Free-diving student blacks out training - Taiwan

[DandyDon]

I used to think that freediving was a simple endeavor, totally unaware of shallow water blackout.

Free-diving student recovering: hospital - Taipei Times

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www.taipeitimes.com

Free-diving student recovering: hospital​

DANGEROUS SPORT: Most beginners are not aware of the danger of holding their breath for extended periods, which can lead to loss of consciousness, an expert said​

A student diver who lost consciousness while training at Taichung’s Divecube Hotel on Sunday is recovering and in a stable condition, hospital officials said.

The 20-year-old student, surnamed Yang (楊), likely blacked out during the dive, the officials said, adding that they are monitoring his condition to ensure he has fully recovered.

Yang was among several students taking instruction from an outside diving coach when he blacked out during the training, Divecube director Wang Ching-ping (王景平) said.

“People onsite pulled him out, but in the haste, the student got bumped on the head, sustaining bruises and slight bleeding,” Wang said.

“Our coaching staff gave him oxygen to help him breathe and he had regained consciousness by the time the ambulance arrived,” he said.

“The student told our staff that he just felt more tired than usual... We helped him to the ambulance and will continue to follow up and provide assistance for his recovery if needed,” he added.

Touting itself as Asia’s deepest diving pool, the DiveCube is 21m deep — equivalent to a seven-story building. It has five diving depths — 1.3m, 3m, 7m, 11m and 21m.

Aside from diving, the hotel offers accommodation, water recreation and other leisure activities.

A certified diving coach, who identified himself as “A-ping,” said free-diving might be appealing, but it is quite a dangerous activity.

Free-divers do not use oxygen tanks, so they have to hold their breath for as long as they can, he said.

It is attractive to swimmers as they are unencumbered by artificial devices and can move in the water freely, getting as close as possible to sea creatures, he added.

However, holding their breath for a certain period could cut off the oxygen supply to their brain, leading to blackouts or loss of consciousness, he said.

“Most beginners are not aware of this, and tragedy can often happen. Blacking out is definitely a nightmare for people engaged in free-diving, so people must be aware of this,” he said.

 

[Vicko]

The good news is that it's really hard to pass out in a pool. It either demands a lot of self control or use of beta blockers or some similar drugs. The need to breathe in those last 10-15 seconds is so bad that I have never managed to black out even when trying.
The other good news is that blacking out does no permanent damage if you are revived in the next 30 seconds or so, so again freediving in a pool is very safe.

 

[DandyDon]

The other good news is that blacking out does no permanent damage if you are revived in the next 30 seconds or so, so again freediving in a pool is very safe.

IFF? I'm sure that he was monitored for the secondary risk of dry drowning.

 

[johndiver999]

The good news is that it's really hard to pass out in a pool. It either demands a lot of self control or use of beta blockers or some similar drugs. The need to breathe in those last 10-15 seconds is so bad that I have never managed to black out even when trying.
The other good news is that blacking out does no permanent damage if you are revived in the next 30 seconds or so, so again freediving in a pool is very safe.

World class freedivers have died in the pool. It would be foolish to assume that apnea in a pool is "safe" - without adequate and active supervision.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Try it after hyperventilating. But do so on your couch or bed.

Any form of the blackout game is not recommended because deaths are possible.

 

[BlueTrin]

It caused a few deaths among TikTok users recently

Another Potential ‘Blackout Challenge’ Victim Has Died—This Time In Scotland

"You don't expect your own child to do it."

www.womenshealthmag.com

 

[Vicko]

I mean, if you don't have samoneone around to make sure your airwaves are clear of course you die.

 

[rx7diver]

The good news is that it's really hard to pass out in a pool. It either demands a lot of self control or use of beta blockers or some similar drugs. The need to breathe in those last 10-15 seconds is so bad that I have never managed to black out even when trying. ...

World class freedivers have died in the pool. It would be foolish to assume that apnea in a pool is "safe" - without adequate and active supervision.

When I was a teaching assistant for my university scuba course (late 1980's), another TA, an undergrad, was attempting to circumnavigate our swimming pool (25 yd pool, T-shaped for the diving well), crawling underwater, breath holding. The last part involved the diving well (~12' near the edges, IIRC).

He had almost completed his circumnavigation, I was told. He had crawled down into the diving well, made his way around the edge, and then, when he was crawling up to come out of the diving well, he blacked out.

So, I respectfullly disagree with you, @Vicko. This incident convinced me a long time ago how incredibly easy it is to pass out breath-holding. I strongly caution divers to be extremely careful doing this (breath-holding).

So, what happened? Another TA was in the water, swimming above him, his safety diver. He grabbed him, pulled him to the surface, yelled for help. Our scuba coach jumped into the pool and administered a rescue breath, which revived the swimmer. Meanwhile, another TA had called 911, who arrived very quickly. I arrived at the natatorium that morning shortly after all the "excitement" was over.

rx7diver

 

[scubaozy]

hmm, blackouts are part of free diving sport, requires training to avoid and training to deal with it when occurs. Here, a nice compilation:

 

[Angelo Farina]

The good news is that it's really hard to pass out in a pool. It either demands a lot of self control or use of beta blockers or some similar drugs. The need to breathe in those last 10-15 seconds is so bad that I have never managed to black out even when trying.
The other good news is that blacking out does no permanent damage if you are revived in the next 30 seconds or so, so again freediving in a pool is very safe.

I passed out TWICE while training for apnoea in a diving pool. It is incredibly easy, as after some proper training, the CO2 build-up is minimised, and you reach the point of lacking oxygen way before you get a strong stimulus to breath.
Only untrained and unfit people get the stimulus before passing out.
However, if the apnoea instructor does his job properly, the passed-out diver is recovered and revived in a few seconds, with no real harm for his/her brains.
The situation can be much more dangerous in the sea, of course.
But also the pool can be quite dangerous and caused a number of deaths, if supervision is not strict and the recovery action is not super-fast.