SAN JUAN, Philippines (28 Feb 2007) -- Did decompression sickness kill a Danish tourist who died snorkeling in the Philippines? It's a question that will provoke a loud chorus of 'nays' from every certified diver, armchair scuba diving expert, hyperbaric medicine professional and overpaid DAN executive. After all, decompression sickness, which we often refer to as the 'bends', can only result from breathing compressed air at depth and snorkelers do not breath compressed air? Right? Right. But what if the snorkeler was already suffering from decompression sickness and refused adequate medical treatment necessary for a full recovery several days earlier? Soren Mikkelsen, 57, died Monday morning while snorkeling off Siquijor Island in the Philippines. Several days earlier Mikkelsen was hospitalized after he got the bends scuba diving in Panglao. Mikkelsen was admitted to the Ramiro Community Hospital on February 18. | | But unwilling to postpone his holiday, he left the next day against his doctor's advice according to hospital administrator Dr. Audrey Ramiro. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
