How It Works - UK (2020-02)

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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’