Decompression after repeated dives.

Seventy-six men and 7 women performed a 2nd dive in a pressure chamber under dry conditions after intervals at the surface of 10, 30, 90, or 120 min. Of these, 35 persons performed a 3rd dive after an interval of 20 or 90 min (118 repeated dives). Air was the breathing gas during all phases of the tests. During exposure to overpressure the divers exercised on a bicycle-ergometer. The decompressions for dives 2 and 3 were the same as for the first dive. After the 2nd or 3rd dive, certain symptoms of decompression sickness of the skin occurred in 5 of the 118 exposures, and 1 diver complained of muscular aches. These results suggest that no general sensitization occurred after the 1st dive. We concluded that a slightly more conservative decompression with regard to ascent velocity and profile is feasible for repeated dives.