BREATHING
AIR AT DEPTH
Signs and symptoms include paralysis,
shock, weakness, dizziness. numbness,
tingling, difficulty breathing, and
varying degrees of joint and limb pain.
In the most severe cases, unconsciousness
and death can result.
Decompression
sickness can also manifest subtly. Symptoms
can include a mild to moderate dull
ache, usually but not necessarily in
the joints, mild to moderate tingling
or numbness, usually, but not necessarily,
in the limbs. Weakness and prolonged
fatigue may result from DC'S. Decompression
sickness symptoms can occur together
or individually, occur anywhere in the
body, and may be accompanied by lightheadedness.
Symptoms
usually occur anywhere from 15 minutes
to 12 hours after a dive, though they
can occur later. They tend to come on
gradually and persist, though they can
be intermittent. Regardless of the severity
of the symptoms. consider all cases
of decompression sickness serious.
Lung
over expansion injuries and decompression
sickness can produce very similar signs
and symptoms, even though they result
from two different causes (holding the
breath versus exceeding time and depth
limits). The dive medical community
lumps DCS and lung overexpansion in,
jury under the clinical term decompression
illness (DCI). They do this because
the first aid and treatment are identical
for both, and there's no need to distinguish
between them when assisting a diver.
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