Diver missing at Cove 2, West Seattle

[MXGratefulDiver]

I still see no relationship to a diver bolting to the surface and the mammalian reflex.

That's as may be ... see the highlighted symptoms above and consider what a diver's reaction to them is likely to be ... particularly a relatively inexperienced diver such as the person this thread is talking about.

I know what I've experienced ... your experiences may, and apparently do, vary ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Certainly cold water is shocking. Cold water can make it very hard to breathe. Acclimatization to the cold water can reduce the probability that it will induce panic. However, I never heard that the reflex itself causes panic.

The mammalian diving reflex is thought to be important by most freedivers and they try to get it to "kick in" ASAP using various techniques because it is very beneficial to their performance underwater.

Possibly some people are using the term in a rather casual way, when it has some pretty specific meaning and represents some important considerations for breathhold divers (who can dive well past 300-400 ft; on one hit of air).

 

[EastEndDiver]

I don't know who wrote that blog they may or may not be a professional in the field of human phsyiology (sp).I can't spell.I still see no correlation.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

As with a great many topics, people can focus on only the aspects that fit their argument and dismiss any related or relevent information that doesn't.

The physiology of MDR is as described in the links.

The symptoms as they appear to a diver, or cold water swimmer, can vary ... depending on the individual.

The responses to those symptoms can also vary ... depending on the individual.

As you point out, acclimatization can reduce the probability that it will induce panic. I said so in my initial post on this subject.

However, when a diver who is neither acclimatized nor understands what is happening experiences the symptoms, it can ... and sometimes does ... induce panic.

That is exactly what I initially said ... and the methods for preventing it that I described are exactly the same as those in the artlcle I linked to and partly reproduced in response #61.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[EastEndDiver]

I knew I spelled physiology wrong.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I don't know who wrote that blog they may or may not be a professional in the field of human phsyiology (sp).I can't spell.I still see no correlation.

... and I don't know you ...

I'll go with what I've experienced ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[EastEndDiver]

Just as I will.But we could both be wrong.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Well, apparently I'm wrong. The symptoms I described are accurate ... they affect the diver as I described. But after spending some time looking into it, I think they are not related to mammalian reflex.

I'm not sure what ... or even if ... there is a term for those symptoms. But it's not mammalian reflex. I've been using the term incorrectly.

Just want to clear that up. There's a tendency in scuba diving instruction to perpetuate misconceptions, and it's something I don't want to be a part of ... so when this was brought up I decided to look further into it.

The terminology that I was taught to describe these symptoms ... and what I've since been teaching ... isn't correct. Thanks for correcting me.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Well, apparently I'm wrong. The symptoms I described are accurate ... they affect the diver as I described. But after spending some time looking into it, I think they are not related to mammalian reflex.

I'm not sure what ... or even if ... there is a term for those symptoms. But it's not mammalian reflex. I've been using the term incorrectly.

Just want to clear that up. There's a tendency in scuba diving instruction to perpetuate misconceptions, and it's something I don't want to be a part of ... so when this was brought up I decided to look further into it.

The terminology that I was taught to describe these symptoms ... and what I've since been teaching ... isn't correct. Thanks for correcting me.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Thanks, I did some more research myself. The correct term for the response caused by frigid water is "scrotal cavitation"

 

[Garth]

Vasoscrotalconstrictionitis