Sharksbaja - 1-27-2005 at 12:56 AM
I am curious as to where dive accident victims are taken for recompression treatments in Baja Sur. I hope that the weekend warriors have the ability
to be treated if they screw-up but I must say most of the treatments I've helped with were mainly commercial ab & urchin divers. (when abs were common
in CA.)
Bruce R Leech - 1-27-2005 at 07:55 AM
Most of them from this aria Mulege go to Guerrero Negro. that is a long trip. sometimes they try to find some one to fly them up there, But they need
to fly at low altitude or it can clause moor problems.
hyperbaric chamber
greta - 2-6-2005 at 01:40 AM
The Cantamar Dive Resort in La Paz has a chamber.
bajaloco - 2-6-2005 at 11:04 AM
There is or was a chamber in Cabo San Lucas. Every dive purchased in the area helped pay for it's maintenance. It was located in the marina behind
KFC.
Sharksbaja - 2-6-2005 at 02:08 PM
chamber
Sharksbaja - 2-6-2005 at 02:31 PM
stupid mouse button...... the reason for my curiosity is my past experience with dive accident in or around the Channel Islands. As most of our
treatments were from the direct result of commercial divers (ab & urchin) I was curious as to the number of cases involving tourists and local
commercial divers. As more knowledge became available, mostly due to NASAs Houston Research center,we would adjust our tables ot reflect those
changes. Our dive tables were based on the original Navy tables but were changed a number of times in the mid 80s. I have pesonally been involved in
as many as 50 treatments thru the County of LA/ USC network. Back in the 80s there were 3 chambers avail to SO Cal divers. Pt.Hueneme (sp.) Camp
Peedleton and our 6 person chamber located at Little Fisherman Cove on Catalina Is. Unfortunately, we received a large number of drowing victims too.
The majority of treatments for decompression sickness (bends) but the immediate life-threatening embolism belonging to the weekend warrior. 90% +
fatality rate for these types of accidents. Have u heard of air embolism fatalities in Baja?
bajaloco - 2-6-2005 at 03:10 PM
I was originally taught thru PADI in the early 70's about de-compression limits and the navy dive tables. When my wife wanted to become certified in
the late 80's we took the PADI class together and I brought up de-compression limits. They acted as if I had broken a law or somrthing. They only
wanted to teach safe diving limits, which is much more conservative. I think the more you know, the better off you are.
PADI tables
Sharksbaja - 2-6-2005 at 03:53 PM
PADI did research and testing on the then brand new electronic wrist/portable underwater air table computers while I lived on Catalina Is. At that
point in time the tables were still not a standard between divers and astronauts and they were controversial. Our supervisor Dr. Andrew Pilmanis and a
couple of docs from Northridge Hospital worked in conjunction to develop along with NASA a more universal table which eventually was adopted as a
standard. The old Navy tables were used exclusively for decades. Now, tables are more liberal and the margin of safety increased.
We actually used all the different tables to find the actual "no-bubble limit" . This experimenting was disgusting as they used dogs as subjects for
their experiments.
Superbowl chambers
Sharksbaja - 2-6-2005 at 05:07 PM
I just learned while watching the SB that some of the players bring their own with them and spend the night in it gettin ready for todays' tissue
damage
Interesting about the superbowl...
bajapablo - 2-6-2005 at 09:31 PM
I had a friend who visited a chamber here in Utah to help heal her wounds from an amputation due to diabetes complications.
bajalou - 2-6-2005 at 10:14 PM
A doctor in Los Algondones has one which he uses to increas oxygenation of patients for several problems. Circulation, detoxification, stroke
recovery, etc. Have a friend who had amazing results with the treatment.
O2 under pressure
Sharksbaja - 2-6-2005 at 10:21 PM
It is now common for many types of illness, injury and disease to be treated in a hyperbaric chamber. Burn patients probably benfit most as oxygen
under pressure increases tissue regeneration by being saturated with O2 at skin level. These types of treatments are extended over a fairly long
period of time and at lower pressures. As with diving, decompression is necessary in a chamber and subjects are treated with the same types of
decompression stops. Recompression on the other hand is ususally to deeper (simulated) depths, typically 60 ft and treatments to 165 ft for emergency
air-embolism accidents. This depth is necessary to facilitate the shrinkage of the blocked artery. A tiny bubble of nitrogen/air at sea level is many
times smaller at these depths'Doyles' Law" As a patient inhales pure O2 at depth it diffuses and otherwise displaces the nitrogen/air bubbles in the
body. It is the lodging of these bubbles in the joints of a decompression sickness(DS) victim that form and can damage or destroy the nerves in that
area. It seems to manifest itself differently in people. Some take hits to the elbows, some to the knees, some get hit all over and some get paralized
for life as in the story of one Dive Master from the LA area. Last I heard a parapalegic skipper. He was a commercial diver but too many hits
eventually resulted in a permanent injury. The scary thing about DS is that it may be cumulative. Once hit, chances are great the next time you screw
up may be much worse than the last........
