Plane made emergency landing because passenger had DCS symptoms

A passenger plane made an emergency landing in Dallas after a diver on board realised during the flight that he was beginning to develop symptoms of decompression sickness. The man was returning to Denver from his honeymoon in Cancún, Mexico.

Malik Altoos and his wife Kenda Albaree were on their way home when the man developed symptoms of decompression sickness.

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[blockquote style=”2″]”Only 20 minutes of the flight had passed when I felt a tingling sensation in my hands. This was followed by nausea, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. I told the stewardess that I needed oxygen immediately. By then I was almost sure I had decompression sickness,” said Altoos[/blockquote].

During their stay in Mexico, the newlyweds made a total of three dives, which ranged in depth from 5 to 10 metres. After about 20 minutes of flying, Altoos realised what was happening.

[blockquote style=”2″]”The patient was working out a lot, which left him very dehydrated. It is important to keep hydration levels high enough both before and after diving,” said Dr. Edward Tomoye, of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.”[/blockquote]

Dr Tomoye, who also specialises in hyperbaric medicine, says people who do high-intensity training before diving can increase the risk of a diving accident or the risk of DCS. According to the Divers Alert Network – DAN, DCS affects around 1,000 US divers each year.

After the plane landed safely in Dallas, Malik Altoos underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

According to recommendations, after making several dives in one day, you should wait at least 18 hours before flying.

The victim told doctors that he had waited 19 hours as advised. However, it is important to remember that the onset of decompression sickness depends on a great many individual factors and predispositions of the body.

Source: dfw.cbslocal.com