Posted by Steve on July 11, 2001 at 18:09:08:
In Reply to: johnny come lately posted by CalAbDiver on July 11, 2001 at 16:30:47:
"i thought isbaric counter diffusion is when you put helium into your drysuit."
Karl, this issue is abruptly apposed by MHK, but here is another reference to it. The advise is not to switch gases during a dive that have higher PPN2 in them possibly creating the condition. Who out there is recommending diving like this I don't know. MHK has said this condition is some made up BS, probably is, I don't know.
SYNONYMS OF DCS
1. Caisson’s Disease
The first clinical cases were described in tunnel workers doing caisson sinking (non-divers).
2. Dysbarism
This is a very broad description that could as well include conditions such as barotrauma of the ascent.
3. Bends
A very commonly used term which refers to the posture of a diver suffering from the pain of one type of DCS mainly affecting one
or more joints originally called the Grecian Bend.
4. Chokes
Refers to the clinical syndrome of respiratory distress as a result of pulmonary vascular obstruction by numerous bubbles forming
in the venous circulation following decompression.
5. Staggers
This describes the gait of a victim suffering from inner ear decompression sickness causing balance disturbance (Menier’s Decompression).
Always encountered in surface demand or technical SCUBA mixed gas diving as a result of substituting an inert gas of a low diffusion
coefficient at depth by another that has a higher coefficient as in (the condition known as isobaric counter-diffusion). E.g. replacing
Air or Nitrox by Helium without any increase in pressure (depth).
Staggers can also be the result of cerebral (brain), cerebellar (brain stem) or upper spinal DCS.