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Howard Salazar
Q Not nice, that’s for sure!
Although it’s the oxygen in the
air we need to live, air is mostly
nitrogen. Normally nitrogen
dissolves in our blood. When
scuba divers come back to the
water’s surface too fast,
dissolved nitrogen can form
bubbles. These bubbles block
blood vessels, causing
decompression sickness. One
symptom, painful muscle
spasms, is known as ‘the bends’.
The blocked blood vessels also
make it hard to breathe, which is
known as ‘the chokes’. AE
What
are ‘the
bends’?
© Getty
Coming up too fast can
cause nitrogen bubbles in
divers’ blood, leading to
‘the bends’