"The myth of poisonous water or the reality of decompression sickness"

When hearing the phrase "Poisonous Water Area," everyone feels scared because no one wants to dive in such a place, right?

Yes, this phrase is mostly heard from the Vietnamese fishermen. They often use this phrase to refer to the diving accidents of their relatives while fishing. RumblefishVietnam and I, luckily, have had a lot of contact with Vietnamese fishermen, the people of the sea, who were born and raised on the sea and fished on the sea. But there are also heart-wrenching accidents caused by the sea itself.

Why is there the phrase "Poisonous Water Area"? It is a way to describe the victims who dive to catch seafood and accidentally cross this water area and encounter poisonous water. Lightly, half of the person is paralyzed, and if it's serious, death occurs. Actually, there is no poisonous water area here (in Vietnam), except for long-term heavy metal exploitation areas, etc. The disease that Vietnamese fishermen are mostly suffering from is called Decompression Sickness (also known as Decompression Sickness). This is the case where they dive for longer than allowed at a depth with unsafe diving equipment. Day by day, nitrogen gas accumulates in the body as bubbles and gradually increases, causing congestion of blood vessels leading to a blood flow interruption to the brain.

The initial symptoms will be numbness in the fingers, arms, pain, and difficulty breathing. Half of the people will be paralyzed and eventually suffer from seizures, which is something we don't want at all. The primary first aid performed by the local people is to keep the victim warm and then use a knife to make an incision on their body to release the "poisonous blood and water." However, this method is ineffective because the poison is nitrogen gas and no amount of incisions can release the accumulated nitrogen gas that has built up over the years through a flawed process.

The best way we have learned in the basic training course is to give the victim pure oxygen and have them lie down and call for medical personnel. The victim will then be taken to a decompression chamber to release all the nitrogen gas. Only a decompression chamber can release all the accumulated nitrogen gas, and it is also important to inform the medical staff of the victim's condition for the best possible treatment.

This article was mainly sourced from our colleagues, some of whom have been victims of decompression illness. The language used is the most neutral in the hope that our fellow Vietnamese citizens can better prepare for the risks of decompression illness and lead a better life.