Convulsions in the Water: Dive Accident Management and Emergency Procedures A convulsion in itself rarely causes injury, but the secondary consequences for a scuba diver can be disastrous. First, the intense muscle contraction of the neck and jaw can cause the diver to spit out the mouthpiece, which is difficult to reinsert. Consequently, the diver
Stroke symptoms The symptoms typical of a stroke are not always associated with blockage of a major blood vessel in the brain; symptoms indistinguishable from stroke may affect patients labelled as having multiple sclerosis—only the age of the patient and a history of other symptoms allow it to be distinguished from a stroke. A condition that must
"When we have a stroke, our brain is starved of oxygen, causing the catastrophic death of nerve cells and leaving us paralysed and unable to speak." - Colin Blakemore, neuroscientist quoted in the Daily Telegraph, March 2010. What is a stroke? Stroke is an ill-defined lay term that has forced its way into general use in medicine to describe a varie
The danger from sharks to humans is a combination of size, aggression, and dentition. Any shark over 3 ft (0.9 m) long should be regarded cautiously, and if over 8 ft (2.4 m) long, should be avoided even if this requires that the diver leave the water. For example, grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) that range between 3–7 ft (0.9–2.1 m)
We would like to share a compelling testimonial that we just received from Dr. Calderone, CEO of Olympia Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, regarding his hospital's use of the just released Hyperbaric Patient Safety Instructions. Since implementing the use of the brochures at their hyperbaric clinic, the Olympia Medical Center has had a consis
Divers have used air as a breathing gas since the beginning of diving. Its principal advantages are that it is readily available and inexpensive to compress into cylinders or use directly from compressors with surface-supplied diving equipment. Air is not the “ideal” breathing mixture for diving because of the decompression liability it imposes. Si
Performing repetitive dives requires a the use of a dive plan. The diver must know what the no-stop dive time limits will be for the dives prior to descending so as not to incur additional decompression obligations. A planned dive schedule will work assuming the diver adheres to the maximum depth and time parameters defined before descending; howev
Thermal Stress Irrespective of Ambient TemperatureHypothermia is not a problem exclusive to frigid environments—it can occur irrespective of ambient temperature. Similarly, divers may also suffer extremes of hot and cold thermal stress simultaneously during the same dive. There have been documented cases of severe heat exhaustion in arctic waters b
In this podcast and article by Roque Wicker, MBA, author of HBOTechBlog.com, and creator of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Patient Safety Instructions we explore the relationship between effective patient education on hyperbaric compliance, patient satisfaction, and reimbursement. Have you ever wondered why your patients quit hyperbaric therap
When you prepare for a dive trip, there are things you pack that are on the "must have" list, such as mask, fins, BCD, and regulator. Then there are the things that you "should have" such as wetsuit, defog, and sunscreen. All of the other items typically fall onto the "it would be nice to have" list, such as snacks, sunglasses, and a camera. The qu
