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W
hile
walking
down
the dock
after our
last dive, I noticed the skin on
my stomach was feeling itchy. I
didn’t think anything of it other
than sea lice might have gotten
inside my wetsuit. I went back
to the room to shower and get
dressed for a picnic on the beach.
We had been in Cuba for a
week and had been diving for
the past three days. I had done
six dives, two per day, with
similar profiles each day. They
were all air dives between 60
and 104 feet deep — nothing
extraordinary (besides the
pristine Cuban reefs and
gorgeous swim-throughs). I
was comfortable and relaxed
throughout. My deepest dive was to 104 feet, and that
was the first dive on the day I experienced symptoms. I
went to 93 feet on the second dive that day and did a long
safety stop for about 10 minutes. I felt fine on the surface
but was sad that I had done my last dive of the trip.
After I showered, my skin was still itching and what I
believed to be a rash was developing; I thought I might
be having an allergic reaction to whatever had “bitten”
me. It didn’t seem serious though, so I got dressed and
went to join my husband and the rest of our group at the
picnic. When I got there I didn’t feel well, so I headed
back to the room to lie down for a while. On my way I
stopped at the first-aid clinic to see the doctor.
There was a language barrier since I don’t speak
Spanish, and I muddled my way through trying to
explain what I was feeling. I showed the doctor the
red and white marbling on my abdomen. The doctor
suggested that my BC might have been too tight, and
he recommended that I take acetaminophen, rest and
wait to see if the symptoms would subside.
I went to my room, took some Tylenol and lay down
to rest. Though I was quite uncomfortable I eventually
managed to sleep until my husband came to check on
me two hours later. When I got out of bed I felt the
itching sensation creep up to my breasts, and it was then
that I first felt pain. Alarmed, I showed my husband my
marbled skin, and he immediately said he thought it
46
|
WINTER 2017
RESEARCH, EDUCATION & MEDICINE
DAN WAS THERE FOR ME
Skin
Bends
in Cuba
By Tricia Grimes
Although cutaneous DCS (“skin bends”) can be relatively minor,
20 percent of DCS cases that involve skin manifestations also
involve neurological symptoms such as blurred vision, dizziness or
confusion. Whether or not there are obvious neurological symptoms,
an evaluation by a physician trained in dive medicine is always
recommended because some neurological symptoms can be subtle.
(Note: The abdomen photo on the next page illustrates skin bends
in general, not this incident in particular.)
STEPHEN FRINK