999

[nemisis77]

I was just watching an old episode of 999 (UK television) and saw a bit about a dive group who got a load of bad fills and ended up with a huge amount of carbon monoxide in their air. This caused one of the divers to have to surface rapidly because she couldnt breathe. Can this happen (the Co) and if so what would you recommend to be the best course of action?
It also happens that on the way to the hyperbaric chamber the helicopter had to rise over a range of hills and the woman went into spasms of pain as the chopper got higher. Does this happen or is it rare???

 

[diverbob]

I have never exerienced it, but I am told that if you have bad air, you will be able to taste it when you take your first breath, and if you do, to abort the dive.

 

[Seabear70]

Carbon monoxide in it's pure form is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. If in your tank in any great amount, and it takes something like 1% to kill you if I remember correctly, you will start to feel dizzy, disoriented, and naseaus. Fortunately you should start to feel this very soon in the dive. Surface as quickly as is safe, start O2, and get to the hospital.

Be aware that tasting air is a very bad way to know if it is contaminated. Often times you will taste bad air and convince yourself that it is soething else, something on the mouthpiece, something in the water.

Buy your air from experienced reputable dealers who have their own compressor, some shops run bottled air that comes from an external sourse, and so they have no control over the quality of the air.

Do not attempt to set up your own compressor unless you have been trained to do so. There are some non obvious things about it that can kill you, due to pressure ruptures and contaminents.

Remember, if in doubt, abort the dive. You can always come back later.

 

[ReefGuy]

A friend of mine got CO poisoning in Cozumel a couple of years ago. He said that he recognized that something was wrong, but didn't know what, so he tried to surface. The DM thought he was having problems getting down, and actually started PULLING him down further. He was able to break free and get to the surface, but when he tried to get on the boat, he passed out. He said he turned beet red in the face, because all of the capilaries (sp?) burst, but otherwise was ok in the long run.

Took him a couple of years to get back into the water.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The DM thought he was having problems getting down, and actually started PULLING him down further. He was able to break free and get to the surface

Wow ... that sounds kind've strange. Did your friend attempt to signal that he was having a problem, or did the DM not understand the signal?

Are DM's in the tropics in the habit of pulling their clients down?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Seabear70]

Actually, I've heard about a lot of instructors trying to pull students down. No one's ever tried that on me. If I want to go up, they let me, which is a good thing I think. Especially as my Ju-Jitsu Instructor used to make us practice underwater.

 

[diverbob]

I think the DMs are thinking that the students are just bolting to the surface, without thinking that there might be a problem causing them to bolt.

 

[ReefGuy]

He said that he was very disoriented during the whole ordeal. I doubt he had the presence of mind to signal, but I'll ask when I talk to him next.

Also, another minor point. My friend was an experienced diver, not in a class.

Wow ... that sounds kind've strange. Did your friend attempt to signal that he was having a problem, or did the DM not understand the signal?

Are DM's in the tropics in the habit of pulling their clients down?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[H2Andy]

actually, it takes very little CO to affect you: .002% in open air and .001% in confined (breathing) air.

check this site out for more details:

http://www.scuba-doc.com/carbonmon.html

symptoms and signs include rapid pulse, rapid breathing, blood-shot eyes, headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. high levels of carbon monoxide ingestion can cause loss of consciousness and death.

CO poisoning can be reversed by stopping breathing the contaminated air. however, severe poisoning can result in permanent damage to the parts of the body that need a lot of oxygen, such as the heart and brain.

 

[Seabear70]

Interesting reading...

I hadn't thought of using hyperbaric treatment for CO poisoning, but if you think about it, it makes sense. Buy forcing more O2 into the tissues, you would accelerate the removal of CO.

The information does point out that the maximum allowed levels in diving are 0.002% though. Though when talking about 10PPM and 20PPM, the relative differences are still pretty small. I'd rather go with you figure for safety.