Eli5 how does decompression illness kill you?

Question

Eli5 how does decompression illness kill you?

In: 509

Answer 1

The further down you go in the ocean, the more the water presses on you. That pressure squeezes the nitrogen bubbles that are normally harmless in your bloodstream. If you take the pressure away too fast, the bubbles expand in your blood vessels causing unimaginable pain.