Scuba Diving Explained

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 [email protected]. 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 solution. Most "accidents" resolve after one re-compression breathing oxygen under pressure. Many patients were treated multiple times, and some did not get complete relief of their symptoms and/or neurological findings. Immediate therapy traditionally is in-water re-compression which has its drawbacks. It is difficult to administer and hypothermia, fatigue, and drowning are risks. Surface-On-Deck oxygen breathing from a face-mask or immediate re-compression in a chamber are always effective treatments. Transport to a facility has logistical problems and the destination chamber may not be functional when it is needed. The U.S. Navy Diving Manual Rev.6 Vol. 5 20-4.4.2.1 has procedures for In-Water Re-compression using AIR, 20-4.4.2.2 In-Water Re-compression Using Oxygen. Both sections advise going to 30 fsw and additional instructions for decompressing. If oxygen is used and the decompression has been completed then 3 hours of oxygen breathing is the procedure. One cylinder of oxygen and a face mask are good for one diver for 3 hours. Where are the other cylinders for other divers? The book is about the chamber that I personally operated and staffed. I was almost continually available. The number of bent divers that I treated, not all are included in the book because they were routine, speaks for itself. AAA, Avoid An Accident-Plan Safe Dives.

"Short, factual description of the book (summary of what it includes, without subjective or promotional language.) This book, for upper undergraduate and graduate students and professionals in the field, is used to provide an overview of how the environment impacts exercise"--

Diving Science...Revisited is like no other diving text, including its predecessor, Diving Science. Amplified with figures, tables, and photos in color, this book includes four unique and innovative parts amplified by nine contributors. - Medical problems of diving (MPD) are discussed from stimulus-response perspectives in the phase of a dive in which they are likely to occur. - MPD are explained by how they affect the human diver whether physical, physiological, psychological, and/or lack of awareness. - A variety of diving types and situations from breath-hold to rebreather, from children to women to older aged adults, from cold water to cave, and from deep altitude to diving with handicaps are described in individual chapters with their merits, hazards, and necessary precautions for safe diving. - Part IV contains a concise summary of the MPD from seven different perspectives ranging from the significance of the problem to when to return to diving. - Part V consists of a rhetorical question for each of the first four parts with bullet points that recap the subjects covered in each chapter. This book describes the positive as well as undesirable ways divers' interact with the aquatic environment. It is especially recommended for the following: -Diving instructors and supervisors - Those involved with clinical applications of hyperbaric oxygen therapy - Those engaged in diving-associated marine biology and underwater missions - All divers, whether novice or advanced, who want to advance their knowledge about the science and medical challenges of diving.

The basic equipment, skills, and requirements are explained in addition to the medical and scientific factors involved in making a dive

A text on the theory and practice of safe scuba diving.