Caisson Disease - Symptoms, Causes and Treatment for Caisson Disease

Caisson disease (compressed air illness or bends) an illness affecting divers or workers operating at depth and high pressure. The condition arises if the person regains the surface too rapidly.

Pain in the joints (the bends), headache and dizziness (decompression sickness) and paralysis can arise due to the formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood which accumulate in various parts of the body. The condition is serious and can be fatal.

Caisson disease is an important cause of disability in deep-sea divers and compressed-air workers building tunnels or underwater structures.

In sports divers it has been shown that a patent foramen ovale is a risk factor for developing multiple brain lesions on MRI, presumably caused by paradoxical bubble emboli.

Symptoms of Caisson Disease

Nitrogen bubbles in the respiratory system can cause excessive coughing and difficulty in breathing. Other symptoms include, chest pain, dizziness, paralysis, unconsciousness or blindness. In extreme cases, caisson disease can cause death

Treatment of Caisson Disease

Treatment must be undertaken in a decompression chamber. DCS is treated by giving the patient oxygen and placing him or her in a hyperbaric chamber, an enclosure in which the air pressure is first gradually increased and then gradually decreased. This shrinks the bubbles and allows the nitrogen to safely diffuse out of the tissues.

Prevention of Caisson Disease

The best way to prevent this condition is to limit the depth and duration of scuba dives. Short, shallow dives do not require what is called decompression. Decompression involves stopping and waiting for a period of time at different depths as one rises to the surface. This allows the extra dissolved gases that build up to escape through the lungs as the person breathes. This prevents too many gas bubbles from forming.