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J Heimann writes: >Also, an addition to Bill Mayne's note about Australian in-water treatment: > >This procedure is described in some detail in Lippman's "Deeper into Diving" >(yet another reason to get this book). I understand that an important >requirement for the Australian in-water treatment is a full face mask. This >would protect a diver against drowning from an O2 seizure or onset of serious >Type II DCS symptoms. A diver must still be tended while in the water, since >even with a face mask, he might lose bouyancy control and suffer an embolism >from blow-up. Moreover, the diver must be kept warm, which could be very >difficult in cold water. The in-water decompression procedure is intended very much as a method of last resort and requires some fairly extensive preparations such as having a full face mask and sufficient oxygen for up to six hours or more of treatment. Only serious research expeditions that were planning to be in remote areas for extended periods would likely have such equipment. Although the distances in Australia are extremely large, the majority of dive locations are not too inaccessible. I understand the in-water decompression technique was developed to meet the needs of some technical/research divers (marine biologists etc.). Most of northern Australia is within range of a portable re-compression chamber based at Townsville hospital (which has a major re-compression facility) this chamber can be flown to anywhere a helicopter can land. I gather it has been as far as the Solomon Islands. Once inside the portable chamber, the patient and attendant are pressurised and flown to townsville where the portable chamber is mated to the main chamber and the patient transferred under pressure. Most of Australia's large cities have a recompression facility and so it is rare that you would be more than an hour by helicopter from any chamber. There are additional chambers associated with some of the oil drilling platforms. Cheers, David. ______________________________________________________________________________ David Giddy, | Voice: +61 3 253 6388 Telecom Research Laboratories, | Fax: +61 3 253 6144 P.O. Box 249, Clayton, Victoria 3168, AUSTRALIA | Net: d.giddy@tr*.oz*.au* X400: g=david s=giddy ou=trl o=telecom prmd=telecom006 admd=telememo c=au ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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