People in rubber suits and how to treat them: decompression injuries in divers

Abstract

The majority of our planet is covered in water and millions of people around the world enjoy exploring what lies beneath the surface of our seas and lakes. Diving is a popular activity, with a long history, that allows people to visit—for pleasure or for business—a different world. Diving is a sport with inherent risks. The hazards and potential for injuries, ranging from the minor to the life-threatening, are an unavoidable part of the activity. The factors involved in diving injuries and the signs and symptoms divers may present with, are many and varied. Decompression injuries are one of the potential injuries that will respond to appropriate treatment and may have the longest lasting effects. Confident treatment of decompression injuries is made easier by understanding the physics involved in breathing gases underwater. The definitive treatment involves recompression that should be provided at a specialist hyperbaric facility.