saline bag costs $1 per liter, the hospitals usually charge $100 for that same bag--plus labor fees.

If the rash initially went away, that would tend to indicate the oxygen did the trick, no? Do skin bends "come and go" and recur? Or, is it more likely the second rash was just a rash, an allergic reaction, quite possibly related to the inappropriate use of IV fluids and the perhaps not totally sterile invasion of the body that comes with that?

My reaction to an IV is "That's nice, but since I have no trouble swallowing and my digestive tract is functioning, W H Y ?" Medical convenience and the luxury of being able to administer it before it might be needed, I think.

But I'm just a patient...who can't seem to get logical answers on many medical questions. (The scorecard sadly says I've been right more often than wrong on these kind of suspicions.)

If I need hydration? Gimme a PediaLyte. Or a glass of water.

 

[tendi]

We questioned the IV fluids as well. My guess is that they figure it won't hurt and they probably don't really believe you when you tell them you are hydrated and haven't drank any alcohol. This goes back to the fact that most people are dummies so that is what they assume. Given we weren't in the US, we also assumed the cost would be low...and we were right about that....it added less than $20 to the bill.

The original rash was in one area on his abdomen. The re-occurrence was in the exact same place. I'd bet anything it wasn't an allergic reaction.