SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/scuba-dcs-first-aid-oxygen

What is the main first aid for a diver with signs of decompression sickness?

Give oxygen at the highest practical concentration, and call for help.

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  1. Give oxygen at the highest concentration possible ✔
  2. Send them back down to the bottom
  3. Give them a hot shower and a nap

Why: Breathing high-concentration oxygen helps flush nitrogen and can ease or even clear symptoms. The diver still needs a medical check, even if they feel better.

Huh, didn't know that: PADI offers an Emergency Oxygen Provider course so divers can learn to give oxygen.

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Oxygen: the only gas every diver agrees is a breath of fresh air.
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References

Answer: Give oxygen at the highest concentration possible. Breathing high-concentration oxygen helps flush nitrogen and can ease or even clear symptoms. The diver still needs a medical check, even if they feel better.

  1. DAN: Treating Decompression Sickness dan.org/health-medicine/health-resource/dive-medical-reference-books/decompression-sickness/treating-dcs
    The primary first aid measure for DCS is delivery of supplemental oxygen in the highest concentration, or fraction, that is practical
    Checked 2026-10-12.

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