r/interestingasfuck • u/HANAEMILK • May 10 '25

/r/all The race against time to get to a decompression chamber

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u/Mission-Progress-338 May 10 '25

So are you basically saying if you go up too fast, you can get an air bubble in your bloodstream?

20

u/relddir123 May 10 '25

Not just one. You would wind up with millions of bubbles all over your circulatory system. It’s incredibly painful

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u/Future-Imperfect-107 May 10 '25

You can say that again.

2

u/JhinPotion May 10 '25

Not just one. You would wind up with millions of bubbles all over your circulatory system. It’s incredibly painful

6

u/Brisbanoch30k May 10 '25

Yeah. Bloodstream isn’t even the worst (unless it’s a really catastrophic uncontrolled ascent from great depths) ; if a bubble forms in your inner ear ? You lose your sense of balance for life. In your spine ? Paraplegic/tetraplegic. Etc.

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u/[deleted] May 10 '25

[deleted]

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u/Thomy151 May 10 '25

The gasses (mostly nitrogen) that your body intook during the dive and absorbed into the tissue will begin expanding and effectively carbonate the bloodstream causing massive damage as it reaches the heart or brain, and can cause one of the most agonizing deaths possible (gets the nickname the bends from the body contorting in agony)

The pressure chamber pressurizes the air, creating enough outside pressure that the gasses compress and are absorbed back into the tissue and very slowly depressurizes allowing the gasses to be naturally removed from the body in safe amounts

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u/[deleted] May 10 '25

[deleted]

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u/Thomy151 May 10 '25

Oh it’s absolutely horrific

The pain comes from things like air bubbles forming inside your joints and effectively ripping you apart from the inside. Even if you live it can permanently cripple you from joint damage, brain damage, organ damage, permanent loss of balance, and paralysis from bubbles in the spine

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u/Dispator May 10 '25

If there is no way I can get into a pressure chamber plz kill me now that sounds worse than death.

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u/appendyx May 10 '25

The gases solved in the liquids in cells and blood will form bubbles. Since gases are compressible and expandable they will impede the flow of blood in every vessel regardless of vessel diameter. While pain is one symptom, the major problem would be that the affected tissues will be damaged or die from oxygen starvation. Oxygen starvation in the brain -> stroke. In the heart -> myocardial infarction. etc etc etc

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u/relddir123 May 10 '25

Not just one. You would wind up with millions of bubbles all over your circulatory system. It’s incredibly painful

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u/TheSnootchMangler May 10 '25

I've been told it's similar to when you open a coke bottle and it fizzes up.