As the founder and chief executive officer of Altiras, Steven Marshall focuses on strategy development and the strengthening of revenue streams. Beyond his responsibilities with Altiras, Steven Marshall enjoys scuba diving.
When the body does not properly decompress after a deep scuba dive, decompression sickness can occur. Colloquially known as “the bends,” decompression sickness stems from a changing matter state that affects the nitrogen that divers inhale as part of the compressed air in their breathing tank.
All breathing tanks contain both oxygen and nitrogen. As the diver descends, pressure around the body increases, and the nitrogen dissolves into the blood. Ordinarily, this dissolved nitrogen progresses safely through the body and exits in the urine.
If the diver rises to the surface too quickly, however, the rapid decrease in pressure causes the nitrogen to leave a solution state. It then forms bubbles in the blood or tissue, and the diver experiences the symptoms characteristic of decompression sickness. These include fatigue, confusion, headache, limb weakness, and rash, depending on the affected systems.
Because this process depends on the buildup and release of pressure, the risk of decompression sickness varies with dive depth and duration. Experts recommend consulting dive tables or dive computers, the latter of which can calculate the limits within one must dive to avoid dangerous levels of nitrogen buildup.
