Decompression when diving Why not do this ?

Question

Hi,

I speak of  nitrogen bubbles in the blood when rising too fast, without decompression stops.

I do have a BSAC ticket, and dived amongst the wonderous depths of the Gulf of Oman many times

Seems to us, that in the absence of a helicopter to get you to a barometric chamber, a simple alternative was used.

Chuck the sufferer back in, and lower spare tanks on a rope.
Take him back down to the depth he came from, then being ridden of the offending nitrogen, ascend in gradual normal fashion.

A painful procedure, but faced with no alternative, it is reported as working fine.

Why is this not in the manual ?

Bob

scubabob · Accepted Answer

Two problems with that. A helicopter actually makes the problem worse. Less pressure keeping whatever remaining gasses there are in solutuion. If a heleo absolutely must be used, they'll have an altitude restriction. This is all assuming that there is a chamber within flying distance. If there's no chamber to be had period, then the only other alternative is in water treatment, but it's done as an absolute last resort (no chamber).
The second issue is with your inwater deco here. Once the diver has surfaced, all training agencies and even DAN (Divers Alert Network), do NOT endorse chucking that diver back in to complete missing deco if there's a chamber reasonably nearby using whatever transport is available.The chances of DCS related injuries causing further complications is too great and your methods of first aid become limited. You can't use a defibrillator under water as an example. CPR can't be done either.
 
Here's a link to DAN's stance on the matter: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/faq/faq.aspx?faqid=47
 Since DAN is the pretty well the ultimate authority on dive medicine, I'd go with their recommendations.

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Decompression when diving > Why not do this ?

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