The diver then passes out, experiences a stroke, or has other nervous system complaints within minutes of surfacing.This most commonly occurs when a diver ascends rapidly because of air shortage or panic.These bubbles expand during ascent, following Boyle's Law, and can pass through the heart to obstruct blood flow in the arteries of the brain or heart. While scuba diving, gas bubbles can enter the circulatory system through small ruptured veins in the lungs.Air embolism is the most serious and most feared consequence of diving.As the diver rises, the volume of the gas in the lung expands and can cause damage if the excess is not exhaled. Pulmonary barotrauma (pulmonary overpressurization syndrome, POPS, or burst lung) can occur if the diver fails to expel air from the lungs during ascent.During "bounce diving" the eustachian tube may become inflamed and lead to a middle ear squeeze. As the spray wears off during diving, tissues swell and cause obstruction, resulting in a pressure difference and damage. A reverse squeeze occurs in the middle ear or sinus when a diver has an upper respiratory infection (cold) and has used nasal spray to open the breathing passages. Barotrauma can occur during ascent also.This happens more often with novice divers and causes temporary pain but rarely significant damage. Gastric squeeze (aerogastralgia): This occurs when gas swallowed during diving expands during ascent.Tooth squeeze: This occurs during an ascent while scuba diving and the air become trapped in a filling or cavity.Lung squeeze: This occurs when you are free-diving, but very few divers can hold their breath to depths that cause this injury to occur.Suit squeeze: A dry diving suit tightly encloses an area of skin.Face mask squeeze: This occurs if you do not exhale through your nose into the dive mask while descending (equalizing).Sinus squeeze: When the air becomes trapped in the sinuses because of congestion or cold symptoms, a sinus squeeze can occur.All involve air trapped in an enclosed area where pressure cannot equalize during descent causing a vacuum effect where it occurs. Less common types of barotrauma include the following.This injury is less common than a middle ear squeeze. The result is usually ringing in the ear, dizziness, and deafness. This can result from an overly forceful Valsalva maneuver or a very rapid descent. Inner ear barotrauma occurs from the sudden development of pressure differences between the middle and inner ear.You can try certain maneuvers, called Valsalva maneuvers, such as yawning or trying to blow with your nose and mouth closed, to open the tube and equalize the pressure. When there is a problem with the tube, the middle ear volume decreases and pulls the eardrum inward, creating damage and pain. The eustachian tube is a small canal that connects the middle ear to the back part of the nasal cavities and allows pressure to equalize. Middle ear squeeze occurs when you cannot equalize the pressure in your middle ear.This can damage the tissue in the ear canal, usually your eardrum. As the water pressure increases while you descend, the air pocket between the obstruction and the tympanic membrane (eardrum) shrinks. External ear squeeze occurs when your ear canal is blocked by something such as earplugs or earwax.However, if a diver ascends too quickly, nitrogen gas bubbles will form in body tissue rather than being exhaled. Because of the water pressure, body tissue absorbs nitrogen gas faster as a diver descends than when ascending to the surface. Decompression sickness, or "the bends," is related more to Henry's Law, which states that more gas will be dissolved in a liquid when the gas is pressurized.As you dive deeper when scuba diving, pressure increases, and this volume change in gas-filled spaces and organs within your body accounts for the distortion and damage to surrounding tissues. As the pressure increases, the volume decreases and vice versa. Boyle's law states that the product of the multiplication of pressure and volume remains a constant. What Facts Should I Know about Barotrauma/Decompression Sickness?īarotrauma refers to medical problems that arise from the pressure differences between areas of the body and the environment and is a particular concern for scuba divers.Ĭertain laws of physics apply to this topic.
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