In a dive emergency, first aid oxygen plays an integral role in first response. DAN strives to educate divers to help prevent problems and be ready to assist when the unavoidable occurs. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the DAN oxygen training program, which trains divers in how to recognize injury, take a leadership role in a diving emergency and safely administer oxygen first aid to injured divers.

Why?
Administering oxygen first aid helps to facilitate the process of expelling excess nitrogen from the body by increasing the gradient between the breathing gas (which is zero percent nitrogen) and the nitrogen bubbles, thereby helping to diffuse them. Oxygen first aid not only significantly enhances nitrogen off-gassing, it may reduce bubble size and swelling as well as improve circulation.

Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries, a present-day dive safety essential, was initially pioneered and developed when DAN Research discovered that although scientific evidence was emerging on the benefits of emergency oxygen in first aid treatments, less than one-third of injured divers received it.

In 1984 Dr. Arthur Dick and two DAN colleagues observed the positive effects of oxygen on diving-related injuries when they examined a series of decompression sickness cases that occurred between 1981 and 1982.

• The researchers compared 10 cases in which divers were given first aid oxygen with 10 cases of comparable severity that were not given oxygen first aid prior to treatment; they came to some interesting conclusions:
• Those who received first aid oxygen experienced 90 percent symptom resolution during hyperbaric chamber therapy.
• Those who did not receive first aid oxygen prior to hyperbaric chamber therapy reported 50 percent resolution.
• There was a lower rate of recurrence of symptoms in the group who had received first aid oxygen.
• Recognizing the importance of these findings, DAN worked to develop and make accessible to divers not only a portable oxygen unit, but the education on how to use it.

Training Divers
Since the inception of the program in 1991, DAN Education has trained more than 180,000 providers and thousands of instructors. More and more divers are equipping themselves with the tools to recognize diving emergencies and respond appropriately. In the 20 years since the program debuted, emergency oxygen has become a safety standard throughout the diving industry, and DAN Education has continued to add programs to its lineup, creating the most comprehensive diving emergency training available to divers.  DAN also continues to develop oxygen administration products to help enable greater portability and deployment. If you are not trained in administering oxygen, consider taking the DAN Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries course to enhance your dive safety skills. ■

Divers Alert Network (DAN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the safety and health of scuba divers. DAN operates a 24-hour emergency hotline (+1-919-684-9111) to help divers in need of medical emergency assistance for diving or non-diving incidents.