Bubbles Under Eye Lids

[Lost Yooper]

I found this on another list which I thought was interesting. I'm wondering if any of the docs here can verify this and possibly go into more detail with regard to the size and visibility of these bubbles. Maybe someone can try this and get back with us on the results -- I'd do it myself if it weren't for the ice . This would be pretty cool for deco experiments to evaluate various offgassing procedures, but I doubt it is comprehensive enough.

What say you?

Mike

UPDATED : 8 March 2002NEW TEST FOR DECOMPRESSION ILLNESS

Doctors at the University of New South Wales Department of Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine claim to have discovered a simple method of identifying decompression illness. Research carried out on scuba divers revealed that after every dive between one and three bubbles are visible in the fluid that lubricates the eyeball. These are visible in the tear film in the lower eyelid. In case of divers with decompression illness, between 20 and 30 bubbles can be observed. "We hope that a remote doctor, suspicious that a patient may have the bends, will be able to do a simple, inexpensive examination of the patient's tear film. Based on the number of air bubbles, they will then be able to make a decision on whether the patient needs to be flown out for further treatment," said Dr Bennett, the report's author.

Monday 4 March, 2002

 

[Dr Deco]

Reports of this first appeared a couple of years ago. In a sense, this functions as a “poor man’s Doppler.” By that I mean it will indicate that supersaturation has occurred and also indicates that surface tension in that individual is effectively low enough for gas micronuclei to grow. ;-(

The “mechanism” behind this, in my mind, is the fact that tear films have one of the lowest surface tensions in the body. While blood serum is approximately 55 to 60 dynes/cm, tear films are on the order of 35 – 40 dynes/cm. The ability for dissolved nitrogen to accumulate in the tear ducts, plus a low surface tension, plus the possibility for hydrodynamic cavitation with the blinking of the eyes makes this a good area (I believe) for bubbles to form. In addition, they can be seen there.

Dr Deco
[For those interested in the reports:
Strath RA, Morariu GI, Mekjavic IB. Tear film bubble formation after decompression. Optom Vis Sci 1992 Dec;69(12):973-5;

Mekjavic IB, Campbell DG, Jaki P, Dovsak PA. Ocular bubble formation as a method of assessing decompression stress. Undersea Hyperb Med 1998 Winter;25(4):201-10 ;

Bennett MH, Doolette DJ, Heffernan N. Ocular tear film bubble counts after recreational compressed air diving. Undersea Hyperb Med 2001 Spring;28(1):1-7 ]

:doctor:

 

[Lost Yooper]

Is it as simple as having someone peer inside your eye lid and see bubbles, or is a magnifying glass needed?

Thanks.

Mike

 

[Dr Deco]

Mike

From the photos I have seen, a fairly good magnifying glass is needed.

Dr Deco

 

[jetblast00]

So we can use pocket mirrors as deco stop-watches to see when we've off gassed enough, right? (just kidding)

But this is really interesting. My real question is: Is there anywhere specific that these findings and associated data sets have been published, online or otherwise?

 

[Lost Yooper]

I know someone who is bent right now -- I was just talking to him an hour ago. He got bent while in Bonaire last week doing an air dive to 190' using an Aladin nitrox computer fo deco. He knows he's bent in the neck, but he won't go to a chamber (gotta be a man ) which is 5mins away from here. Anyway, will he have bubbles in his eyes right now, or will they dissipate? How does all of that work?

Thanks.

Mike

 

[Dr Deco]

Mike:

I am sure that the tear film gas bubbles will have dissipated by now. Bubbles in the blood generally do not persist for more than an hour at the surface. This is probably also the case for tear film gas bubbles.

The gas phase responsible for the neck problems has no doubt gone (dissolved) and has been replaced by edema (= swelling), intravascular blood clots, or nerve damage. I would be surprised that a DCS pain (“the bends”) was still present in the neck one week post dive. If, on the other hand, the person has a problem in his/her neck indicative of nerve involvement, then it would be advisable to have someone with a proper medical background evaluate this. This is especially true if a chamber is close at hand (I assume you are speaking of Marquette Regional Medical Center).

Dr Deco:doctor:

Jetblast:
I am not aware of any postings concerning this topic on the WWW. The information in these papers is all that exists. It is another aspect of the surface tension question.

 

[Lost Yooper]

It hasn't been a week, only a two or three days since the dive. He said he has the whole swelling thing going as well as fatigue. He says the joints in the neck feel wierd too. He's been around a lot of bent people and been bent a few times himself, but just doesn't want to go to the chamber. The flight home yesterday probably didn't do him any good either.

Yeah, the chamber is about four blocks away .

Thanks.

Mike

 

[Lost Yooper]

For those interested, here's Mike Bennet's paper on the subject. I thought it was pretty interesting.

http://www.realworld.com.au/OccularTears.pdf

Mike

 

[jetblast00]

Thanks LY!

I read as much as I get can get my hands on when it comes to things on gasses, diving, and physiology. I really appreciate the lead into this interesting topic.