Section X
Oeec:iaaft
Safety Information
Single Engine (Piston)
monoxide have the same effect as an altitude increase of
8,000 to 10,000 feet. Smoking several cigarettes can result
in a carbon monoxide saturation sufficient to affect visual
sensitivity equal to an increase of 8,000 feet altitude.
DECOMPRESSION SICKNESS
Pilots flying unpressurized airplanes at altitudes in excess of
10,000 feet should be alert for the symptoms of 'decompres-
sion sickness'. This phenomenon, while rare, can impair the
pilot's ability to perform and in extreme cases, can result in
the victim being rendered unconscious. Decompression
sickness, also known as dysbarism and aviators "bends", is
caused by nitrogen bubble formation in body tissue as the
ambient air pressure is reduced by climbing to higher alti-
tudes. The symptoms are pain in the joints, abdominal
cramps, burning sensations in the skin, visual impairment
and numbness. Some of these symptoms are similar to hyp-
oxia. The only known remedy for decompression sickness is
recompression, which can only be accomplished in an
unpressurized airplane by descending. The pilot should
immediately descend if it is suspected that this condition
exists, since the effects will only worsen with continued
exposure to the reduced pressure environment at altitude
and could result, if uncorrected, in complete incapacitation.
The possibility of decompression sickness can be greatly
reduced by pre-breathing oxygen prior to flight and by com-
mencing oxygen breathing well below the altitudes where it
is legally mandatory.
10-46
May, 1994
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