PLYMOUTH, UK — A man is in hospital after he was injured while scuba diving in Dorset. Authorities have not yet released the name of the scuba diving accident victim but told CDNN he resurfaced from a depth of 55m (181ft) with symptoms of potentially fatal decompression sickness (the bends). The crew of Skin Deeper called for help and Portland Coastguard scrambled its helicopter and airlifted the man to shore in Poole where he was transferred to a waiting ambulance. The ambulance took the injured diver to a recompression chamber for emergency hyperbaric medical treatement. The scuba diving accident is under investigation and authorities have not yet released information about the victim's condition. Decompression sickness (the bends) Well over half of scuba divers afflicted with decompression illness report symptoms within 1 hour of surfacing from the dive, some 95% of victims show symptoms within six hours and almost all show symptoms within 24-48 hours. Nitrogen bubbles released while resurfacing cause damage by mechanically obstructing blood flow and can also cause a local chemical disruption of the vascular beds. Any scuba diving accident victim with signs or symptoms of decompression illness, which can cause death or permanent paralysis, should IMMEDIATELY SEEK EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT. Specific symptoms include: Mild to severe joint pains involving the arms or legs.Itching of the skin, which can progress to other symptoms of decompression illness.Rashes that can be accompanied by itching.Swollen and painful lymph nodes.Pain in the head, neck, or torso, which is often indicative of a severe DSC hit.Nervous system complaints, such as weakness on one side of the body, numbness, pains shooting down an arm or leg, inability to urinate or defecate, or other strokelike symptoms. "Chokes" including burning chest pain, cough, and shortness of breath."Staggers" (indicating an inner ear problem) including a spinning sensation, deafness, ringing in the ears, or vomiting. | 
