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FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR RECOMPRESSION THERAPY

Diagnosis

Once decompression sickness has been rationally diagnosed by the diver, a supervising professional, or some other authority, the immediate objective is to seek and initiate treatment. The diagnosis, of course, can be based simply on a viable history (i.e., the individual has recently undergone decompression) coupled with either subjective criteria (e.g., tingling of the skin) or objective criteria (e.g., disturbances of gait). It is therefore incumbent upon those assisting the stricken diver to tabulate all data concerning recent diving activity (e.g., number of dives, profiles, surface intervals, etc.). This information will also be useful to medical personnel making the final assessment of the patient immediately before committing to recompression. To the contrary, violations by divers of generally accepted safety-related guidelines in isolation are not sufficient for the diagnosis of decompression sickness. The exact course of action depends on the circumstances and the availability/accessibility of facilities for treatment. The cardinal rule to be observed is that treatment should be sought, even when the diagnosis of decompression sickness is in doubt. Unless decompression sickness is definitively eliminated as a source of the presenting signs and symptoms, steps should be taken to ensure that prompt effective treatment for decompression sickness can be obtained.