How should decompression sickness symptoms be recognized and managed?

Complete your ADCI Dive Supervisor Certification. Review with flashcards and multiple-choice questions, each question includes hints and detailed explanations to ensure understanding and success on your test.

Recognizing decompression sickness relies on noticing that early symptoms often involve the musculoskeletal and nervous systems after a dive, and that timely treatment with high-flow oxygen and rapid evacuation to hyperbaric therapy improves outcomes. Early signs commonly include joint pain (the bends), dizziness or vertigo, and numbness or tingling. If these signs appear after ascent, the diver should stop diving immediately, begin first aid (prioritize 100% oxygen as soon as available, keep the diver still and warm, monitor breathing and circulation), and arrange urgent transport to a facility offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

This option is the best because it combines both recognition of typical early symptoms and the essential field actions: discontinue the dive, provide first aid, and seek HBOT. The other choices are incomplete or incorrect because symptoms like fatigue alone are not a reliable marker, and stating that decompression sickness cannot be recognized in the field ignores the reality that divers and handlers must respond to warning signs and initiate evacuation promptly.