Caisson Disease

Decompression sickness or barotherapy is a medical term used to describe a dangerous situation caused by a lack of oxygen in the air. This occurs when a person is in an enclosed space where the air changes quickly and there may not be enough oxygen to support life. When diving under water, breathing also stops. This leads to a lack of oxygen in the inhaled air, so with each new breath its amount decreases. At the moment, the main antidote to an overdose of nitrogen gases is exhalation (apnea); the longer the apnea, the less likely it is to experience nitrogen narcosis. If apnea does not occur, then the person experiences irreversible changes in the central nervous system, cardiovascular and respiratory systems.