Interesting Question.....

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:31 pm

We all know what DCS is and how it happens (hopefully!). So here's the deal, those techies that require hours of deco before surfacing, would it technically be possible to blow their deco stops and ascend straight to the surface, immediately going into a recompression chamber?

I'm thinking of Navy-style ships that have an onboard reco chamber. I suppose that the diver could be unconsious, but given that he was physically moved to the reco chamber where he underwent full reco, would the end result be the same as if he had made all his deco stops?

Goofy question, I know.

Be kind.

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Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:46 pm

My understanding is that Commercial guys do stuff like that all the time.

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:50 pm

Ooops- just re-read the original post- they don't SHOOTto the surface and go unconcious all the time, but they skip deco and ascend at a prescribed "safe" rate, and get into hyperbaric chambers within minutes of surfacing all the time. If someone ascended so fast they lost conciousness, Arterial Gas Embolism would be an even bigger problem than the ommitted decompression, I'm guessing.

Dmitchell · Post by **Dmitchell** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:01 pm

Sur-D-O2 Surface decompression on O2 is what it's called there are tables for it in the Navy Dive Manual.

Basically, from the time you leave 40' to the time you are back at 40' has to be 5 minutes or less. So you have to come up, get out of the water, get in the chamber and get back down to 40's real quick.

Dave

thelawgoddess · Post by **thelawgoddess** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:12 pm

Nailer99 wrote:Ooops- just re-read the original post- they don't SHOOTto the surface and go unconcious all the time, but they skip deco and ascend at a prescribed "safe" rate, and get into hyperbaric chambers within minutes of surfacing all the time.

i've also heard (from a guy who went to DIT) that this is fairly standard with some of the jobs. that's gotta be hard on the body!!!

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:13 pm

Nailer99 wrote:Ooops- just re-read the original post- they don't SHOOTto the surface and go unconcious all the time, but they skip deco and ascend at a prescribed "safe" rate, and get into hyperbaric chambers within minutes of surfacing all the time. If someone ascended so fast they lost conciousness, Arterial Gas Embolism would be an even bigger problem than the ommitted decompression, I'm guessing.

Yes, this is exactly what I mean. Sorry, I didn't mean "shoot" literally. I'll change that. I meant the quickest, safe speed to the surface.

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:46 pm

Moved to "General Scuba" from the "No Bubble Zone."

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:49 pm

Quietly steaming about DIT and wondering if bend-n-mend brain damage might be an explaination. Naah, they're just... uh... biting my tongue again.

Burntchef · Post by **Burntchef** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:22 pm

i watched a documentery on hard hat divers and they were filming as a diver was being brought up so they can put him in the chamber, then bang goes the electric system on the lift and the diver is stuck with no way to get up or back down. needless to say the whole crew went into redline mode and was able to fix the lift and get the guy in the chamber, but it was a panic situation.

one thing i thought was wierd, when in a deep saturation diver is in the habitat for days on end they have no taste! apparently the helium does something to the taste buds.

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:31 pm

And I bet it sounds like Alvin and the Chipmonks talking the whole time!

Cold_H2O · Post by **Cold_H2O** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:23 pm

Commercial divers do have "stops" on the way up but once back on ship have less than 5 minutes to be stripped of gear and into the chamber with the inner and outer doors shut and back under pressure.

Commercial diving is a young persons game. It is very hard on the body.

Saturation divers do things a little different ~ staying under pressure for longer and having different accent and compression obligations.

(If my daughter ever reads this she will realize I do pay attention when she talks about her work)

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 7:01 pm

Burntchef wrote: one thing i thought was wierd, when in a deep saturation diver is in the habitat for days on end they have no taste! apparently the helium does something to the taste buds.

Now that is strange! Sucks to be them. Nothing like a nice rare, juicy steak! $\:D/$