Question about hyperbaric chamber rides

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prosdog

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Location
San Antonio Texas
# of dives
100 - 199
I got certified back in 1981, but only went on 4 dives up until last year. Since last year when I got my son certified, I've done 32 dives, putting me in the category of having enough experience to confidently get myself into trouble.

Although I am very claustrophobic, I love diving. Its almost the opposite of the anxiety I get from being in confined places. My deepest (no pun intended) fear is getting a DCS hit and having to go into a chamber for 5 hours. Especially a small coffin like one that I saw Michael Jackson napping it many years ago in some gossip magazine. I dive very conservatively and use NITROX whenever possible, but if it happens, I think I'd rather succumb to the injury then get in a chamber. My question is how do chamber operators handle people that have this issue? Is it possible to be sedated or knocked out while undergoing treatment? Thanks.
 
Tranquilizers.
 
Good question - will be looking forward to the answer out of curiosity. There was a story recently about a horse that was in a chamber (for wound treatment) and he kicked and it ended badly. But the part that might interest you is that the article said that this horse had not been sedated because it had previously tolerated chamber rides ok - which leads me to believe that at least horses can be sedated for the ride, so why not humans?
 
I heard the horse was diving a Horse Collar....and got in trouble.
My daughter made many trips in a Hypo Chamber to help heal a Compartment Syndrome compression injury when her vehicle crushed her arm as it rolled over it when she rolled said vehicle, the saturated oxygen in her blood quickened the healing and saved her arm from being amputated . After a trip you could see previous dying tissue that would be pink with life when she would exit. Compartment Swelling Syndrome is when the tissue swells within the confines of the skin and cuts off circulation, they then have to slice the skin open to relieve the pressure and gain circulation and it lays open a horrid gash, the length of her forearm and hand in her case. She also broke a bone as they saw in an x-ray and they were getting ready to run her down for a cast which would have hid her arm a resulted in amputation but luckily a doctor picked up on CSS and whacked her open.
oops, sorry, got started and forgot what the thread was about.:D
 
I don't know for sure but I think they would just sedate you if you were really anxious. You could try calling DAN? They might be able to give you a definitive answer.

A horse doing a chamber ride.... that's just wrong!

Apparently they were treating it with 100% oxygen. It kicked through a layer of protection and it's shoe hit something causing a spark...then a very large explosion. One operator was killed and another injured IIRC.
 
Hey Prosdog,

Good question. May I make a suggestion? Find out where your nearest hyperbaric chamber is and go have a look. Give 'em a call and see if you can drop in.

Some chambers might be bigger than you expect. Quite often there must be an attendant in a chamber with the patient, and this requires more room.

IMO, a chamber ride should be part of every rescue dive course. This would both educate students, and maybe remove some of the stigma associated with acknowledging when they might be bent. And it's always good to know where they're located. :wink:
 
this just ruined my mental image of a chamber. always thought it was like a big room haha
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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