SOVEREIGN HARBOUR, UK — One day after the Coastguard airlifted two UK scuba divers to hospital, they scrambled another helicopter to rescue a diver with decompression sickness. Authorities have not yet identified the scuba diving accident victim but told CDNN a 42-year-old man encountered problems while diving about seven miles off the coast of Eastbourne, near Sovereign Harbour and resurfaced with symptoms of decompression sickness. South East Coast Ambulance took the injured scuba diver to Eastbourne District Hospital, which does not have a hyperbaric chamber. Dover Coastguard then airlifted the victim from Eastbourne District Hospital to Whipps Cross Hospital in London, where he is receiving hyperbaric medical treatment. Yesterday, two scuba divers injured in separate accidents were airlifted to hospital. During the month of August, there have been a spate of scuba diving fatalities and near-fatal scuba diving accidents in the UK. Attempting to calm concerns that too many scuba divers are dying in the UK, a spokesman for BSAC, a diver certification organization based in England, said the number of people who die every year while scuba diving in the UK is statistically predictable and therefore the public should not become alarmed whenever there are "clusters" of diver deaths. 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. | 
