Decompression sickness, also known as caisson disease or the bends, is a condition that occurs when the body experiences a reduction in pressure. It is true that decompression sickness typically affects deep-sea divers, but it can also affect compressed air workers, astronauts and aviators.

Decompression sickness results from the formation of bubbles from dissolved gasses such as nitrogen in the bloodstream and tissues during or after a reduction in environmental pressure.

Interestingly enough, Dr. Paul G. Harch, MD spoke with HBOT News recently on this very topic.  He references the Navy’s experience with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, as the Navy really kind of dominated this field for many years. The Navy reported that if you can get someone in a chamber within one hour of coming out of the water – when they’re symptomatic for decompression sickness – then the first hyperbaric treatment is curative in 90% of cases. Everyone thought that HBOT was treating bubbles in the brain at that point, but the reality is they were treating inflammation. We now know that it’s the inflammatory reaction in the brain after the bubbles passed that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is treating; not the bubbles.

Dr. Paul Harch & Inflammation

The primary treatment option for decompression sickness is the administration of 100% pure oxygen. Scientists recommend this initial treatment until a person with decompression sickness can have hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or recompression therapy, is a treatment approach where people go intoTrusted Source a hyperbaric chamber filled with 100% pure oxygen.

The air pressure in the chamber is higher than the normal air pressure. This helps a person’s lungs collect greater amounts of oxygen.