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Dive Emergency
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Diving
is a relatively safe sport, however, there will always be potential
emergencies. Whether these emergencies evolve into a full blown
accident or
death often depends on the immediate care the victim receives.
To avoid accident with Dangerous Water Creatures, please check out the Danger
Creatures Page.
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click
to enlarge
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"...The
only
emergency chamber
is
Emergency
Number:
Located
in San
Pedro."
+501
226 28 51
All divers
worldwide should be aware of the causes, signs, and symptoms of
potential diving
emergencies and be prepared. Ensuring your dive buddies are properly
trained in
emergencies is just as important; the victim may not always be someone
else, it
could be you!!
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The
hyperbaric chamber is in San Pedro. This is the only
recompression chamber in Belize and available 24
hours daily.
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When you
land at the airstrip in San
Pedro, Ambergris Caye, you
may notice an white building on the north/west side of the airstrip
behind the Maya Air Terminal. The
building
houses a Double-Lock Recompression Chamber owned by Subaquatics of
Belize Ltd. It is the only recompression chamber in Belize.
Dive Accident
Diving accidents are also called „decompression accident“ or
„decompression illness“ (DCI). These accidents are caused by rapid
reduction of ambient pressure and are characterized by formation of gas
bubbles in the blood and the tissues. Depending on the mechanism of
bubble formation there are two diagnoses to be separated,
„Decompression Sickness“ (DCS) and „Arterial Gas Embolism“ (AGE). In
many cases the clinical picture does not allow a clear cut decision
between DCS and AGE. Differential diagnoses may be e.g. barotrauma of
the inner ear (rupture of the round window membrane), cerebral insult
due to embolus or bleeding, vertebral disc herniation, myocardial
infarction, hypoglycaemia or epilepsy.
Symptoms
- Pain
- Bladder Problem
- Dizziness
- Extreme fatigue
- Headache
- Itching
- Nausea
- Numbness
- Personality change
- Paralysis
- Reflex change
- Restlessness
- Skin Rash
Signs
- Blotchy skin rash
- Altered mental status
- Coughing spasms
- Shortness of breathe
- Staggering
- Weakness
First Aid
- put diver in a
supine position, if diver lost consciousness: put diver in the recovery
position.
- give 100% oxygen
(start as soon as possible),
a) if breathing sufficiently: via
face mask with - demand valve or -
closed circuit oxygen re-breathing
system with CO2-scrubber, if
not available: with constant flow (15-25
ltr./min, non
re-breathing mask with oxygen reservoir)
b) if not
breathing sufficiently
perform artificial respiration: -
Ambu bag with 100% constant
O2 flow (15-25 ltr./min)
or - Ambu/Laerdal bag with demand valve or -
closed circuit
oxygen re-breathing system with CO2-scrubber.
Give oxygen
without breaks until
reaching treatment chamber, give highest possible oxygen concentration
even if oxygen supply is limited (no air-mix, no constant flow below 15
ltr./min).
- fluids
a) if victim
is conscious with
stable neurology and intact
swallowing reflex: give fluids orally in
small sips (0.5-1.0 ltr./h,
no hypertonic fluids, no alcohol, no
caffeine)
b) if victim has impaired consciousness or swallowing reflex: do
not give oral fluids
- perform orientating neurological
examination
- if hypothermic:
protect against further heat loss, no active re-warming
- consult
hyperbaric chamber on Ambergris Caye on marine
radio
or with your cellphone.
Dive
emergency Service 24 houres daily
Phone: +501 226 31 95
Fax: +501 226 28 52
Email: sssbelize@aol.com
Emergency
Number: +501 226 28 51
Dr. Otto Rodríguez: +501 226 28 54
Antonia Guerrero: +501 226 34 42
Transport to Hyperbaric Treatment Chamber
Transport by car, boat, Helicopter (Astrum), Tropic Air or Mayan
Air (if possible < 1000 ft / 300 m above ground) or plane (cabin
pressure
close to 1.0 bar). Transport gentle and without reduction of ambient
pressure. Carry on treatment, give oxygen without breaks until reaching
hyperbaric chamber.
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Treatment
Recompression alone
was shown to be an effective treatment for minor
DCS symptoms. Trough the effectiveness of recompression therapy
utilizing oxygen it has become the standard of care for treatment of
DCS. Recompression is normally carried out in a recompression chamber.
In diving, a more risky alternative is in-water recompression. A
decompression chamber is a steel tank that can be pressurized.
Throughout
treatment a specially trained helper stays with the diver in the
chamber
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Entry
of the San Pedro Hyper- baric Chamber.
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Oxygen first aid
has been used as an emergency treatment for diving
injuries for years. The success of recompression therapy as well as a
decrease in the number of recompression treatments required has been
shown if first aid oxygen is given within four hours after surfacing.
Most fully closed-circuit rebreathers can deliver sustained high
concentrations of oxygen-rich breathing gas and could be used as an
alternative to pure open-circuit oxygen resuscitators.
A
decompression chamber is a steel tank that can be pressurized.
Throughout
treatment a specially trained helper stays with the diver in the
chamber.
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Control
panel for adjusting the air / gas mix and the dive depth. |
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At
the end of the treatment, the chamber will have the air pressure in the
chamber and
outside will be equal and the patient will breathe normal air.
After treatment
At the end of the treatment, the diver will be kept for 24 hours for
observation in case his condition deteriorates. In most instances one
course of treatment is adequate, but occasionally several treatments
may be needed. After
every Hyperbaric Treatment, the patient should drink plenty of fluids,
avoid
hot showers or baths, non-prescribed medications, caffeine, carbonated
beverages, alcohol, strenuous exercise, oily spicy foods, avoid
exposure to
higher elevations (more than 1000 ft / 300 m ) or fly until 72 hours
after the last
treatment or cleared by the doctor.
Diving after an accident
After treatment for
decompression sickness, a diver should take a rest from diving. The
length of this rest should be discussed with a specialist in divers'
medicine "Diving Medicine Physician
EDTC".
Chamber Access Program
The
chamber access program is a system whereby the dive shops pay a
membership fee
to become part of the program. After they become members, the dive
shops are
asked to collect a nominal levy or fee (typically $1 USD for each tank
dived) -
and forward to the chamber at the end of every month. This money is
used to pay
for stand-by operating expenses, which include doctors, utilities,
technical
maintenance, upgrades, salaries etc.
This program gives direct access to chamber service at anytime for dive
shops
that are part of the program and are current with their payments. The
contribution however, is not an insurance, the diver will still be
asked to
supply the chamber with all their insurance information. The company
will bill
the insurance carrier of the patient. If patient is lacking any
health/accident
insurance, the chamber shall apply a nominal cost recovery fee.
Never dive without insurance or without joining the chamber access
program
the cost
for the Chamber are 850 US$ a hour and you need to give a deposit of
2'500 US$.
Be sure your dive shop is joining the chamber access program. It's a
good idea to join Divers DAN.
To avoid accident with dangerous water creatures, please check out the Danger
Creatures Page. |
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| Guide to Belize, March 2024
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