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Because the nitrogen bubbles that cause Decompression Sickness can
affect any of the body's tissues, including the blood, bones, nerves,
and muscles, many kinds of symptoms are possible. Symptoms can
appear minutes after a diver surfaces, and in about 80% of cases do
so within eight hours. Pain is often the only symptom; this is
sometimes called the bends, although many people incorrectly use
that term as a synonym for Decompression Sickness itself. The pain, which ranges from
mild to severe, is usually limited to the joints, but can be felt
anywhere. Severe itching (pruritis), skin rashes, and skin mottling
(cutis marmorata) are other possible symptoms. All of these are
sometimes classified as manifestations of Type 1 or "mild" Decompression Sickness. Type
2 or "serious" Decompression Sickness can lead, among other things, to paralysis, brain
damage, heart attacks, and death. Many Decompression Sickness victims, however,
experience both Type 1 and Type 2 symptoms. |
