OBAN, Scotland — Another UK scuba diver is in hospital being treated for the bends. Authorities said the Oban lifeboat was launched at 6:35 pm to rescue a diver who resurfaced in Loch Aline with symptoms of decompression sickness. It was the third time today the Coastguard was called upon to rescue UK scuba divers suffering from the bends. Earlier, a man diving off the Skin Deeper dive boat and a woman diving off the Fintan dive boat were both airlifted to hospital after separate scuba diving accidents. All three injured divers are receiving emergency hyperbaric medical treatment in three separate decompression chambers for potentially fatal decompression sickness. Authorities have not yet released information about the condition of any of the scuba diving accident victims. 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. | 
