Barotrauma: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

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Barotrauma

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	Barotrauma
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	Topics Barotrauma Topic Home Barotrauma is physical damage to body tissues caused by a difference in pressurePressure Pressure is the force per unit area applied on a surface in a direction perpendicular to that surface.... between an air space inside or beside the body and the surrounding gasGas A gas is one of the four main phases of matter , that subsequently appear as a solid material is subjected to increasingly h... or liquidLiquid A liquid is one of the main phases of matter.... . Barotrauma typically occurs to air spaces within a body when that body moves to or from a higher pressure environment, such as when a SCUBA diverScuba diving Scuba diving is the term used to describe the use of a self-contained breathing set to stay underwater for periods of time g... , a free-divingFree-diving Free-diving refers to various aquatic activities that share the practice of breath-hold diving.... diver or an airplane passenger ascends or descends. Boyle's lawBoyle's law Boyle's law is one of the gas laws.... defines the relationship between the volumeVolume *'Volume', also called capacity, is a quantification of how much space a certain region occupies.... of the air space and the ambient pressurePressure Pressure* is the force per unit area applied on a surface in a direction perpendicular to that surface.... . Damage occurs in the tissues around the body's air spaces because gases are compressible and the tissues are not. During increases in ambient pressure, the internal air space provides the surrounding tissues with little support to resist the higher external pressure. During decreases in ambient pressure, the higher pressure of the gas inside the air spaces causes damage to the surrounding tissues if that gas becomes trapped. Types of injury Examples of organs or tissues easily damaged by barotrauma are: middle earFacts About Middle ear The middle ear is the portion of the ear internal to the eardrum, and external to the oval window of the cochlea.... paranasal sinusParanasal sinus The paranasal sinuses are eight air-filled spaces, or sinuses, within the bones of the skull and face.... es (causing AerosinusitisAerosinusitis Aerosinusitis, also called barosinusitis, sinus squeeze or sinus barotrauma is a painful inflammation and ... ) lungs eyes (the unsupportive air space is inside the diving maskDiving mask A diving mask is an item of diving equipment that allows scuba divers, free-divers, and snorkelers to see clearly underwater... ) skinSkin In zootomy and dermatology, skin is an organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial tissues th... (when wearing a diving suitDiving suit Overview A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment.... which creates an air space) boneBone Bone, also called osseous tissue, is a type of hard endoskeletal connective tissue found in many vertebrate animals.... (bone necrosis and temporal lobe injury) Teeth (causing BarodontalgiaBarodontalgia Barodontalgia, commonly known as tooth squeeze and previously known as aerodontalgia, is a dental pain evoked by... or dental fractures) Diving barotrauma Squeeze The term 'squeeze' describes the phenomenon of a shrinking air space as the pressure rises and the volume reduces during descent and the pain felt by the diver when this happens. It normally happens in the diving mask and the drysuit. Lung damage Most lung pressure damage occurs on ascent where the high-pressure gas in the lung causes it to expand. As the lungs do not sense pain when over-expanded, the diver receives no warning to prevent the injury. Causes When diving, the pressurePressure Pressure is the force per unit area applied on a surface in a direction perpendicular to that surface.... differences needed to cause the barotrauma come from two sources: descending and ascending in water. There are two components to the surrounding pressure acting on the diver: the atmospheric pressureAtmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure is the pressure above any area in the Earth's atmosphere caused by the weight of air.... and the water pressure. A descent of 10 metres (33 feet) in water increases the ambient pressure by approximately the pressure of the atmosphere at sea level. So, a descent from the surface to 10 metres (33 feet) underwater results in a doubling of the pressure on the diver. breathing gas at depth from SCUBA equipmentScuba set SCUBA is an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.... results in the lungs containing gas at a higher pressure than atmospheric pressure. So a free-divingFree-diving Free-diving refers to various aquatic activities that share the practice of breath-hold diving.... diver can dive to 10 metres (33 feet) and safely ascend without exhaling, because the gas in the lungs had been inhaled at atmospheric pressure, whereas a SCUBA diverFacts About Scuba diving Scuba diving is the term used to describe the use of a self-contained breathing set to stay underwater for periods of time g... who breathes at 10 metres and ascends without exhaling has lungs containing gas at twice atmospheric pressure and is very likely to suffer life-threatening lung damage. Equalizing Diving barotrauma can be avoided by eliminating any pressure differences acting on the tissue or organ by equalizing the pressure. There are a variety of techniques: The air spaces in the earEar The ear is the sense organ that detects sound.... s, and the sinusesParanasal sinus The paranasal sinuses are eight air-filled spaces, or sinuses, within the bones of the skull and face.... . The risk is burst eardrum. Here, the diver can use the valsalva manoeuvre, to let air into the middle earMiddle ear The middle ear is the portion of the ear internal to the eardrum, and external to the oval window of the cochlea.... s via the Eustachian tubeEustachian tube The Eustachian tube is a tube that links the pharynx to the middle ear.... s. Sometimes swallowing will open the Eustachian tubes and equalise the ears. See ear clearingEar clearing Ear clearing or clearing the ears is any of various maneuvers to equalize the pressure in the middle ear with the outs... . The lungLung The lung is the essential respiration organ in air-breathing vertebrates.... s. The risk is pneumothoraxPneumothorax In medicine, a pneumothorax or collapsed lung is a medical emergency caused by the collapse of the lung within the ple... . which is commonly called burst lung by divers. To equalise, always breathe normally and never hold the breath. This risk does not arise when snorkel diving from the surface, unless the snorkeller breathes from a high pressure gas source underwater, or from submerged air pockets. The air inside the usual eyes-and-nose diving maskDiving mask Overview A diving mask is an item of diving equipment that allows scuba divers, free-divers, and snorkelers to see clearly underwater... . The main risk is bleeding around the eyes. Here, let air into the mask through the nose. Do not dive in eyes-only gogglesGoggles Goggles and safety glasses are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the eye area in order to pr... as sometimes seen on land with industrial breathing sets. Air spaces inside a dry suitDiving suit A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment.... . The main risk is folds of skin getting pinched inside folds of the drysuit. Most modern drysuits have a tube connection to feed air in from the cylinder. Air must be injected on the descent and vented on the ascent. Use of a recompression chamber Barotrauma and decompression illnessDecompression illness Decompression Illness is a term generally used to describe illness after a decrease in the ambient pressure that a body is ... are sometimes treated with a recompression chamberRecompression chamber A recompression chamber is a pressure vessel used to treat divers suffering from certain diving disorders such as decompress... , which reproduces the pressure that a person had adjusted to before coming up too quickly to a lower-pressure zone; it allows slow decompression. However, a chamber (if misused) can also cause barotrauma, if the occupant is taken to three or four times atmospheric pressure and quickly returned to lower pressure. This occurs in the Tom ClancyTom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. , better known as Tom Clancy, is an American author of bestselling political thrillers, best kno... novel Without RemorseWithout Remorse *Without Remorse* is a novel by Tom Clancy set in 1970, in the middle of the Vietnam War.... . Blast induced barotrauma An explosive blastExplosion Overview An explosion is a sudden increase in volume and release of energy in a violent manner, usually with the generation of high t... creates a pressure wave that can induce barotrauma. The difference in pressure between internal organs and the outer surface of the body causes injuries to internal organs that contain gas, such as the lungLung The lung is the essential respiration organ in air-breathing vertebrates.... s, gastrointestinal tractGastrointestinal tract The gastrointestinal tract or digestive tract, also referred to as the GI tract or the alimentary canal, o... , and earEar The ear is the sense organ that detects sound.... . Ventilator induced barotrauma Mechanical ventilationMechanical ventilation In medicine, mechanical ventilation is a method to assist or replace spontaneous breathing.... can lead to barotrauma of the lungs. This can be due to either: absolute pressures used in order to ventilate non-compliant lungs. shearing forces, particularly associated with rapid changes in gas velocityVelocity Summary The velocity of an object is simply its speed in a particular direction.... . The resultant alveolar rupture can lead to pneumothoraxPneumothorax In medicine, a pneumothorax or collapsed lung is a medical emergency caused by the collapse of the lung within the ple... , pulmonary interstitial emphysema (PIE) and pneumomediastinumPneumomediastinum Pneumomediastinum is a condition in which air is present in the mediastinum.... . See also Alternobaric vertigoAlternobaric vertigo In underwater diving, Alternobaric vertigo is dizziness resulting from unequal pressures being exerted between the ears due ... BarodontalgiaBarodontalgia Barodontalgia, commonly known as tooth squeeze and previously known as aerodontalgia, is a dental pain evoked by... DysbarismDysbarism Dysbarism refers to medical conditions resulting from changes in ambient pressure.... Diving hazards and precautionsDiving hazards and precautions Overview Divers face specific physical and health risks when they go underwater or use high pressure breathing gases....