Do you think Nitrox is a deep diving gas?

[DevonDiver]

Certainly there is no risk of drowning in a chamber, but what is the % of incidence in chambers where people actually do tox from oxygen? (I don't know).

I've had exactly that discussion before. It was with an idiot instructor who told my nitrox class that "most people were immune to ox-tox". He had extrapolated that 'fact' from theorising about the relatively low prevalance of tox seizures when people recieve oxygen therapy under pressure in a chamber.

Apart from completely under-mining my class, the guy had used some very tentative logic to compare controlled hyperbaric oxygen therapy with scuba ppo2 dangers.

I would love to hear an expert medical opinion on this - but I was always under the belief that ox-tox hazards are based on much more than just the ppo2 being breathed.

With hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the patient is laid supine, breathing from a mask and not subject to any exertion or physical demands. They are also treated with varied medications....some of which may supress seizure?

This could easily be a thread in itself.... but I am dubious of the potential damage we could do from debating ox-tox issues on a public forum, as it may lead less experienced divers to question the need to stick within recommended ppo2 limits.