WHAT EXACTLY DOES HAPPEN IN A RECOMPRESSION CHAMBER?

After determining that you have decompression sickness the physician will follow the U.S. Navy Treatment Table 6, which goes as follows:

After being sealed shut in the chamber, you will make a 3 minute "descent" to 60 feet while breathing "normal" air.

Then you will switch to breathing 100% oxygen for 20 minutes.

Back to air for 5 minutes.

20 more minutes of 100% oxygen, and 5 minutes of air 2 more times.

For the next 30 minutes you will "ascend" to 30 feet while breathing 100% oxygen.

Back to air for 15 minutes.

Another hour of 100% oxygen and 15 minutes of air 2 more times.

30 minutes of 100% oxygen while "ascending" to the surface.

Total elapsed time in the chamber is 285 minutes. (4 hours, 45 minutes) Bring a book.

Now, if conditions do not completely resolve you may need repetitive treatment following U.S. Navy Treatment Table 9, which follows a similar pattern of breathing air and 100% oxygen for a shorter session. (120 minutes) Also you only "descend" to 45 Feet.

So, Can you dive again after getting bent?
For recreational divers, where diving is not a livelihood, a more conservative approach is called for to further minimize the chance that a diving injury will recur.
- After pain-only DCI where there are no neurological symptoms, a minimum of two weeks without diving is recommended.
- If there are minor neurological symptoms, six weeks without diving is recommended.
- If there are severe neurological symptoms or any residual symptoms, no further diving is recommended.
Even if symptoms were not severe and they resolved completely, a diver who has had multiple bouts of DCI must take special considerations. If DCI is occurring where other divers on the same profile are DCI-free, the diver may have an increased susceptibility to DCI. In these cases, a Diving Medical Specialist must be consulted to determine if diving can be resumed safely.