Dubai Police has provided treatment to 10 scuba divers suffering from decompression sickness known as ‘the bends’. The divers were placed inside a decompression chamber at Dubai Police Health Centre to help them through the treatment.

According to Major Ismail Hasan Mahmoud, Director of Oxygenating Treatment at the General Department of Transport and Rescue, the Dubai Police decompression chamber has provided help to several amateur divers who fell ill due to improper decompression during deep ocean diving.

“We’ve treated divers and helped them walk again after being paralysed. This is usually due to not following safety procedures after spending many hours underwater or rising quickly from underwater,” he added.

Major Mahmoud underlined that a 35-year-old Emirati patient was struggling with decompression sickness due to diving four consecutive times without noting timings and diving depths.

Maj Mahmoud explained that nitrogen concentration got very high in the patient's tissues due to which he was experiencing severe weakness in his feet, left shoulder along with lower back pain, imbalanced walking. He was suffering from severe numbness in the lower limbs, severe abdominal pain and difficulty in urination.

Major Mahmoud noted that Dubai Police helped the patient recover from the condition by providing a few sessions at the decompression chamber.

What are 'The Bends'?

Ocean divers generally get the bends due to not stopping at intervals while resurfacing from water. This exercise is done to help the body release the nitrogen build-up in the bloodstream. According to experts, this condition can be fatal if not given proper and timely treatment.

Decompression sickness is referred to as a condition taking place due to dissolved gases coming out of the solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization.

Dubai Police has called on all divers to call 999 in cases of any emergency or call 04 416 6666 during business hours if they require any services of the decompression chamber.

SOURCE: Gulf News

LINK: https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/dubai-police-treat-10-divers-suffering-from-the-bends-1.86762465