Ed Jackson1
Guest
A few of us were diving Venice Beach last week which has a maximum depth of 21 feet. One of the divers had some difficulty with his buoyancy due to being underweighted. He started coughing up a little blood immediately after the dive. Three hours later he started to experience neck pain. He presented to medical on the military base where he is stationed. Initially the physician on call was thinking DCS because he was diving. A call to DAN led him to get a CT of the neck which showed subcutaneous air.
Its fairly easy to figure out what happened here. The diver experienced a gas expansion injury while he was having difficulty staying at depth. He ascended due to being underweighted and did not continue to exhale while surfacing. It underscores the fact that the greatest pressure change occurs in the first 20 feet of the dive and that one must remember to exhale when surfacing.
Its fairly easy to figure out what happened here. The diver experienced a gas expansion injury while he was having difficulty staying at depth. He ascended due to being underweighted and did not continue to exhale while surfacing. It underscores the fact that the greatest pressure change occurs in the first 20 feet of the dive and that one must remember to exhale when surfacing.
