Barotrauma
Barotrauma, or Squeeze, is the collective term for several Diving Health Risks which have to do with differences in pressure. Barotraumas are caused by differences between the pressure of the surrounding environment and the pressure in air spaces inside the body, such as in the ears, the lungs and the sinuses, or other air spaces beside the body, such as in the Diving Mask or folds in the exposure suit. A Barotrauma can occur during ascents as well as descents. The trauma will manifest itself during the change of pressure (except with air embolism).
In diving, the following types of Barotrauma can occur:
- Middle Ear Barotrauma or Barotitis Media or Ear Squeeze
- Inner Ear Barotrauma
- Outer Ear Barotrauma or Barotitis Externa or External Ear Squeeze
- Skin Squeeze
- Barodontalgia or Tooth Squeeze
- Barotrauma due to helmet diving
- Sinus Barotrauma or Barosinusitis
- Eardrum Rupture or Eardrum Perforation
- Face Mask Barotrauma or Ocular Barotrauma or Mask Squeeze
- Diver’s Colic or Abdominal Squeeze
- Pulmonary Barotrauma
Eardrum Rupture
An Eardrum Rupture or Perforation can occur both during the ascent and the descent.
Causes and Symptoms
An Eardrum Rupture can occur at pressure differences between the middle and outer ear from 0.4 till 0.7 bar. It can also develop when you decide to descend even further when you are already suffering from middle ear squeeze, or when you decide to continue ascending when you are already experiencing overpressure in your middle ear. Besides this, the use of ear plugs or wearing a very tight-fitting diving cap can also cause an Eardrum Rupture, as can a ball of earwax.
One of the symptoms of an Eardrum Rupture is that when the eardrum ruptures, the pain which you might have felt in your ear earlier, suddenly disappears. Furthermore, you can experience temporary dizziness due to the differing temperature of the water entering your ear. However, this dizziness will disappear after a few minutes, when the water that has entered the ear has reached body temperature. When you have reached the surface again, you might experience some pain, deafness or some minor bleeding from the ear canal.
Treatment
Ascend to the surface, while putting your finger in the outer part of the ear canal. Cover up the ear with some sterile gauze. Alert an ENT-specialist (an ENT-check-up is mandatory). A treatment with antibiotics is necessary. Recovery will take approximately 6 weeks. Do not go Diving until you have completely recovered.
Face Mask Barotrauma
Face Mask Barotrauma, also called Ocular Barotrauma or Mask Squeeze, occurs during the descent.
Causes and Symptoms
Face Mask Barotrauma is caused by underpressure in your diving mask. This can occur if you forget to clear your mask before you descend.
The symptoms of Face Mask Barotrauma are a red, swollen face, red, swollen or bulging eyes, hemorrhaging around and in the eyes and bleeding from the nose.
Prevention
Face Mask Barotrauma can easily be prevented by making sure you always clear your mask before you go Diving. Make sure that this is pointed out to novice divers and see to it that they actually do clear their mask before they go under water.
These are just some of the many types of Barotrauma. Make sure you always follow the guidelines for a safe and successful dive, to diminish the occurrence of this type of trauma as much as possible.
In every kind of health risk, it is not enough that you know what to do and act on it. Professional help must always be sought. Instead of making things more complicated, its best that you seek for someone who knows what to do about it.
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