Divers' Disease

Divers' Disease, or Decompression Sickness, occurs when a person is subject to a reduction in ambient pressure. Diver's Disease is caused by bubbles of inert gas, which was accumulated in the body tissues during the diver's stay at depth. The bubbles block the small vessels and cause complex changes in the blood and its components as well as in the endothelium of the vessels. As a result, microcirculation disorders manifest with thrombosis, edema, ischemia and hypoxia and, by extension, organ failure.

Decompression sickness can occur in scuba divers, flight personnel, astronauts, mine/tunnel/subway construction workers, and others. In Greece, approximately 30 cases are recorded per year, however, it is believed that the actual number is higher.

The forms are classified by Golding into Type I and Type II. Type I includes joint pain (the musculoskeletal form), the cutaneous form, and the lymphatic form. Type II includes the Cardiorespiratory form and the Atrium. In both forms, the basic principles of treatment are the same, Repressurization and Hyperbaric Oxygen.

Symptoms include unusual tiredness, sleepiness, itching, pain in the joints and muscles of the arms, legs and trunk, dizziness, vertigo, numbness and paralysis, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, visual disturbances, unsteadiness, rashes, muscle weakness, inability to urinate , confusion, amnesia, tremors, vomiting, ataxia, hemoptysis, shock or even loss of consciousness.