Diving to cure DCS

[ShakaZulu]

"Authorities say she ran out of air as she was coming to the surface, missing a decompression stop. Instead of heading to a hyperbaric chamber, investigators believe she grabbed another tank and dove back in to decompress and was never seen alive again."

Diving Accident Report

 

[Rick Inman]

Totally non-scientific, experiential situation that happened last week that I witnessed (from shore):

Recreational diver plans a dive on a single tank to 110' with air and gets lost, confused, etc. and hits 121' and incurs 4 mins of deco plus a safety stop. Diver realizes that he is almost OOG and so he and buddy go straight up (controlled, but a bit fast) to the surface, omitting all stops of any kind.

Back on shore I offer O2, but it is refused. Both divers remain non-symptomatic (one says he is "normal tired"), and after a couple of hours one diver goes home and the other "normal tired" one makes a second dive. On the second dive, the diver does a max depth of 60' for 10 mins, does 10 mins from 60' to 20', and then does 30 mins at 20'. After the second dive he claims to feel much more energetic and less tired than he did after the first dive.

I'm not making any claims here, just relating the story, because the diver mentioned claims he reduced bubbles on the second dive and "cleaned up."

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

How many people have cured mild DCS by retuing to depth and making a slow ascent and safety stop?

Well of course no will be able to answer this with a number since those cases are not reported in any sort of database. It is reported to be a fairly common practice in some areas. And ancedotally seems to work pretty well in warm water and benign conditions, and pretty poorly in cold water and bad conditions.

Pyle and Youngblood’s paper “In-water Re-compression as an Emergency Field Treatment of Decompression Illness”, has a number of interesting case studies.

Bottom line is it is not recommend where there is a ready access to a surface re-compression chamber. But where there is not it may be an option. To be a viable option you have to have a plan and the supplies to carry the plan out however.

 

[Thalassamania]

"Authorities say she ran out of air as she was coming to the surface, missing a decompression stop. Instead of heading to a hyperbaric chamber, investigators believe she grabbed another tank and dove back in to decompress and was never seen alive again."

Diving Accident Report

That report has numerous errors in it. As I understand it the diver was not symptomatic, in fact the diver might not have even had a deco obligation. In any case the actual problem is said to have stemmed more from an incompatibility between the rig the diver went back in with and the diver's various inflation connectors (a good lesson there in any case) as well as the divers weighting (integrated weighting systems).

Totally non-scientific, experiential situation that happened last week that I witnessed (from shore):

Recreational diver plans a dive on a single tank to 110' with air and gets lost, confused, etc. and hits 121' and incurs 4 mins of deco plus a safety stop. Diver realizes that he is almost OOG and so her and buddy go straight up (controlled, but a bit fast) to the surface, omitting all stops of any kind.

Back on shore I offer O2, but it is refused. Both divers remain non-symptomatic (one says he is "normal tired"), and after a couple of hours one diver goes home and the other "normal tired" one makes a second dive. On the second dive, the diver does a max depth of 60' for 10 mins, does 10 mins from 60' to 20', and then does 30 mins at 20'. After the second dive he claims to feel much more energetic and less tired than he did after the first dive.

I'm not making any claims here, just relating the story, because the diver mentioned claims he reduced bubbles on the second dive and "cleaned up."

Might be some truth to that. Too bad they couldn't smarten up at the same time.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

Should always be an option. A LAST option but at least an option. In tech diving you learn that any option is better than no option. I would not bash a newer diver for asking that question, especially since it has been done but I would think with all the 02 you can find today you have to be a bit off to try it. I know a diver from South america who has done it successful more than a few times. To this day he uses no timers, or computer and thinks we are a bit off with all the nitrox and tri-mix we use. But like most here my common sense tells me I wont do it

It should not even be an option, cause the equipment required and technical ability of the support divers will not be available in a recreational environment. This risks involved far out ways the reward. I can just see some Hillbilly trying to do IWR with some DIY tools

 

[DandyDon]

I dont have the symptoms Im just generalizing but Ive heard cases of this working.

You can hear anything. Completing your profile with dive experiences would help reacting to your questions. You are DAN insured I hope, but you can phone for consultation even if you are not, free, 24/7, collect.

Totally non-scientific, experiential situation that happened last week that I witnessed (from shore):

Recreational diver plans a dive on a single tank to 110' with air and gets lost, confused, etc. and hits 121' and incurs 4 mins of deco plus a safety stop. Diver realizes that he is almost OOG and so he and buddy go straight up (controlled, but a bit fast) to the surface, omitting all stops of any kind.

Back on shore I offer O2, but it is refused. Both divers remain non-symptomatic (one says he is "normal tired"), and after a couple of hours one diver goes home and the other "normal tired" one makes a second dive. On the second dive, the diver does a max depth of 60' for 10 mins, does 10 mins from 60' to 20', and then does 30 mins at 20'. After the second dive he claims to feel much more energetic and less tired than he did after the first dive.

I'm not making any claims here, just relating the story, because the diver mentioned claims he reduced bubbles on the second dive and "cleaned up."

Deserves at Do Not Try At Home title. With the 2 hour SI, I doubt he accomplished anything on the second dive; he survived unharmed is all.

 

[Rick Inman]

...I doubt he accomplished anything on the second dive...

Really? You don't think maybe he breathed off some of those bubbles with all that time at 20'??


Oh yeah. Don't try this at home.

 

[DandyDon]

Really? You don't think maybe he breathed off some of those bubbles with all that time at 20'??

You think he did? If so, I'll yield to your opinion as I'd think you'd know more about such than me. We don't know which computer told him that he had 4 minutes of deco missed but I suppose it locked him out. If it was one of the ridiculously conservative, it may have been a false reading compared to more popular deco charts - but if you're not going to respect your puter's readings, why dive it?

I would not have risked it, in part because I am not well educated on bubble theory. I'd been afraid of pumping them, and if I am anticipating a chance of a hit, rather take it on the boat than underwater. If either of my Oceanics lock up with correct gas settings, I am really not going to dispute them by going back in. I have seen divers lock up puters with incorrect settings, pull the battery long enough to clear it, dive again - on a NC wreck with Nitrox divers going into deco, me shuddering over their actions.

Saw a newbie lock up her puter on a group trip to Roatan. The Inst who lead the trip gave her a different one to dive the next day. I didn't train or dive with him anymore.

 

[DevonDiver]

This thread is a non-starter.

DO NOT RE-ENTER THE WATER WITH SUSPECTED DCS.

If unsure if symptoms are DCS, consult appropriate medical specialist.

Without going into details of what is required to treat DCS, it is sufficient for you to know and accept, that the treatment consists of far more than just re-pressurizing the body.

 

[Tigerman]

If I was gonna DIE without IWR I would try it. As in theres no way I can get anywhere to get treated.
If not Id get my ass (or hope someone else got my ass) to a hospital as soon as bloody possible and then 5 minutes faster..