NASSAU – The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources has expressed concerned over the incidences of divers suffering from the "bends" or decompression illness that has killed three Family Island fishermen last month.

Bahamian fishermen, with an average age of 31 years, comprise about 40 percent of patients suffering from the bends, seen at the Accident and Emergency Department of the Princess Margaret Hospital.

The bends is a sometime fatal disorder that is marked by neuralgic pains and paralysis, distress in breathing, and often collapse caused by the release of gas bubbles in tissue upon too rapid decrease in air pressure, after a stay in compressed atmosphere.

"We've had patients who have been paralyzed," said consultant Dr. Carolyn Burnett-Garraway, Clinical Director at Accident and Emergency.

"You may get away with it a couple times, joint pains. But you have silent bubbles and it's also affecting your body so when you get older the effects will come. It's been proven that it does have effects on the liver, the bones, the joints and the lungs especially," Dr. Burnett-Garraway said.

Last month Mayaguana's Chief Councillor Clinton Collie, diver Nathaniel Emmanuel, and an 18-year-old Acklins Islander died after suffering suspected decompression illness.

These cases arise mainly out of persons misusing air compressors for fishing, noted Michael Brennen, Marine Resources Director in the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources.

The use of air compressors in The Bahamas is legal provided the necessary permit is obtained and they are used during the time and within the depth established by the regulations, Brennen said.

Though it is difficult to prove who are breaking the rules, Brennen said, violators face a fine of up to $3,000.

"Persons applying for permits must present evidence of training from a dive professional or dive master that would indicate to us that they have thought about the various hazards and how to use the device properly," said Brennen.

Decompression illness, he said, occurs when a diver surfaces too quickly.

The body is under pressure when diving and nitrogen which is in the air breathed, gets dissolved in the blood and the liquid parts of the body, he said.

"When you release the pressure by returning to the surface or just changing from a deep depth to a lower depth," said Brennen, "the nitrogen that is dissolved in the tissues and the tissue fluids comes out of solution and turns back into a gas.

"It can form these little bubbles just like you have bubbles of steam forming in boiling water. These bubbles can be transported around the body in the blood stream or they could occur in certain parts of the body like in the joints. That can cause pressure on the nerves or disrupt the flow of blood vessels, which can, as a result, have serious medical consequences."

The amount of this nitrogen that dissolves in the blood depends upon the depth to which a person dives and also the time a person stays at that depth, Brennen said.

"So it's possible to get into trouble by going very deep for a short time, or you could be at a relatively shallow depth, but if you stay there for a very long time you could put yourself in a very dangerous situation if you are not observing the rules exactly.

"When you return to the surface you could have a problem of these bubbles popping up where you don't want them to and causing serious medical problems," Brennen said.

Dr. Burnett-Garraway ex-plained that Type I or mild decompression illness results in skin rashes and itching.

Type II, she said, is dangerous and can end in 'neurological bends' depending on where the nitrogen bubbles form, or if they get bigger and coalesce – especially if they occur in the spinal cord.

The only treatment for decompression illness, she said, is recompression therapy in a hyperbaric or decompression chamber.

"Basically you dive them again but in a controlled setting," she said. "You dive them to try and treat the bubble. We are trying to push in oxygen under pressure, which helps to shrink the bubbles mechanically and also heals the damaged tissues."

There is a decompression chamber at Lyford Cay hospital. However, a patient suffering negative reactions after diving should be taken to the hospital first so that any other ailments can be ruled out, said Dr. Burnett-Garraway.

A JOB WELL DONE - Participants of the Teacher Workshop held this week at the Jack Hayward High School are pictured here receiving assistance from two lecturers. From Left to right are: Chantell Rolle, lecturer and workshop co-ordinator; Pearl Neely, Martin Town Primary; Michelle Forbes, Programme S.u.r.e; Cheryl Hurst, lecturer and workshop co-ordinator; and James Hepburn, Maurice Moore Primary School.(Photo by NICODIA WILLIAMS)