Dubai Police provide free treatment for divers' disease

Dubai - Some amateur divers do not adhere to the international procedures for diving.

The Dubai Police have provided free medical treatment for 16 cases of decompression sickness - also known as divers' disease - in two years.
The police offered free treatment to 16 people who have the disease, with some of them in an advanced and severe stage. After a number of curing sessions inside decompression chambers, even paralysed patients managed to walk again, said a police official, adding that none of the Dubai Police divers had the disease since the establishment of diving teams in 1975.
He explained that some amateur divers do not adhere to the international procedures for diving and spend long hours in diving or fast climbing without committing to recommended intervals. "Diving while in stress or exposure to strong currents can form bubbles of nitrogen in the blood stream of the diver.
These bubbles begin to move from one area to another in the body, causing arterial blockages and blood vessels. The nature of the diver's injury depends on the place where the bubble stops, including spine, brain, inner ear or other parts.
He explained that the symptoms of the infection begin to appear gradually after returning to the surface. These include fatigue, skin rash, itching, redness of the skin, cough, tingling like needles in the body, loss of balance, prostration and in some cases, falling unconscious or even paralysed.
He said that the decompression chamber consists of a metal cylinder, in which the affected divers spend several hours, according to their state of health.
They are subjected to a process of re-pressure, in order to remove the amounts of saturated nitrogen in the tissues of their bodies, and breathe intermittently with pure oxygen. The duration of the treatment can go up to 10 sessions or more, with each session taking five hours or more, depending on the nature of the situation. He called on the injured to call the emergency number 999, requesting for treatment.
The potential severity of the disease has driven much research to prevent it and divers almost universally use dive tables or dive to limit their exposure and to control their ascent speed. If DCS is suspected, it is treated by hyperbaric oxygen therapy in recompression chamber. If treated early, there is a significantly higher chance of successful recover.
amira@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai