How to Use decompression sickness in a Sentence

decompression sickness

noun
  • In some cases, the crew may pressurize the suit to help deter cases of decompression sickness.
    Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 16 Oct. 2019
  • This in turn keeps them away from entering joints and blocking blood supply to organs, which can cause lethal decompression sickness, aka the bends.
    Matthew Berger, Smithsonian, 26 May 2018
  • Because of the depth, technical divers must make several stops during their ascent from the bottom of the ocean to avoid decompression sickness.
    Neil Vigdor, New York Times, 19 July 2019
  • Hundreds have been stricken with the bends, the decompression sickness caused when nitrogen bubbles form in divers’ bodies.
    Washington Post, 5 July 2019
  • And like Atiliano, hundreds have been stricken with the bends — decompression sickness caused when nitrogen bubbles form in divers’ bodies.
    Moises Castillo, The Seattle Times, 26 Dec. 2018
  • The release said a 22-year-old man who suffered shortness of breath in the dive was flown to Seattle to be treated with hyperbaric oxygen, a therapy for decompression sickness.
    NBC News, 3 Nov. 2020
  • On surfacing, after a three-minute safety stop 15-feet below the surface to ensure nitrogen is released from the bloodstream safely to avoid decompression sickness, divers wait by their float as Capt.
    John Christopher Fine, sun-sentinel.com, 31 Dec. 2020
  • Using less nitrogen will mean your tissues absorb less, giving you a lower chance of decompression sickness.
    WIRED, 25 Nov. 2022
  • In the 1940s, the U.S. military developed hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat deep-sea divers suffering from decompression sickness, aka the bends.
    Joseph Castro, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2011
  • The salvage work ended that summer, however, after one diver died and two others were paralyzed from decompression sickness.
    Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 23 June 2022
  • But documents received under the Freedom of Information Act showed that two men, each 38 years old, both got decompression sickness, known as the bends, on separate deep dives on Dec. 10 after taking unacceptable risks.
    Carol Rosenberg, miamiherald, 11 Jan. 2018
  • This was done to avoid decompression sickness, a condition similar to what scuba divers experience when changing air pressures too rapidly.
    Ellie Silverman, Washington Post, 29 May 2018
  • Includes inflating tubes to prevent ebullism, which is similar to decompression sickness.
    Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 2 May 2022
  • Scores of fishermen have died from decompression sickness in the past three decades, according to estimates by local fishermen and community leaders.
    New York Times, 24 Jan. 2021
  • For the past 50 years, hyperbaric therapy has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for non-healing wounds, carbon monoxide poisoning, burns and decompression sickness.
    David Kohn, Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2018
  • The crew donned their oxygen masks and shortly thereafter the captain became incapacitated from decompression sickness.
    Washington Post, BostonGlobe.com, 22 May 2018
  • He was later flown to Seattle for hyberbaric oxygen therapy, a treatment for decompression sickness, which is a potential risk of scuba diving.
    Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 3 Nov. 2020
  • Because of Tahoe’s altitude, diving below 25 feet introduces greater risk of divers succumbing to decompression sickness.
    Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 May 2021
  • In addition, the therapy shrinks gas bubbles, soothing decompression sickness, and treats carbon monoxide poisoning by removing CO from the bloodstream.
    Joseph Castro, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2011
  • Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has long been used to treat scuba divers who develop decompression sickness.
    Washington Examiner, 4 Aug. 2020
  • This allows aquanauts to easily slip out and conduct underwater research using saturation diving—a technique that reduces the risk of decompression sickness.
    Elissaveta M. Brandon, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Aug. 2020
  • Several medical conditions like severe anemia, decompression sickness and burns are treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which aims to promote healing within the body.
    Selena Barrientos, Good Housekeeping, 4 May 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decompression sickness.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: