Just found out how fast decompression sickness can hit you even in shallow water

I was reading through some DAN accident reports last night and came across a case where a guy got bent in only 30 feet of water. He was on a Friday afternoon job, nothing crazy, just pulling traps. He skipped a safety stop because he figured it was too shallow to matter. Ended up with joint pain two hours later and had to hit the chamber. That stuck with me because I always thought you needed to be way deeper for that to happen. Anyone else get caught off guard by how little depth it takes to get into trouble?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthews2113d ago

Oh come on, this is such an overblown fear. 30 feet? I've done plenty of dives to 40 or 50 feet without a stop and been totally fine. People act like every little dive is a death sentence if you don't follow every rule to the letter. That guy probably had some other issue like a pre-existing injury or he was dehydrated or something. The risk is way overhyped by the safety crowd. Yeah, it can happen but it's not that common or serious at that depth. I think most divers would be fine skipping a stop in 30 feet.

zaram9713d ago

matthews21 saying "most divers would be fine skipping a stop in 30 feet" is exactly the kind of thinking that gets people bent. I mean, yeah, you might get away with it a hundred times, but that one time you don't? You're gonna wish you did the stop. And saying the guy had some other issue like dehydration or an injury is kind of a convenient way to brush off the fact that skipping the stop could have been the trigger. I've seen people who were totally fit and hydrated still get hit with DCS after a shallow dive because they missed a stop or did a quick ascent. The safety crowd isn't just making stuff up, they've seen the data and the injuries. It's not about being afraid of every dive, it's about not taking stupid risks that could leave you paralyzed or dead.

the_anthony13d ago

...and that's why I've personally started doing decompression stops even in a bathtub. The only time I didn't was last week and I ended up with a killer headache, but honestly that was probably just from me banging my head on the faucet trying to get out. I mean, idk, maybe it's just me being cautious, but I'd rather waste an extra 60 seconds looking like a dork hovering at 15 feet than risk my wife having to explain to my mom why I can't feel my legs.