Breathing difficulty during descent

[Emerlin]

Hello All,

I am AOW certified with about 30 dives. Recently, a friend of mine called me for a dive. Since he did not dive for years (he is AOW with 10-15 dives), gained weight and according to him was not in the greatest of shape, I suggested that we should go for an easy dive. After discussion, I suggested he tries his equipment first (wetsuit, vest etc..) which he did in his pool. He told me his wet suit was a bit tight but it was OK and he also verified his buyoancy.
As a first dive, I suggested something simple, a quarry with crystal clear water.

So last Monday we went to the dive site and got suited up. His wet suit did appear a bit tight but not that bad. So we went to a pre-dive check up, reviewed signs and agreed on the dive plan.

We splashed in and went slowly to the cliff (150 ft) slowly on our back. We were not tired or breathless. So we gave each other the OK signs and we went down face to face. Around 25-30 feet, he started waiving at me but I couldn't understand exactly what he meant, he seemed in trouble. So I stopped my descent but I was now about 10 ft deeper than him. I saw that he started going up and I suspected a regulator malfunction. I slowly ascended and reach him to the surface.

He was on his back and breathing heavily and explained he was running out of air and that his wetsuit was squeezing his chest he couldn't breathe. We were now about 20 feet from the edge of the quarry but at that area, it's a cliff so you can't get out of water. So I inflated his vest to the max and unzipped the second layer of wet (cold water diving, 7+7mm wet) and still he was breathing with difficulty. I told him to try to calm down and I slowly started to drag him on thje surface to the exit location (150 ft). It slowly started to get better and he calmed down.

Later he explained to me that he was OK on the surface but with the water pressure, he felt he could not breathe and he was blaming his wet suit being to tight. He said he was sorry because the day was wasted. I told him not to worry that it was a lot better to have this happenning at 20 ft than at 60 ft below. I think he reacted well by not panicking as he was able to go back up by himself. 4-5 hours later, he told me his chest was still hurting.

I sort of blame my self for having decided to dive with him despite a few alarm signs. And I wonder if it's really because the wetsuit was too tight. Could it simply be a mixture of stress, bad physical shape and a tight wetsuit...

eMerlin

 

[Web Monkey]

It's more likely to be a too-tight wetsuit, and it could easily be malfunctioning reg. If his equipment hasn't been in the water since he was, it's entirely possible his reg wasn't capable of delivering the air he needed.

He should also sign up for a Scuba Skills Update class, or at the very least spend some pool time with an experienced dive going over skills.

If it's been more than a year, all his stuff (reg, BC, tank, computer/gauges) should be taken in for inspection and service.

A too-tight wetsuit should be replaced.

Although it's entirely possible he's out of shape, that's probably not what the problem was.

Terry

Emerlin[/LEFT]]Hello All,
I am AOW certified with about 30 dives. Recently, a friend of mine called me for a dive. Since he did not dive for years (he is AOW with 10-15 dives), gained weight and according to him was not in the greatest of shape, I suggested that we should go for an easy dive. After discussion, I suggested he tries his equipment first (wetsuit, vest etc..) which he did in his pool. He told me his wet suit was a bit tight but it was OK and he also verified his

buyoancy​

.
As a first dive, I suggested something simple, a quarry with crystal clear water.

So last Monday we went to the dive site and got suited up. His wet suit did appear a bit tight but not that

eMerlin​

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I'm thinking it was a combination of the too-tight wet suit, the regulator, and then his position on ascent. Looking up places about 8-10 inches of water pressure differential between the regulator and the center of the lungs. This, along with a tight wet suit and a regulator which isn't performing, could be the cause of the problem. Add to that the anxiety of the first dive in years, and the resulting potential for hyperventilation as his anxiety goes up, and you can see the problem.

I had a similar situation with a wet suit I bought years ago. I'm still using it, but had to add 3 inches to each side of the wet suit. Anymore, there are really no custom-built wet suits. They depend upon material stretch (super stretch now) to cover various sizes. But as the materials ages, it stretches less. So a wet suit that initially does fit, may not in three years. Add to that the weight gain, and there can be significant "tightness" in the suit. You can buy foam neoprene by the sheet if you look hard enough, and add the material (which is what I did about five years ago). I found that it helps other things too, like acid reflex disease (tight wet suit compounds this problem).

SeaRat

 

[Emerlin]

Thanks guys for the replies. The regulator went back to inspection and it appears to be OK.

I suggested my friend to get a new wetsuit and try the whole equipment in a pool before his next dive.

Dan