spends too long underwater
surfaces too fast
holds their breath as they come up
Air can break out from the lungs into the blood vessels (arterial gas embolism) or nitrogen bubbles can shape inside the blood vessels (decompression illness or "the bends").
Air or gasoline embolisms can purpose severe and potentially deadly situations, inclusive of a stroke or coronary heart assault.
Dial 999 and ask for an ambulance if you or a person you are with feels ill after scuba diving and you believe you studied an air or gasoline embolism.
signs of an air or gas embolism after diving
symptoms of an air or gasoline embolism after diving consist of:
joint or muscle ache
low blood strain, which may additionally motive dizziness
an irregular heartbeat
breathlessness and fast breathing
blurred imaginative and prescient
chest ache
sturdy emotions of tension
itchy pores and skin
a blue tinge to the pores and skin (cyanosis)
bloody froth from the mouth
paralysis or weak spot, probable of 1 or extra limbs
fits
loss of attention
you may no longer have those signs straight away. they can broaden within 10 to twenty mins or every so often even longer after surfacing. don't ignore those symptoms – get clinical help without delay.
Getting clinical help
Dial 999 to invite for an ambulance if you or a person you're with feels sick after scuba diving.
A diver with a suspected air or gas embolism ought to be transferred to an A&E branch as soon as viable.
They need to be laid down flat and given a hundred% oxygen until they reach health center. as soon as stabilised, they'll be taken to a pressurised room known as a hyperbaric chamber, either at the hospital or at every other vicinity nearby.
the United Kingdom Diving website has details of all the hyperbaric chamber places across the UK.
Why diving can cause an air or gasoline embolism
If a diver surfaces too quick, nitrogen bubbles can shape in their tissues and bloodstream. that is often known as decompression illness or "the bends".
Surfacing quick and retaining your breath can purpose air trapped for your lungs to expand. this will rupture lung tissue (pulmonary barotrauma), which could lead to fuel bubbles being released into the arterial circulation (arterial fuel embolism).
In some divers, underlying conditions can growth the chance of decompression illness. those need to be discussed with a medical doctor who specialises in diving medicinal drug.
If the fuel bubble blocks a small artery, it is able to cut off the blood deliver to a specific area of the body.
The seriousness of the blockage depends on which a part of the frame is affected, the dimensions of the fuel bubble and the amount of inert gases (unreactive gases) within the diver's tissues.
An air embolism can purpose one of a kind troubles relying on wherein the blockage is:
arteries leading to the mind – immediate lack of consciousness and can cause suits or a stroke, inflicting confusion, dizziness and slurred speech
arteries main to the heart – a heart attack or an atypical heart rhythm
a blood vessel to the lungs – a pulmonary embolism
those conditions are very critical and may be fatal, particularly if the air embolism is not handled quickly.
Treating an air or fuel embolism as a result of diving
After a diver with an air or fuel embolism has acquired emergency scientific interest and their condition has stabilised, they will be transferred to a hyperbaric chamber.
someone being handled in a hyperbaric chamber
they may need to lie within the hyperbaric chamber for several hours, respiration a combination of gases and oxygen in a pressurised environment. The excessive stress restores normal blood glide and oxygen to the body's tissues, and reduces the scale of the air bubbles inside the body.
In instances of decompression sickness, the pressure forces the bubbles of nitrogen to dissolve returned into the bloodstream.
The stress inside the chamber is then regularly decreased to permit the gases to go away the body, mimicking slowly surfacing from a dive.
relying on the severity of signs and symptoms, remedy may need to be continued for numerous days.
stopping an air or gas embolism whilst diving
To reduce your risk of having an air or gasoline embolism while diving:
restriction the intensity and length of your dives
usually surface slowly and carry out protection stops to permit any air to your tissues and blood vessels to break out competently; use a dive laptop or dive tables to keep a safe price of ascent, and don't dive again until you have spent a appropriate quantity of time on the floor
relax and breathe usually as you ascend
don't dive with a cold, cough or chest infection
avoid full of life exercising earlier than, at some stage in and after a dive
make certain you are well hydrated before diving
go away adequate floor durations among dives (if planning several dives) to permit the nitrogen to depart your frame
wait 24 hours after diving earlier than flying or going to a higher altitude
The British Sub-Aqua membership (BSAC) has greater records about diving safety.
other causes of air embolisms
although uncommon, it's also viable to get an air embolism at some stage in surgical procedure or other scientific processes.
In hospitals and fitness centres, care ought to be taken to prevent air embolisms via:
doing away with air from syringes before injections and from intravenous strains before connecting
the use of techniques while inserting and casting off catheters and other tubes that minimise the threat of air entering into blood vessels
closely tracking sufferers for the duration of surgery to assist make sure air bubbles do not shape of their blood vessels
Air embolisms because of surgical procedure, anaesthesia or different clinical tactics may be difficult to treat. remedy is typically needed to assist the coronary heart, blood vessels and lungs.
as an instance, fluids can be used to treat a fall in blood strain, and oxygen may be given to accurate reduced oxygen ranges. treatment in a hyperbaric chamber is every so often needed in these instances.
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