Unexpected Skin Bends--Why

[guyharrisonphoto]

After a lifetime of diving (45 years and 2500+ dives), including maybe a dozen dives every year to 100', on my two most recent trips I have developed what seems to be skin bends. I am 60 years old, 210 pounds, in pretty good fitness, exercise very regularly, and have never had anything like this happen before.

Painful deep pink rash over my abdomen (and around my side) that feels like bruising and showing up about 3 hours after the dives. I went to the ER at the local hospital that has a chamber and each time they also diagnosed skin bends. Each time I was put on O2 for a while, observed, and because no other more serious symptoms developed, and the skin symptoms were beginning to recede, they decided I did not need a chamber treatment.

The first set of dives were deeper profiles (first dive 80 to 90 feet, second dive 60 feet), on 35% nitrox. I dove close to the computer limit (ascent with 2 mins NDL), but had a slow ascent and a three minute safety stop.

Two weeks later, the same thing happened. But, because of the first episode, I had increased the conservatism of my computer (which shortened my NDL about 3-5 mins each dive) and also gave myself a 5 minute stop each dive instead of 3. Same outcome.

I have an appointment with a local doctor who works at the chamber, but I wanted to post here. What is the possible explanation for this occurring now, and on pretty standard dive profiles for me, and even in fact more conservative on the second set of dives?

 

[scubadada]

Have you already discussed this with DAN?

Are you still diving Scubapro computers? The decompression algorithm tends to be middle of the road to conservative

 

[WetRocks]

In my experience, once you have been bent you are more susceptible to being bent again. This is a good time to call and talk to DAN (in my experience they will give you very conservative advice.)

Diving 2 weeks after a hit is a bit soon, your tissues are damaged and they need time to heal. In addition, you should take all the usual recommended precautions: well rested, properly hydrated, lose weight/increase cardiovascular fitness etc and dive even more conservatively and avoid post-dive exertion.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

My fiance' began getting skin bends when she was 63. Even with a minimum of 90 minutes surface interval she would still get them.
She began plotting her depth and bottom time on a graph, noting each time the patch appeared after a dive. The skin bends were clearly depth and time dependent.
She now leaves the bottom with several minutes of ndl diving 32%, makes a slow ascent, sometimes including a stop halfway followed by a minimum of ten minutes at fifteen feet. Adhering to this rule she has been patch free for the past five years, averaging 100 dives per year.

 

[scrane]

My fiance' began getting skin bends when she was 63. Even with a minimum of 90 minutes surface interval she would still get them.
She began plotting her depth and bottom time on a graph, noting each time the patch appeared after a dive. The skin bends were clearly depth and time dependent.
She now leaves the bottom with several minutes of ndl diving 32%, makes a slow ascent, sometimes including a stop halfway followed by a minimum of ten minutes at fifteen feet. Adhering to this rule she has been patch free for the past five years, averaging 100 dives per year.

Is that NDL based on air or 32% ? Thanks.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

32%. We set our computers to what gas we are actually diving. If we ever had an accident and had to go to a chamber it would be important for the chamber crew to know your real profile. Many divers set their computer to air while diving nitrox, but that really doesn't increase their safety as the air tables are already conservative.

 

[Superlyte27]

So, you’re getting older. That’s part of it. It could have been a fluke, but then you dove two weeks after a crappy treatment for the first DCS. As stated above, that’s too soon between the hit and the next dive.

If it were me, my next dive 2 weeks later would have been to 20’ on pure oxygen

 

[scubadada]

My fiance' began getting skin bends when she was 63. Even with a minimum of 90 minutes surface interval she would still get them.
She began plotting her depth and bottom time on a graph, noting each time the patch appeared after a dive. The skin bends were clearly depth and time dependent.
She now leaves the bottom with several minutes of ndl diving 32%, makes a slow ascent, sometimes including a stop halfway followed by a minimum of ten minutes at fifteen feet. Adhering to this rule she has been patch free for the past five years, averaging 100 dives per year.

Was she also skin bend free for many years and dives before she was affected?

 

[Superlyte27]

32%. We set our computers to what gas we are actually diving. If we ever had an accident and had to go to a chamber it would be important for the chamber crew to know your real profile. Many divers set their computer to air while diving nitrox, but that really doesn't increase their safety as the air tables are already conservative.

At every chamber I’ve ever been to for my friends that got bent, NONE of them knew anything about the type of diving we did.... EVER. Looking at our profiles, they told us we were diving death sentences and while I had no symptoms, said that I should be in the chamber alongside my buddy. They had zero understanding of nitrox, trimix or decompression diving. I was a chamber operator in the GoM for a decade. The hyperbaric docs in hospitals are a bunch of idiots who know how to treat gangrene. They don’t know how to treat DCS other than “let’s run a table six, come pick up your buddy in 6 hours”. After they almost put him in the chamber with a cell phone in his pocket. FYI, Type II DCS with paralysis in both legs isn’t treated with a single Table 6.

 

[aquacat8]

At every chamber I’ve ever been to for my friends that got bent, NONE of them knew anything about the type of diving we did.... EVER. Looking at our profiles, they told us we were diving death sentences and while I had no symptoms, said that I should be in the chamber alongside my buddy. They had zero understanding of nitrox, trimix or decompression diving. I was a chamber operator in the GoM for a decade. The hyperbaric docs in hospitals are a bunch of idiots who know how to treat gangrene. They don’t know how to treat DCS other than “let’s run a table six, come pick up your buddy in 6 hours”. After they almost put him in the chamber with a cell phone in his pocket. FYI, Type II DCS with paralysis in both legs isn’t treated with a single Table 6.

This is scary! How did you resolve it?