Cutaneous decompression sickness — also known as skin bends — manifests as bruising or mottled skin, typically on the belly, buttocks, breasts, thighs, or upper arms. In some cases, there are no additional symptoms, but in others, the skin discoloration is accompanied by neurological symptoms. Because of this, it’s important that dive professionals take skin bends seriously and encourage affected divers to seek prompt medical attention. As with other types of decompression sickness, divers who experienced skin bends should not fly until cleared to do so by a doctor familiar with diving medicine. As always, DAN is available to consult with divers, dive professionals, and medical professionals who have questions about symptoms after diving.
Tricia dan temannya menyelam di Kuba dua kali sehari selama tiga hari. Penyelaman tersebut berada di kedalaman antara 60 dan 104 kaki, semuanya di udara. Pada akhir hari ketiga menyelam, ia mengalami gatal-gatal dan ruam pada kulitnya, tetapi ia merasa cukup sehat untuk bertemu dengan teman-temannya untuk makan malam. Namun, ketika dia tiba untuk makan malam, kondisinya mulai memburuk, dan dia kembali ke kamarnya untuk berbaring.
Meskipun ia merasa sangat tidak nyaman, ia akhirnya bisa tidur, tetapi hanya selama beberapa jam. Ketika ia terbangun, rasa gatal semakin parah, dan kulitnya tampak memar dan berbintik-bintik. Karena mencurigai adanya pembengkokan kulit (penyakit dekompresi kulit [DCS]), dia memutuskan untuk menghubungi DAN.
Petugas medis DAN setuju bahwa Tricia mungkin menderita DCS dan menyuruhnya untuk segera pergi ke klinik setempat untuk evaluasi neurologis menyeluruh. Petugas medis juga menawarkan untuk mengkoordinasikan konsultasi antar dokter dalam bahasa Spanyol untuk membantu dokter setempat dalam melakukan evaluasi. Dia memberi tahu Tricia bahwa ada ruang hiperbarik di pulau-pulau terdekat dan bahwa dia akan menjajaki untuk mendapatkan penerbangan jika diperlukan. Di klinik, Tricia menghirup oksigen selama sekitar 30-45 menit. Dia merasa lebih baik, dan gejalanya agak mereda, sehingga dokter melepaskannya. Keesokan harinya ia merasa cukup sehat untuk pergi jalan-jalan di Havana, dan ia bahkan memilih untuk melanjutkan jadwal penerbangan pulang: perjalanan 30 menit ke Miami.
The morning after her flight she was in considerable pain, and her abdomen was swollen and disfigured. She called DAN again, and while the medic had her on the phone she also called Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, Florida, which was the closest hyperbaric chamber facility to Tricia’s home, and arranged for the chamber staff to meet her in the emergency room. Tricia arrived at the ER and was taken back quickly, given oxygen and put through a series of tests to evaluate her condition. Despite being four days postdive, the doctor decided to treat her in the chamber. She felt much better after the six-hour chamber treatment, though some abdominal soreness persisted for about a week.
Reflecting on the incident, she initially found it puzzling that of the 20 divers in the group she was the one who got DCS. “I was one of the youngest, I have always stayed active and in shape, and I did not dive beyond any limits.” But in the aftermath of the event she learned that the vast majority of DCS cases involve no identifiable causes or explanations (beyond time spent at depth). “If I had to go through this all over again,” she said, “next time I’d advocate for myself more forcefully. I probably would have called DAN sooner in the first place and again the day before I flew. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to get on that plane with symptoms, so I would have liked to discuss that with DAN before we departed.”
“I realize how fortunate I am that my DCS was not any worse,” Tricia said, “and I’m so grateful that we’ve always been covered by DAN dive accident insurance since we began diving in 1998. Neither of us ever wanted to have to dial that number, but I’m sure glad DAN was there for us when we did.”
DAN takes the guesswork out of emergency logistics. Once a member calls the 24/7 hotline, DAN arranges care — including evacuations and complex air travel arrangements if necessary. Behind the scenes, DAN specialists coordinate medical care and transportation with local agencies, and in dive emergencies, DAN medical staff can even consult with local physicians who may not be familiar with dive medicine.
Dengan lebih dari 40 tahun pengalaman mengelola keadaan darurat di seluruh dunia, DAN membantu para anggotanya untuk menikmati perjalanan mereka. Pelajari tentang Keanggotaan dan Cakupan DAN World DI SINI.