When a diver descends to lower pressure than the ambient, it is called decompression. During the ascent from depth, the diver's body experiences decompression. If decompression diving is done correctly, this can cause serious injuries. Learn more about decompression and decompression sickness. Find out more about the decompression sick penalties and standard treatment. Below are some of the common questions that a decompression diver may have.
Deco dives
Before you start planning your deco dive, make sure to review the basics of your V-planner. You can then see how much deco you need to get the right visibility and depth. To ensure you are familiar with the settings, if you plan to dive to 35m you can use a Vplanner. Otherwise, deco will have to be calculated manually if you are able.
Minimum deco refers to a slow ascent at half the average depth. Its name is misleading, as it takes far longer than a minute. Usually, you'll ascend 10ft/3m in 30 seconds, stopping and recovering for 30 seconds before repeating the process. You may want to make sure that you've decompressed fully before attempting to ascend. The best way is to make sure you have enough gas in the tank.
Planned diving
Divers can use a computer-generated plan to decompression dive. The computer generates deco lists according to the diver's choice of gases, decompression methods, and conservatism settings. Divers can use this software to plan dives that have a certain decompression time and OTU loadings. The PC planning tool allows divers to avoid making the same mistakes as when manually planning a dive.
A decompression halt is a series stops that are made during ascent. It allows the body to expend nitrogen and helium. To adjust to the environment's pressure, a long decompression stop will be necessary. The length of the decompression stops depends on the profile of the diver and the maximum depth reached. Planning multiple stops is important if you wish to travel to the depths of the ocean.
Standard treatment for decompression illness
The standard treatment for decompression illness is to breathe 100% oxygen through the mask, maintain blood pressure and administer fluids to prevent oxygen from being lost. In intensive treatment, the hyperbaric oxygen chamber is used in order to reverse the blood pressure changes and convert nitrogen back into liquid. This can be done over several hours. If severe decompression sickness occurs, it is best to avoid diving until the symptoms resolve or a suitable alternative treatment has been found.
Supplemental oxygen should be given to the diver in acute cases. Since symptoms might not be obvious immediately, it can be difficult to diagnose decompression syndrome. However, it is important that the diver receives emergency treatment and be kept warm until assistance arrives. You should monitor your diver's condition closely and rule out any neurological signs. They could be signs of an air embolism, if symptoms do not appear within a few seconds.
Penalties for decompression diving
Penalties for diving under pressure can cause loss of consciousness, insufficient air supply to the lungs, and even death. Fortunately, there are many methods to avoid these consequences and to reduce the risk of decompression illness. Know what you are doing while diving. Decompression sickness can result from diving without the proper equipment. These are the most common diving mistakes.
Avoiding the mistake of underestimating the decompression is the first. Recreational diving's NDLs or depth limits are more concerned with fast tissues. Maximum ascent rates allow direct ascent to the surface. Regardless of the type of tank, decompression diving requires more complex calculations. Buhlmann ZH–L16 fixes nitrogen half-times at 2.65x more than helium. In addition, it adds a longer time for decompression if helium is higher than anticipated.