Cited Passage
3-52 U.S. Navy Diving Manual — Volume 1
When the spinal cord is involved, paralysis and/or loss of feeling occur. Bubbles
in the inner ear produce hearing loss and vertigo. Bubbles in the lungs can cause
coughing, shortness of breath, and hypoxia, a condition referred to as “the chokes.”
This condition may prove fatal. A large number of bubbles in the circula tion can
lead to cardiovascular collapse and death. Unusual fatigue or exhaustion after a
dive is probably due to bubbles in unusual locations and the biochemical changes
they have induced. While not attributable to a specific organ system, unusual
fatigue is a definite symptom of decompression sickness.
3‑9.3.5.1 Time Course of Symptoms. Decompression sickness usually occurs after surfacing.
If the dive is particularly arduous or decompression has been omitted, however, the
diver may experience decompression sickness before reaching the surface.
After surfacing, there is a latency period before symptoms appear. This may be as
short as several minutes to as long as several days. Long, shallow dives are gener
ally associated with longer latencies than deep, short dives. For most dives, the
onset of decompression sickness can be expected within several hours of surfacing.
3‑9.3.6 Treating Decompression Sickness. Treatment of decompression sickness is
accomplished by recompression. This involves putting the victim back under
pressure to reduce the size of the bubbles to cause them to go back into solution and
to supply extra oxygen to the hypoxic tissues. Treatment is done in a recompression
chamber, but can sometimes be accomplished in the water if a chamber cannot
be reached in a reasonable period of time. Recompression in the water is not
recommended, but if undertaken, must be done following specified procedures.
Further discussion of the symptoms of decompression sickness and a complete
discussion of treatment are presented in Volume 5 .
3‑9.3.7 Preventing Decompression Sickness. Prevention of decompression sickness
is generally accomplished by following the decompression tables. However,
individual susceptibility or unusual conditions, either in the diver or in connection
with the dive, produces a small percentage of cases even when proper dive
procedures are followed meticulously. To be abso lutely free of decompression
sickness under all possible circumstances, the decompression time specified would
have to be far in excess of that normally needed. On the other hand, under ideal
circumstances, some individuals can ascend safely in less time than the tables
specify. This must not be taken to mean that the tables contain an unnecessarily
large safety factor. The tables represent the minimum workable decompression
time that permits average divers to surface safely from normal working dives
without an unacceptable incidence of decom pression sickness.
3-10 THERMAL PROBLEMS IN DIVING
The human body functions effectively within a relatively narrow range of internal
temperature. The average, or normal, core temperature of 98.6°F (37°C) is main
tained by natural mechanisms of the body, aided by artificial measures such as the
use of protective clothing or environmental conditioning when external conditions
tend toward cold or hot extremes.
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