1. First Aid Essentials Slideshow Pictures
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Medical Author:

Scott D. Fell, DO, FAAEM

Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Prognosis or outlook of people that develop the bends varies with the following factors:

• Prognosis is good with hyperbaric oxygen treatment.
• Delay to hyperbaric oxygen treatment: Although reports show that victims can do well after days of symptoms, delay in definitive treatment may cause damage that is irreversible.
• Severity of symptoms: Joint pains alone do better than focal weakness or inability to urinate.
• Preexisting health: Young, healthy people can tolerate a greater insult to their health than an older person with other diseases.

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