ORKNEY, Scotland — A man who was scuba diving off the Jean Elaine dive boat was airlifted to hospital for treatment of potentially fatal decompression sickness. Authorities have not yet released the name of the injured diver but told CDNN the scuba diving accident victim resurfaced Monday afternoon from his second deep dive of the day with chest pain and unable to walk. Shetland Coastguard scrambled a rescue helicopter after the dive boat crew called for help at about 3:00 pm. The rescue helicopter took the injured scuba diver to a medical facility in Orkney and he was later transferred to SULA Hyberbaric Chamber in Stromness. 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. | | An unidentified man was airlifted to hospital for treatment of potentially fatal decompression sickness (the bends) after he was injured while scuba diving off the Jean Elaine dive boat in Orkney. |
