Posted by Melvin Pasley on July 18, 2004 at 08:31:03:
In Reply to: Re: Contact DAN posted by DaveJ on July 18, 2004 at 03:01:18:
DAN is your best source for an answer Perhaps you should see a medical doctor knowledgeable about dive medicine for an evaluation.
I am NOT A DOCTOR or Medical Expert or even a diving expert. The following is NOT MEDICAL advice but my opinion only. IMHO it is general belief that DCI like frost bite, is once you have had it you are more likely to get it. I do not believe anyone can really answer with certainty your question. Some people are just prone to DCI .
In reviewing your dive consider these points as potential causes of "Undeserved DCI" (been there, took the ride):
1. PFO - you should be evaluated for this. It is a heart defect found in about 1/3 of the population.
2. Dehydration – I know you said you were hydrated, but much of the benefits of hydration come from being hydrated the day before the dive to increase blood volume. How was you water intake the day before the dive as well as during and after the dive? Remember you are still diving for several hours after the dive. Were you consuming alcohol the night before or after the dive? DAN also does not recommend diving the day of your arrival flight as the dry air on most airplanes is dehydrating and then there is the fatique factor.
3. Fatigue
4. Dive profile (too rapid an assent or staying down too long, sawtooth profile, going up to go over a reef rock and then back down etc.).
5. Post dive environment. DAN has a study that indicates hot tubs following a dive may not be the best thing. Something about blood vessels near the bone in the cold water depositing nitrogen and then in the hot water moving to the surface to help cool the body leaving the nitrogen rich deeper tissues with a lower blood flow to help.
6. Post dive exercise is also not recommended for the same reasons. So what did you do in the hours between and following your dives? Sit and relax, or go mountain climbing, or maybe a hot tub?
7. Age - if you are older then a more conservative computer like SUUNTO COBRA might be in order. Not all computers are equal. The Oceanic Data Pro with its nice large ˝ tall numbers, just perfect for older divers does have one of the more liberal dive models and so probably not the best choice for an older diver.
8. Stuff happens. Sometimes this is just the answer. You may get bent on your next dive, and maybe not. Two divers can be diving identical profiles (dive buddies) and be identical twins, and yet one will get bent, and the other not. Go figure. When it comes to DCI, they just do not have all the answers as there are so many variables.
DAN will also tell you to stay out of water for 30 days. Do it. My chamber doctor said 7 days, and I liked his advice better so I took it. I also came back the next week for another ride following a simple dive. But that was 3 years and 117 dives ago with no further problems. I no longer dive a Data Pro and I use a Suunto Cobra set to P2 ultra conservative, and I am a maniac about the 15 foot safety stop if the dive exceeds 20 FSW and if we go to 60 we will do 1 minute at 30 or what ever half is for the dive if deeper. One dive buddy’s husband use to dive. He got bent, just about every time he dove. He finally had to give it up.