Itching skin on stomach

[Freewillow]

Hi, I have been diving 6 times always in the security curve, in the last three days. Yesterday my belly was itching just above my stomac. I was diving in a 3mm wetsuit with water around 28 degree celsius. The itching started 3hours after the last dive yesterday . The size of the area is not larger than the hand. No rediness, no prurit, no stifness of any kind.

i am in the Tuamotus, french polynesia. So no recompression chamber, no hyperbaric doctor.

Can one suggest if an DCS is suggested and in this case what should be done. I am in Rangiroa and the diving is awesome.

 

[chillyinCanada]

You have no pain? No marks that look like bruises, kinda mottled looking?

I've had skin bends in my tummy and upper hip area before, that's why I ask. Started within an hour or two of the dive, itching all over my body, moved to deep pain in tissues and about then the mottled bruising showed up.

Maybe you just have a bug bite? Have you looked inside your wetsuit at site of itching to see if there's anything in there to cause an itch? Too tight clothes?

 

[DocVikingo]

Yesterday my belly was itching just above my stomac. The itching started 3 hours after the last dive yesterday. The size of the area is not larger than the hand. No rediness, no prurit, no stifness of any kind.

Hi Freewillow,

We have questions.

1. Have any additional signs/symptoms of possible DCS appeared since you posted this question?

2. Do you have any history of a formally diagnosed incident of DCS?

3. In the 1st sentence, you indicate itching on the belly area. In the next sentence you go on to indicate no "pruit," which is French for pruritus which in turn is Latin for itching. Could you please clarify? If there was itching, was it intense?

4. Have you tried any medication to treat the condition? If so, which one(s) & what was the result?

In the meantime, the following thread posted in this forum in June of this year includes numerous photos of cases of cutaneous DCS (“skin bends&#8221 with cutis marmorata, including one involving the belly --> http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/di...armorata-skin-bends-buttock-female-diver.html . I know you said there was no redness, but the pictures still are worth a look.

5. Also, the development of cutaneous DCS requires the amassing of a sufficient inert gas loading to provoke it. You provide no details about dive depths or times. It would be very useful to know these in formulating an answer to your inquiry. You do indicate that you were diving within the “security curve,” which I’m guessing means within no-decompression limits (NDLs). Were you also following conservative ascent rates, safety stops & surface intervals?

6. OTOH, the itching could be the result of something as simple as a contact dermatitis. Could you have come into contact with flora or fauna that could cause an allergic reaction? Does your wetsuit chafe in the stomach area?

Cheers,

DocVikingo

 

[Freewillow]

Hi Freewillow,

We have questions.

1. Have any additional signs/symptoms of possible DCS appeared since you posted this question?

2. Do you have any history of a formally diagnosed incident of DCS?

3. In the 1st sentence, you indicate itching on the belly area. In the next sentence you go on to indicate no "pruit," which is French for pruritus which in turn is Latin for itching. Could you please clarify? If there was itching, was it intense?

4. Have you tried any medication to treat the condition? If so, which one(s) & what was the result?

In the meantime, the following thread posted in this forum in June of this year includes numerous photos of cases of cutaneous DCS (“skin bends”) with cutis marmorata, including one involving the belly --> http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/di...armorata-skin-bends-buttock-female-diver.html . I know you said there was no redness, but the pictures still are worth a look.

5. Also, the development of cutaneous DCS requires the amassing of a sufficient inert gas loading to provoke it. You provide no details about dive depths or times. It would be very useful to know these in formulating an answer to your inquiry. You do indicate that you were diving within the “security curve,” which I’m guessing means within no-decompression limits (NDLs). Were you also following conservative ascent rates, safety stops & surface intervals?

6. OTOH, the itching could be the result of something as simple as a contact dermatitis. Could you have come into contact with flora or fauna that could cause an allergic reaction? Does your wetsuit chafe in the stomach area?

Cheers,

DocVikingo

Thank you doc

here are the answers

1 no other symptoms. And itching was relatively significant fir a couple of hours. Since then, nothing

2 no history of dsc

3 excuse my english, only itching, nothing else. Note that the itching was far from unberable

4no medication

5 difficult to detail dive profile. Used anc followed cressi leonardo computor. Surface interval one hour. Second dive not exceeding 22 m. Safety stop of 3minutes @3to4 meters respected.


thank you for your help guys.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Freewillow,

You did not respond to Q6 regarding the possibility of a contact dermatitis or wetsuit chafing or excessive tightness, so we'll assume that these are not involved.

Cutaneous DCS can manifest in a benign form termed pruritus only, sometimes referred to as the "fleas", in which there is only itchy or prickly sensations on the surface of the skin. This is a possibility.

Based on the information you have provided, there seem to be little to worry about at this point. However, if you experience another such episode it would be prudent to investigate a bit further.

Regards,

DocVikingo

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual and should not be construed as such.

 

[Allison Finch]

My sister has had skin bends twice and was WELL within safe diving criteria. Some are just predisposed to it. She presented as blotchy and very itchy abdomen/torso. She went onto O2 both times and it resolved itself.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

In his post above DocV made the distinction between the two categories of skin bends. I'd like to provide some amplification, partly in response to Allison's post.

The U.S. Navy classifies mild, hive-like itching skin bends as a Type I, or mild, DCS symptom. Skin marbling, or cutis marmorata, is classified as a Type II, or more severe, symptom since it sometimes accompanies neurological and/or inner ear DCS and is thought to be associated with shunted bubbles. The cutis in the image DocV linked is pretty dramatic but it's not always that well-demarcated.

The two types of skin DCS can be hard to differentiate. Both categories can occur after dives that are within the security curve, so to speak. Ideally, a diver with a rash that resolves on surface O2 should be evaluated by a physician trained in diving medicine. Given that this doesn't always happen, at the very least, extreme caution should be exercised in declaring a diver asymptomatic since symptoms can and do reoccur and worsen after the O2 is removed.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[Freewillow]

Thank you guys. In order to eliminate the possibility of contact dermatitis, i will put a teeshirt underneet. Will keep you posted . Guy

---------- Post added November 6th, 2014 at 12:15 AM ----------

Two dives this morning with teeshirt. Napoleons turtle black and white tipped reef sharks but no itching

 

[DocVikingo]

Two dives this morning with teeshirt. Napoleons turtle black and white tipped reef sharks but no itching

That is good news. Hope things remain cutaneously copacetic.

Cheers,

DocV

 

[Freewillow]

Sorry for not putting a "happy end to this post". Since then, I have made 20+ dives with a 3mm undervest coated with "aluminum". No more itching