Ccr Diver From Ohio Died In Ginnie Springs Today...

[Sleepdr]

In high enough concentrations, CO2 does have anesthetic properties, but we don't presently use it as a human anesthetic agent. I've seen the effects not infrequently in recovery rooms, where people get extremely sleepy with respiratory depression. A few breaths with a bag & mask or "noninvasive positive pressure ventilation" like a BiPAP often wake people up enough to start breathing adequately.

Oxygen is comparatively easy to drive into the body. CO2 diffusion out is much more challenging, and is often the limiting respiratory factor for physical activity.

My own CO2 hit came about at just 30FFW on open circuit in the setting of surface heat exhaustion, tight wetsuit, overweighting, task loading, and exertion. That was without an overhead environment or any true emergency, yet it still took me a bit to recognize the symptoms and consciously stop/breathe/think. My RMV was over 1SCFM. The CO2 eventually will anesthetize you, but the process of getting there is highly unpleasant. The headache and air hunger stand out in my memory.

CO₂ is used as an anesthetic for animals. I'm not sure if it's still in practice, but at one time, it was used as an anesthetic for children.


I don't even wait for a briefing. If there's a CC diver in my group, or solo on a boat. I ask them what I need to do if I see them doing "x", "y", or "z".

 

[kelemvor]

We should suspend speculation until all the facts are known. .

I disagree. With most dive accidents, the exact details are never released. Sometimes because they're not known, sometimes for legal reasons, sometimes fear of legal reasons. Speculation does sometimes lead to useful discussion. Since it's highly likely that most people well never know exactly what happened, it's the best we can do.

 

[doctormike]

I guess it's kind of off topic, but a semi interesting read. The author can't believe someone could become narced at the "relatively shallow" depth of 230 feet?

I think that you misread the article...

"So, How did Nick get so narked, relatively shallow, on his Hydro dive? [130 to the deck]"

 

[Richard FDC]

That is probably mostly true but as of now there have been almost no facts released. Once the facts that are released are known there will be plenty of time for speculation. Our humanity should allow time for the survivors to grieve. I was at Ginnie until Sat. night helping with the ScubaNation filming and as we tried to impress upon them the gravity of what we do I mentioned several times that for every rule and technique we use in cave diving somebody had to die to allow us to learn it. That's how it is and good accident analysis helps us all.

 

[LoganPat]

As a family member of the aforementioned diver,

Please refrain from the use of inappropriate comments about the matter of his death. Our family is grieving heavily and are trying to make accommodations and more importantly find out what happened. This is the only article we can find on the incident and it is being read by many of my family members.

I will not mention my Uncle's name but he was a very liked individual who had a very great passion for diving. I don't believe I could think of a bad thing to say about the man and we are deeply saddened.

My uncle has performed hundreds possibly thousands of dives. Whether it was human-error or equipment malfunction please keep inappropriate comments away from this blog; once again, many many family members are reading this trying to understand how this happened.

If anyone has any news on what exactly happened please contact me privately.

Thank you for your consideration,
Pat

 

[Hetland]

I'm not a rebreather diver, but you can also develop (or worsen) hypercapnia on open circuit: Diving with Stevie Wonder

I guess it's kind of off topic, but a semi interesting read. The author can't believe someone could become narced at the "relatively shallow" depth of 230 feet?

I often noticed that narcosis increased more with exertion than with depth. In my trimix and extended range classes, I was able to confirm that I could reduce narcosis SIGNIFICANTLY, by simply taking a break, and getting my breathing under control.

CO₂ is thought to be somewhere around 25 times more narcotic than Nitrogen. CO₂ is thought to have anesthetic properties of about 130 times that of Nitrogen.

So, while I worry more about Nitrogen (and Helium) for decompression issues, I'm worrying more about CO₂ when it comes to narcosis and underwater naps.

 

[Richard FDC]

As a family member of the aforementioned diver,

Please refrain from the use of inappropriate comments about the matter of his death. Our family is grieving heavily and are trying to make accommodations and more importantly find out what happened. This is the only article we can find on the incident and it is being read by many of my family members.

I will not mention my Uncle's name but he was a very liked individual who had a very great passion for diving. I don't believe I could think of a bad thing to say about the man and we are deeply saddened.

My uncle has performed hundreds possibly thousands of dives. Whether it was human-error or equipment malfunction please keep inappropriate comments away from this blog; once again, many many family members are reading this trying to understand how this happened.

If anyone has any news on what exactly happened please contact me privately.

Thank you for your consideration,
Pat

We are deeply sorry for your loss. I hope all on ScubaBoard will refrain from posting about this to give your family time. You are in our prayers.

 

[MichelleL]

Very sad news for the community but especially for those closest to this diver.
These forums can be brutal #experience Go easy folks.

 

[Hawkwood]

---

---

A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

I am going to remind Users, especially those Users new to SB (or infrequent Users) and the A&I Forum in particular, about the Special Rules that Users follow for posting in this Forum. You can review them here: Special Rules for the Accidents and Incidents Forum

---

 

[Hetland]

As a family member of the aforementioned diver,

Please refrain from the use of inappropriate comments about the matter of his death. Our family is grieving heavily and are trying to make accommodations and more importantly find out what happened. This is the only article we can find on the incident and it is being read by many of my family members.

I will not mention my Uncle's name but he was a very liked individual who had a very great passion for diving. I don't believe I could think of a bad thing to say about the man and we are deeply saddened.

My uncle has performed hundreds possibly thousands of dives. Whether it was human-error or equipment malfunction please keep inappropriate comments away from this blog; once again, many many family members are reading this trying to understand how this happened.

If anyone has any news on what exactly happened please contact me privately.

Thank you for your consideration,
Pat

Pat,

I'm sorry for your loss, and I'm sure almost everyone on Scubaboard shares that sentiment. That said, This part of the board is specifically for accident analysis, specifically focused on how divers can learn from accidents in order to avoid or prevent them in the future. In some cases, it's more of a reinforcement of the rules we already try to follow, but even in that circumstance, there is a chance for someone to learn something new.

Accident analysis should be efficient, unemotional, and coldly detached. That's not to say that it's fair, reasonable, or productive to be rude, but brutal honesty can sometimes be hurtful to family and friends in these circumstances.

For those reasons, it's usually recommended that friends and family NOT read accident analysis threads. It may be wise to pick one member from your Uncle's friends or family (preferably someone with dive experience) and have them read this thread. They can then report back to the rest of the family/friends with a more considerate tone.

There's also a memorial thread specifically for remembering divers that have passed away. If there is comfort to be found, it's more likely to be found there, among his friends in the diving community.

Once again, I'm sorry for your loss. You and your family have all of my best wishes and kindest thoughts.

-h