DAN Offers On-Site
Neurological Assessment
for Divers Program
 DAN
has created an On-Site Neurological Assessment for Divers program to help divers
recognize the warning signs of
decompression illness and then activate emergency assistance. The program is
especially designed for divemasters and instructors charged with the care of
others. About two-thirds of divers with decompression illness have evidence of
damage to the nervous system. Often vague, these signs can go unrecognized or
can be dismissed as insignificant or not dive-related.
Understanding the signs and
determining their severity are the critical steps to getting an injured diver
into appropriate medical care. A thorough, effective, but simple neurological
assessment will aid the treatment of divers involved in dive emergencies in the
following ways:
-
Medical professionals and
DAN medics will have a reliable system to judge the urgency of a dive
emergency based on signs and symptoms reported by divers on the scene;
-
According to DAN
Research, divers often delay oxygen first aid and definitive care by denying
the existence of symptoms. The onsite neurological assessment may
demonstrate to an injured diver and colleagues that a problem exists. Thus,
the injured diver can receive quicker on-site treatment and definitive
treatments.
 Only medical professionals
should diagnose medical conditions. Using the information gathered during the
on-site neurological assessment, the dive physician will better understand the
extent of the injury and how it has changed in the time it took to get the diver
from the dive site to definitive care.
This is a video-driven program.
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