Scuba Diving: Carbon Dioxide Toxicity
- Carbon Dioxide Toxicity Overview
- Carbon Dioxide Toxicity Symptoms
- Carbon Dioxide Toxicity Treatment
- When to Seek Medical Care
- For More Information
- Web Links
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Carbon Dioxide Toxicity Overview
Inadequate ventilation when scuba diving results in carbon dioxide build-up. Inadequate breathing, a tight wetsuit, overexertion, regulator malfunction, deep diving, and contamination of the air supply with exhaled gases often cause a carbon dioxide buildup. Carbon dioxide levels in the blood can increase, causing shortness of breath and sedation, resulting in carbon dioxide toxicity.
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Diving as a profession can be traced back more than 5000 years, yet diving-related disease was not described until Paul Bert wrote about caisson disease in 1878.

