Decompression sickness S.C.U.B.A stands for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. When using SCUBA equipment, a diver breathes from a tank that holds compressed air. S.C.U.B.A diving is different from holding your breath and diving. When we are living on dry land, the air around us has a pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch. That is a "normal pressure" for our bodies. Because water is so heavy compared to …showed first 75 words of 329 total…

…showed last 75 words of 329 total…cause a very painful condition, and it is sometimes fatal. Divers can determine how long it should take them to surface by two factors, their time they have spent down underwater and by their depth, but in many cases, it is just carelessness. If the diver does rise too fast, the only cure is to enter a pressurized chamber in which the air pressure matches the pressure at depth Then, the pressure is released slowly.