Kaffphine
Guest
So far my diving has been in warm water, and I do 95-100 ft all the time without getting even slightly narced. Does cold water (35-45F) affect the chance of getting narced , and if so how dramitcaly?
Getting narced.
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Hi Jess,
Narcosis is not something that happens by chance....
You (and everyone else) are affected by the narcotic effects of higher PP of nitrogen....
Whether you notice it or not is another matter....
Cold dark water can tend to make the effects of narcosis more apparent....
davidofaustin
Contributor
I also have an affinity to not SHOW the effects of being narced so :wazzup: with that? My deepest dive was in blue water off Habitat Curacao house pier. My buddy was narced out of his mind. ( I had to nudge him to keep him from going deeper.) It was 
around 130 feet. The only time I felt anything, that I was aware of, was in Lake Travis at 120 feet. I was beginning to get a little nervous, so we eased back up to about 70 on the 1st stage of our mulitlevel.
I think the cold water, the limited vis, and the darkness all played a part to make it a little bit worse.
Dave
around 130 feet. The only time I felt anything, that I was aware of, was in Lake Travis at 120 feet. I was beginning to get a little nervous, so we eased back up to about 70 on the 1st stage of our mulitlevel. I think the cold water, the limited vis, and the darkness all played a part to make it a little bit worse.
Dave
In my opinion, it definitely does so (just an opinion). The time I felt most narced was surfacing from my PADI advanced deep dive(not even at the bottom, on the way up we stopped for a few minutes). It was about 60 feet, maybe 50 degrees, and very murky. Now this feeling was probably exacerbated by a pocket of air in my hood (I hate hoods!), giving me vertigo (and removing any scientific value in my comment). On the other hand being at 110 in warm clear water, I have had an absolutely clear head.
From my experience and knowledge, narcosis can vary so much from day-to-day and person-to-person that it is very difficult to make any sort of controlled experiment.
In short, I get narced more in cold, dark water than warm, clear water.
brandon
From my experience and knowledge, narcosis can vary so much from day-to-day and person-to-person that it is very difficult to make any sort of controlled experiment.
In short, I get narced more in cold, dark water than warm, clear water.
brandon
Taint so.... but it *feels* that way....
The impairment is there just not recognized as much at times...
Until things start to go wrong....
Then you get to find out just how impaired you are...
Brandon you mentioned feeling *narcosis* on the way up...
You also mentioned *vertigo*....
It probably wasn't narcosis.... it was vertigo brought on by unequal pressure change in your ears... or even more cold water in one ear than the other....
You would have to be very tuned in to detect the effects of narcosis at 60'.....
One of the more interesting premisis that I got from reading The Last Dive was the Martini effect. I just wish I could rememebr the exact numbers. I think it was roughly every 60' = about one Martini. Very few people will feel the effects of the alcohol after just one martini but the alcohol does have an effect.
I am an Ex pro bartender and an Ex EMT. On both sides I have seen intoxicated people swear that the alcohol they had drank had no effect on their thought processes or reaction times when it was obvious to an outsider that it had. My point being you may not realize your narced when you are. I believe that is one of the big issues concerning deep diving on air. The worse someone gets narced the less apt they are to admit or recognise there is a problem and it can get a person killed.
I have been to 100' and I have never "felt" narced. I have also never been placed in a position at that depth where I was in sudden need of all my mental faculties to make rapid good decisions concerning my or someone elses life. I think that would be a true test of just how narced you are.
Tom
I am an Ex pro bartender and an Ex EMT. On both sides I have seen intoxicated people swear that the alcohol they had drank had no effect on their thought processes or reaction times when it was obvious to an outsider that it had. My point being you may not realize your narced when you are. I believe that is one of the big issues concerning deep diving on air. The worse someone gets narced the less apt they are to admit or recognise there is a problem and it can get a person killed.
I have been to 100' and I have never "felt" narced. I have also never been placed in a position at that depth where I was in sudden need of all my mental faculties to make rapid good decisions concerning my or someone elses life. I think that would be a true test of just how narced you are.
Tom
IF you get the chance to dive with a mixed gas diver on a deep rec. dive to say 120 fsw and then take a few minutes on their long hose you will literally have an eye opening experience... 
And another one when you go back to your air....
Going back might not be pleasant though as it won't be sneaking up on you as in a normal dive but it will hit you right away...:loopy:
And another one when you go back to your air....
Going back might not be pleasant though as it won't be sneaking up on you as in a normal dive but it will hit you right away...:loopy:
I'll second what Uncle Pug said about vertigo. I'm one of those people who barely has to equalize on the way down, but coming up I can count on one ear to equalize much easier than the other. My ascents almost always involve that spinning feeling.
Cold dark water has a major impact on how narcosis is perceived by the diver, especially on the feelings of paranoia.
Cold dark water has a major impact on how narcosis is perceived by the diver, especially on the feelings of paranoia.
Lost Yooper
Guest
Anytime you add stressors to a deep dive on air or even nitrox you will likely notice narcosis. Whether or not you notice it is irrelevant -- it's still there, somewhere.
I, too, suffer from vertigo (from reverse blocking in one of my ears)on perhaps 1 in 10 dives or so during ascents. Although not particulary pleasant, it will go away if you descend a bit or just stop for a little bit. Both my buddy and I have experienced this from time to time and have a signal that we use to warn the other of the problem.
Mike
I, too, suffer from vertigo (from reverse blocking in one of my ears)on perhaps 1 in 10 dives or so during ascents. Although not particulary pleasant, it will go away if you descend a bit or just stop for a little bit. Both my buddy and I have experienced this from time to time and have a signal that we use to warn the other of the problem.
Mike
according to studies by divers alert network"everyone is narc'd at 100 ft and below to one degree or another". i also believe that low vis and cold water increase the chances of you noticing just how narc'd one is you may experience that uneasy feeling. i have been so narc'd i literally swam smack into a wreck and otherwise i never would have known i had '' the rapture of the blue"
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