Breathing from BCD

[TSandM]

A quotation from the article on the DSIRC site:

"Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is extremely unusual in people with no other history of lung problems or altered immune system - diabetes, steroids, chemotherapy, HIV etc," says diving doctor Ian Sibley-Calder. "I've heard of the risks regarding inhaling from buoyancy devices, but have never seen or heard of a patient before. "Consider the number of divers over the world and the fact that inhaling from a buoyancy device is relatively common - to extract air to collapse a wing, for instance, which I've done many times. "While this case is tragic, and it's a fair point that we should all take care of our kit, I don't think we should be overly alarmist. If you need to breathe out of a buoyancy device because you've run out of air, do it. Be careful, but don't panic."

I think this neatly sums it up. It would be my guess that many of us who travel have sucked the last bit of air out of a wing in order to pack it. Competent immune systems cope with inhaled pathogens well in the vast majority of cases. (Think about any dust storm you've ever been in.) In rare cases, either the pathogen load is too high or the individual has a susceptibility, and someone ends up ill. Not everyone in California dust gets coccidioidomycosis, but a few people do!

In the last possible extremity, I would breathe anything I could find (the proverbial donkey's fart). But the logistics of breathing one's BC are difficult, as already detailed, and for recreational divers, a CESA is a better option. Better yet is avoiding the OOA/OOB/OOL scenario!