Air embolism and Overexertion Problems in Scuba Diving

There are certain inherent medical hazards in scuba diving. But knowing them can make it safer, and most of them can be avoided by carefully observing the safe limits of duration and by limiting the depth of dives to 100 feet.

Drowning is perhaps the most frequent cause of death in self-contained diving. It can happen for many reasons. The most common cause is physical exhaustion resulting from swimming after surfacing. Other common causes are exhaustion of gas supply, entanglement, flooding of the apparatus, and loss of mask or mouthpiece.

The best measures to prevent drowning are thorough training in emergency procedures, ability to swim well, and the avoidance of panic.

Air embolism-a condition resulting from excess pressure in the lungs-is probably the second most common cause of scuba fatalities. When a man loses his air supply under water, he has an overwhelming instinct to hold his breath and surface immediately. The lack of adequate exhalation during ascent in panic creates excessive pressure in the lungs. This condition has produced air embolism in less than 15 feet of water. Increased lung pressure may also occur in a normal ascent if the diver fails to breathe continuously.

Air embolism may usually be prevented by thorough training in scuba. Learn to avoid hazardous situations and to handle emergencies without panic. Breathe continuously during ascent from depth so that overpressurization of the lungs will not occur. Treatment calls for recompression in a recompression chamber, or the use of oxygen tanks and immediate return to the water so that a gradual return to the surface can be made. However, treatment must be immediate, and in the absence of a recompression chamber, treatment in the water presents many difficulties and risks.

Overexertion is another serious hazard to the scuba diver. Muscular exercise increases the breathing rate and can eventually increase it enough to cause a sensation of inadequate lung ventilation. This sensation can occur even in the free air, and is unpleasant under any conditions. If the scuba restricts breathing, the sensation occurs more readily and also becomes terrifying. The breathing response to a burst of activity may not occur immediately. If the response is delayed, it does not adequately warn a man when he is exceeding his powers. When the response finally does occur, he must stop and pant for some minutes. A period of rest is the best way to relieve the condition. If complete rest is not possible, slacken your activities as much as possible. Remember that overexertion can readily make breathing difficult and that muscular fatigue may not occur before shortness of breath. Untrained divers, especially inefficient swimmers, tend to panic under these conditions and try to surface.

When you engage in any underwater work be prepared for the subsequent shortness of breath. At depths beyond 100 feet, the scuba diver faces the problem of possible nitrogen narcosis. Symptoms of this condition resemble drunkenness-an almost complete loss of judgment and skill. At the greater depths, fatigue, exertion, and carbon-dioxide build-up increase the susceptibility to nitrogen narcosis. There is no treatment for nitrogen narcosis. The effect diminishes as the diver leaves the diving depth and vanishes before he reaches the surface. If it is desired to make deep dives, the diver may lessen the effect of possible nitrogen narcosis by exerting strong will power and self-control and by slowing down his activity.

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