boomx5
Contributor
Rick Murchison:
I've actually notice narcosis before after a switch to 50% from mix while on deco. It's not real consistant but it has happend a few times.
Elevated Oxygen Nitrox
- Thread starter Peter McGuinness
- Start date
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I've actually notice narcosis before after a switch to 50% from mix while on deco. It's not real consistant but it has happend a few times.
Speaking for recreational diving only: Nitrox does not reduce the chance of getting DCS or being narced. Nitrox extends your bottom time. Also for me, I feel better after a dive--more energy. If you were diving nitrox but using air time limits (within the restricted diving depths of your particular nitrox blend) then you could argue that nitrox is a safer mix than air. When you dive nitrox and extend your bottom times, nitrox is no safer than air.
Sideband
Guest
Ann Marie,
Textbook answer.
Wedivebc,
What you did really doesn't relate to what is being discussed. Yes. You lowered your PO2, but you did it in a way that took it below normal Oxygen levels. It was the equivalent of breathing in and out of a balloon until you get dizzy. IMO, you didn't experience Nitrogen narcosis. You experienced Hypoxia. Two totally different critters.
Joe
Textbook answer.
Wedivebc,
What you did really doesn't relate to what is being discussed. Yes. You lowered your PO2, but you did it in a way that took it below normal Oxygen levels. It was the equivalent of breathing in and out of a balloon until you get dizzy. IMO, you didn't experience Nitrogen narcosis. You experienced Hypoxia. Two totally different critters.
Joe
No that is not true at all. 17% oxygen at 100 fsw is equivalent to a ppo2 of .7 or 70% oxygen at the surface. I see from your profile you are nitrox trained I am surprised that ppo2 wasn't covered. :06:Sideband:Ann Marie,
Textbook answer.
Wedivebc,
What you did really doesn't relate to what is being discussed. Yes. You lowered your PO2, but you did it in a way that took it below normal Oxygen levels. It was the equivalent of breathing in and out of a balloon until you get dizzy. IMO, you didn't experience Nitrogen narcosis. You experienced Hypoxia. Two totally different critters.
Joe
OP
Peter McGuinness
Contributor
Ann Marie:
Still, I hear (a lot) about diving nitrox in order to reduce narcosis, so I decided to get to the bottom of it. My nitrox instructor mentioned it, and if my recollection serves me, it was in the PADI course (someone could help me out - it's been quite a long time since I did it)
Personally, my use of nitrox is limited to multi day repetitive dives where I want to continue reasonable bottom times, and to the end of a week of diving because it adds a margin to the no-fly time.
DCS is related (via total n2 absorption) to the actual pn2 and its duration, so diving nitrox but using an air computer, which reduces pn2 while keeping duration constant, should reduce risk of DCS, and I was able to find literature that found reduced n2 absorption under those circumstances.
Peter
The PADI Nitrox course mentions that O2 can be as narcotic as nitrogen and that the feeling of more energy after diving is more or less a myth.
Sideband
Guest
wedivebc:
I missed the 100 fsw part. Sorry about that.
Joe
Yes and in the PADI rebreather instructor manual it states that one has to be careful to avoid lowered PPO2 in the loop since the higher nitrogen can lead to narcosisMaxBottomtime:
So it seems PADI doesn't really know where it stands on the issue.
Sideband:
yeah. I kinda figured that
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