The Pain of Baurotrama

Scuba Diving can be extremely relaxing and fun, but there are a lot of important steps to take to prevent personal injury. In our blog about pressure, we explained the large role pressure plays while diving under water. Nitrogen Narcosis, Oxygen Toxicity, and other sicknesses can result, as well as baurotrama. We'd like to explain a little about what baurotrama can do and how to avoid it. 

Baurotrama comes from having gases in your body expand upon ascent from a dive and not being able to escape fast enough. This causes tissue to tear, swell, and burst. Baurotrama can occur in the sinuses, ears, lungs, gastrointestinal system, and even in teeth.

As gases in your body expand upon ascent, there needs to be an escape route for those gases, or else they will expand and eventually burst or tear the cavity they are in. This can cause serious problems such as collapsed lungs, extreme pain in the sinuses, burst ear drums, removed fillings and even exploded teeth in extreme cases.

Prevention

In order to prevent baurotrama, there are a few steps you can take.

  • Make sure your sinuses are clear of congestion. Too much phlegm will prevent your sinuses from equalizing. If you are sick or have congestion, you should not go diving. If you attempt, you will feel extreme pain in the sinuses as you will be unable to clear them.
  • Don't take in foods and beverages that create gases in the gastrointestinal system, such as beans, onions, and soda. 
  • Visit your dentist regularly to make sure your teeth are healthy enough to dive.
  • Always ascend slowly from diving. Be sure to use the appropriate time needed to ascend to prevent the gases in your body from expanding too quickly.

These are a few tips to help, but be sure you are diving with certified divers to make sure you can help each other if problems to occur. 

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