Decompression Sickness - Treatment



Treatment of DCS involves reversing the conditions under which it first occurred. A person is placed into a hyperbaric (high pressure) chamber. Pressure is increased in the chamber, causing nitrogen gas bubbles to go back

Dr. James M. Clark is standing in front of a hyperbaric chamber treating a patient for decompression sickness. (Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos)
Dr. James M. Clark is standing in front of a hyperbaric chamber treating a patient for decompression sickness. (Reproduced by permission of
AP/Wide World Photos
)

into the bloodstream. The pressure in the chamber is then reduced slowly. Nitrogen gas escapes from the blood again, but not in the form of bubbles.

This treatment should be used even when a person's symptoms seem to have disappeared. Nitrogen bubbles may still be present in the blood, and symptoms may reappear at a later time.

Hyperbaric chambers are now available in many locations. DAN maintains a list of such facilities and provides a twenty-four-hour hotline that provides advice on DCS and other diving emergencies.

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