The “bends” or decompression sickness is a very serious condition that can really be a regular risk for people that frequently go or have just experienced scuba diving. This condition is sorely due to the high nitrogen accumulation in a person’s body. The condition is normally accompanied with severe pain and may even lead to death. Every time you dive, you will be risking your life with this sickness, which is why it is critically important to follow these tips in order to reduce and avoid contracting it.
- Planning. Never ever dive without planning it first. Most people neglect the planning part when diving, which can lead to various accidents and exposure to risks such as decompression sickness. This being said, never ever neglect the important aspect of diving which is planning. Make sure to select a specific spot, depth, and timeframe for your dive. This will allow you to prepare properly for the dive.
- Diving equipments. Along with the planning, make sure you use the right tools for the dive. Make sure your mask and tanks are optimized and maintained for the dive. To compute for the nitrogen exposure during the dive, make sure to use a dive computer or table. This will help you compute the amount of time you can stay underwater at a particular depth while considering your exposure to nitrogen. Make sure you have a reliable timer and depth gauge for the dive as well.
- Gauges. A seasoned diver knows that checking the gauges once in awhile to enable your awareness of your time and depth underwater is critical in risk avoidance. This will notify you of the depth you are in, the time you have been under, and the air supply you still have available. From these gauges alone, you will be able to compute for the nitrogen exposure. Make sure the nitrogen levels are acceptable if you want to continue look around in the deep.
- Limits. When diving, it is crucial for you are anyone for that matter to follow the dive plan and stay within the limits of the dive especially with regards to depth. Going out of bounds may provide you with uncontrollable variables that can lead to various risks such as decompression sickness or maybe even something worse.
- Ascending. In scuba diving, the ascent is another important part of the activity since this is the time when your nitrogen levels can go sky high. A diver, when ascending from the depths, should always rise up slowly. If you have a dive computer, always refer to this when ascending to check on your rate. A good rule of thumb when ascending is to rise up 10 feet every 10 seconds. Anything faster could result in decompression sickness or worse.
When diving, make sure to insert several safety stops to give you and your diving buddies time to release the nitrogen inside your body. This should be done every 15 feet for a duration of 3 minutes per stop. This will afford you some time to check your status and help you avoid contracting decompression sickness.
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