Australian Capital Territory Current Regulations Australian Capital Territory Current RegulationsSchedule 9 Symptoms and treatment of compressed air illness
Symptoms of compressed air illness
1 The symptoms of compressed air illness are due to the liberation of bubbles of nitrogen in the blood or tissues and usually occur after the return of a person to normal air pressure.
2 The time of onset is generally a few minutes after decompression has been completed, but may be delayed as much as 4 hours, occasionally a case may occur during decompression.
Forms of compressed air illness
3 The different forms that compressed air illness may assume are very numerous, and any illness or unusual symptoms after compression should be investigated at once with a view to eliminating compressed air illness.
4 If any doubt exists, it is wise to place the person concerned under a small pressure to ascertain if there is any alleviation of the symptoms.
5 The following forms of compressed air illness are most commonly encountered:
(1) ‘Bends' are the most common form of compressed air illness. These are painful and sometimes acute manifestations of the illness that affect 1 or more limbs. They are not dangerous unless both arms or legs are effected, that may indicate a bubble in the spinal cord. Bends are most likely to occur in muscles that have been the hardest worked. The pain begins gradually, but may rapidly assume a very painful climax which, unless relieved by recompression, may be sufficiently severe to make the person cry out. Any symptom of a ‘bend' should be treated by recompression at the earliest possible moment. The longer recompression is delayed the more difficult will be the cure.
(2) Severe pains in the chest or abdomen. The pain in the chest may be accompanied by short, quick, gasping breathing, and the pain in the abdomen may lead to vomiting.
(3) Paralysis of the legs and arms. This is a very serious symptom, and unless relieved may lead to permanent loss of use of the limbs.
(4) Other forms are faintness or unconsciousness, jerky movements of the eye or loss of sight, deafness, swelling of the body, loss of speech. These forms are less common.
Symptoms to be reported
6 Any attack of ‘bends', giddiness, vomiting or difficulty in breathing, disease of the heart, lungs, kidneys, genital organs, a chill, or any other disease that may come on a compressed air worker during or subsequent to work may have the most serious consequences to the worker's health.
7 Therefore, immediately on noticing the indisposition, the worker must report it to the medical officer or to a medical orderly, or failing either, to the contractor or a responsible representative of the contractor.
Treatment of compressed air illness
8 The cure for compressed air illness is immediate and adequate recompression, which causes diminution in the size and final disappearance of the bubble of gas that produced the symptom.