Shallow bend

[Dr Stevil]

<font color='#0000FF'>I thought some folk may be intrested to read this report of a bend from a young girl who has been diving with my old (Uni) club, note the max depth and time of the dive and that this person came to the club as PADI AOW with a few tens of dives under her belt.

Instinctively I would suspect a PFO, hopefully Phill will give us his professional diagnosis.

I've omitted the names both as a courtesy to the people involved, plus the names wouldn't mean anything to anyone anyway.
Chee-az
Steve


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As most of you will have heard by now N &nbsp;is no longer the only person in the club to have been for a ride in a helicopter! &nbsp;K and I got the same privalage this weekend, although K saw a lot more than me!

We were diving off of St Abbs sunday morning. &nbsp;I was diving with K and N. &nbsp;We dived to a maximum depth of 11.5 meters and were only down for 23 minutes. &nbsp;We were diving off both K and N's computers, both of which confirmed that our profile was well within the limits. I was diving off tables but we were well within our limits on these as well.

When I got back on the boat I felt slightly sea sick, but nothing that I haven't felt before. However when the boat returned to the harbour and I tried to walk up the slip I found I could not balance. &nbsp;Any movement of my head and I felt
exceptionally dizzy. &nbsp;E (the DO) placed me on oxygen and got in contact with a Navy diving person in Portsmouth. &nbsp;I was then taken to Berwick where they carried out tests. &nbsp;They decided to send me to the decompression chamber as
they couldn't decided if it was a bend or an infection of the inner ear. &nbsp;After an hour and a halfs ride in a sea king I arrived at Hull Bupa hospital (very nice!) where the doctor saw me, carried out some tests and said that
it was probably a bend with bubbles in the blood supply to the balance system in my brain. &nbsp;Oh goody!

After 5 hours in the chamber I felt remarkably better. &nbsp;2 hours back in the chamber the next morning and I was allowed to go home.

I just want to say thankyou to K, M and J who came with me to support me and keep me company during the treatment and a big thanks to E and N whos quick action prevented a different outcome.
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[Gavin Yates]

<font color='#000F22'>Don't know about diagnosis Steve but I'm sure all the divers on YD will join me in wishing the lassie a full recovery.

Also well done to the club - it would have been easy and stupid just to have gone: &quot;You've only done 25 at 11m,&quot;

My view is any probs get on the o2 and then seek advice immediately.

[Dr Stevil]

<font color='#0000FF'>Yes, the club is pretty switched on to potential DCIs, the girl in question is fine and I think she's keen to continue diving but iIve suggested to the (soon to be outgoing) DO that maybe a PFO check could be in order given the dive profile

A couple of years ago another girl &nbsp;in the club had a CAGE caused by a short 17metre dive, she was losing consciousness at the surface, fortunately she made a full recovery but quite naturally gave up diving.

The N person in the above post got a ride in a chopper when her buddy sufffered a bend, they'd done a 35 metre dive and for extremely bad reasons hadn't included the &quot;recommended&quot; safety stops which the club introduced as a result of 17 metre bend, I was DO at the time and was less than pleased to say the least.

Later, the same N person had an inspection for DCI following a dive on the pinnacles at Wast, this diver is likely to become DO of the club soon, so I will watch their safety record with interest.

Chee-az
steve

[Paul Thomas]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Steve W @ Mar. 06 2003,12:34)]A couple of years ago another girl  in the club had a CAGE caused by a short 17metre dive, she was losing consciousness at the surface, fortunately she made a full recovery but quite naturally gave up diving.

Chee-az
steve

<font color='#000080'>Hi Guys,

This sounds all too familiar.

IMHPO if K wishes to continue diving it is essential she excludes a PFO. No real nead if not.

For the not-so cogniscenti a PFO is a small communication between the two atria which is present in 30% of the population (according to post-mortem evidence). It is haemodynamically insignificant in the vast majority.

Two additional features must be present for a PFO to cause a type II DCI or a CAGE;

1) Micronuclei or bubble formation - all dives are decompression dives and it is isometric execise that promotes the excessive formation of micronuclei, even on so-called no deco dives.

2) A reversal of the blood flow from a left to right shunt allowing these micronuclei to enter the arterial system and lodge in an end organ. This is caused by oughing or Valsalva-like manoeuvres, such as when carrying heavy kit after an earlier dive.

These nascent bubbles ongas during the subsequent dive and &nbsp;then expand on the ascent. . . .

Can I also wish K all the best for her future. FWIW I think the first girl made the right decision.

[Phill]

Steve, assuming that it was the person's first dive for a couple of days, first bend, and there was no provocative profile then I would certainly recomend a PFO check before continuing diving. Sounds like it was a vestibular bend, she did well to fully recover after only two treatments - hardy lass.

[Andy the Coastie]

<font color='#0000FF'>Hey Paul

Welcome mate, glad to see ya on the mend and coming on boards to help,



You will get more sense out of this lot , than the know all's on the BSAC site

Glad ya hear,


Andy

[Beck]

Hi guys,
Post my major bend and well pre my major bend, I would say I was having continual bends in depths of 0-8mtrs after dive times of only 20mins or so, whether it be my first dive of the week or a multiple dive of the day, as some of you have seen from my previous reports turns out I had a 10mm PFO which I have recently had sealed. None the less all my post diving symptoms were relativily the same just varying in degrees of severity. From a mild headache to migrane or pulled muscles to something that felt like my tendons were being removed.

So all in all I would personally suggest that this girlie gets checked for a PFO, me being only 20 anyway, it really depends on how much you love the sport to what degree you are willing to go, to dive safely. Mine choice was to get the op....