Author Description

Details about many of the divers that I evaluated are included with comments on the way their dives got them into trouble and the chamber at City Island, NAHC. I discuss their treatment profiles and the results of their treatment. It presents a larger series of bent divers than any I am aware of. Should you find another comparable series contact me at avoidaccidents@ymail.com. Ideas about bends have changed from the concept that a bubble formed in the nervous system because of a rapid ascent or the joint by cavitation-negative pressure. Rapid ascent or joint motion caused the culprit to appear and pressure would make the bubble go away. Now we are focused on treating tissue damage with oxygen. But, we are still using pressure and oxygen to increase the partial pressure of oxygen in the affected tissue. The treatment of choice is the 5 hour long U.S. Navy Treatment Table 6 which washes out the nitrogen in the tissue and washes in the oxygen. Careful understanding of how my patients got bent and how they responded should make any diver more cautious regarding repetitive diving and a multi-day series of dives. Pressure at the deepest part of the dive washes in the nitrogen over time. Fatty tissue, that includes the central nervous system and peripheral nerves, absorbs more nitrogen than watery tissues such as muscle. Shaping-up to dive includes weight loss, abstinence during the duration of the series of dives, and improving lung function. Physical conditioning prevents tachycardia, a rapid heart beat, during exertion. A program of regular exercise two or three times a week prevents early fatigue during prolonged exertion, or increases stamina. Exercise such as walking 20 or more minutes a day for several weeks before diving is as important as paying for the trip. Swimming accustoms one to buoyancy, relaxing in the water, and adjusting temperature regulating reflexes such as vaso-constriction in the skin on immersion. Dive accidents sometimes do not have a treatable so