Diver passes out underwater...

[dewayne405]

Ok, I was diving last week with my new wife, and short story, she passed out. We were diving in 70 degree water, 3 mil suits, bottom time was 34 minutes at 20 foot in 3 foot viz...

Background: Both certified OW, she has 16 dives already, and no other incidents up to this point. Healthy, with no known problems.

My suspicions are that she was fatigued and dehydrated from not enough water and too much alcohol the day before, and 6 hours of sleep.

I know she was nervous about the viz and cold, we were diving arm-in-arm due to new area and low viz... basically I wind up being her personal propulsion vehicle in these cases.

The blackout/passing out occured in 15 ft depths, I was able to secure her reg and ascend immediately, and once on the surface she was breathing own her own, with no problems, but a bit foggy memory... She refused to see a doctor, but there were two PAs and 4 RNs in our dive group who checked and everything was ok...

Now, we waited 2 days and then tried again at a different area, first dive she was fine, second dive I really watched her like a tiger shark watching a seaturtle... About 15 minutes into that dive, I noted slowed response to hand signals and made the choice to abort the dive immediately, upon surfacing she said she was feeling light headed during the dive...

We were using rental regs, tanks... and I feel maybe the new reg didn't supply enough air? Not sure... Any advice? suggestions? Similiar experiences??

This is my favorite dive partner in the world and I am worried... Thought I had lost her the first episode... And now again...

 

[MtnPlayVA]

Same rental equipment for all dives? If so, I'd suspect that first. I'd talk to the shop that rented the gear and get them to test the reg before they rent it out to someone else. If it is defective or needs maintainence, you could save someone else who may not have such an attentive buddy or be at such a shallow depth so that surfacing is quick.

If not, I'd go to the doctor to see if they can figure it out. You were doing shallow, short dives so this isn't normal. It's a good thing you were right there and able to help her to the surface.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Dewayne,

There is good reason for both of you to be worried as loss of consciousness/impaired consciousness underwater is obviously very serious. It sounds like a hypoxic (reduced oxygenation of tissue) event of some sort, although at this point nothing is certain.

A few questions:

1. How old is your friend?
2. Does she have any history of cardiovascular disease?
3. Is she a smoker?
4. Is she overweight?
5. Is she on any medications?
6. How severe was the light-headedness and memory disturbance?
7. Did she have any other signs or symptoms either before or after each of these episodes?
8. When was the last time the reg was properly serviced?
9. The composition of the cylinder air is not in question? (e.g., others diving the same gas without incident).
10. Why did she decline to seek medical evaluation?

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[stu_in_fl]

I'd get her to call DAN and discuss to see if there was something wrong.

Also, as always I'd recommend divers to get Rescue trained in case of incidents like this - sounds like you did well though.

 

[John_B]

basically I wind up being her personal propulsion vehicle in these cases.

Wow, that doesn't sound good. She should be able to fin by herself.

 

[DennisW]

She needs to see a doctor. Another possibility is low blood sugar. Your blood sugar can get pretty low the day after drinking a bit much alchohol. Alchohol will inhibit the liver from producing sugar. It's something diabetics have to watch out for.

 

[scubajcf]

1. Call DAN and get their advice on what it could be. They would know, physiologically, better than anyone.
2. She needs to have a complete physical, blood workup, EKG, etc. Have them test for whatever DAN recommends.
3. Advise the dive shop to check their air. Assuming no one in your group had similar symptoms, this is probably NOT the case, but I would leave no stone uncovered.
4. I would be very suspect of her diving until you figured out what caused this.

6 hours of sleep and heavy drinking the night before is a big no-no. What was her condition on the second situation?

 

[Theunis]

My suspicions are that she was fatigued and dehydrated from not enough water and too much alcohol the day before, and 6 hours of sleep.

The blackout/passing out occured in 15 ft depths

Now, we waited 2 days and then tried again at a different area, first dive she was fine, second dive I really watched her like a tiger shark watching a seaturtle... About 15 minutes into that dive, I noted slowed response to hand signals and made the choice to abort the dive immediately, upon surfacing she said she was feeling light headed during the dive...

I'm not a medical doctor, but I think this may be a medical issue. I may be wrong but to have this condition at 15 ft, nevertheless dehydration, fatigued and too much alcohol the day before, is frightening. She MUST have a thorough medical check-up.

 

[DocVikingo]

As point of information, while it often is a wise idea to inquire of DAN, a world-recognized organization, one needs to appreciate the likely limitations of doing so.

For example, when one contacts DAN they first, and often only, speak with a paraprofessional (e.g., registered nurse, diving EMT). These folks often simply thumb to DAN's medical FAQs (http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/me...q/Default.aspx) and read or email a paraphrasing to the individual. They frequently are quite busy and give the briefest possible reply. For understandable reasons, DAN provides very limited direct physician access. As such, the answers received from one of the experts on the Diving Medicine and Ask Dr Deco forums are likely to be longer and more informative than the responses from DAN, even when both are in essence correct.

Also, these scubaboard.com forums typically afford more opportunity for rapid give and take between participants than is the case with DAN. Finally, links to previous board threads on the topic, professional magazine and journal articles, and other sources are often given on the forum, another nicety not usually provided in a DAN reply.

And, as do our forums, DAN occasionally gives a rather shaky response. For example, DAN's reply to a recent inquiry about the possible effects of massage on divers seems to be quite weak and disappointing (see http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-medicine/244105-pre-post-dive-massage-therapy-2.html).

Inquire from a range of sources and see how the opinions rank based on the factual and theoretical support given an opinion, the thoroughness and clarity of the response, and similar factors.

DAN is a very worthy and valuable organization, but it is not the be all and end all of diving medicine fact and opinion.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[nagel]

Get her to a doctor (perferably one that understands diving) and no more diving until you find out what happened. This is serious. You will get some good guesses here, but noboby can diagnose her condition through this forum. It could be something simple or something much more serious. The point is, you don't know and until you do, no more diving.

Just my 2 cents.

Snagel