decompression sickness
noun
: a sometimes fatal condition that is caused by the release of gas bubbles typically of nitrogen as it leaves its dissolved form throughout the body upon a rapid decrease in barometric pressure (such as that experienced by the rapid ascent of a diver from a deep dive or the rapid ascent of a pilot to high altitudes in a poorly pressurized aircraft) and that is marked chiefly by joint pain which may be accompanied in mild forms by fatigue and itching or burning of the skin and in more severe forms by shortness of breath, chest pain, paralysis, and confusion
called also bends, caisson disease
Examples of decompression sickness in a Sentence
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It has been used for decades to treat divers suffering from decompression sickness, known as the bends, and can be used to help treat several other conditions, such as tissue infections and poisoning, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 14 July 2025
The chambers are also used to treat decompression sickness, which can be caused by swift changes in water pressure when scuba diving.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025
And one that won’t release air could send you zooming to the surface and possibly to the hospital to be treated for decompression sickness.
—Steve Waters, Miami Herald, 5 July 2025
Even without sharks circling, Lisa and Kate have to contend with a diminishing oxygen supply, a cage that’s become a trap, and decompression sickness.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 21 June 2025
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Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 14 July 2025
The chambers are also used to treat decompression sickness, which can be caused by swift changes in water pressure when scuba diving.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025
And one that won’t release air could send you zooming to the surface and possibly to the hospital to be treated for decompression sickness.
—Steve Waters, Miami Herald, 5 July 2025
Even without sharks circling, Lisa and Kate have to contend with a diminishing oxygen supply, a cage that’s become a trap, and decompression sickness.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for decompression sickness
Cite this Entry
“Decompression sickness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decompression%20sickness. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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