Has anyone been known to pass out under the water do to panic
- Thread starter Chac_Mool
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
I guess I should explain my last post. I'm in Grand Cayman, 1st dive after receiving certification, 60ft, going threw a channel and my breathing picked up a bit which lead to a mild state of panic,.....I talked myself down and was fine but had a little scare. Maybe too much,too soon, at too quick of a pace.
Chac_Mool,
Tech Admin has kindly moved your post here for me so that our resident docs will see your question and try to answer your question.
Good Luck,
Chad
Tech Admin has kindly moved your post here for me so that our resident docs will see your question and try to answer your question.
Good Luck,
Chad
Lost Yooper
Guest
I heard of a buddy team up here who had been suited up on a boat for more than an hour (80F), and one of them passed out at 140' or so for a little bit. I suspect dehydration, stress, narcosis, etc was to blame. I was on that wreck (with a seperate group) when it occured, but didn't witness it.
Some people have gotten shallow water blackout too, but you hear that occuring more with free divers. CO2 can certainly get you if you aren't careful.
Mike
Some people have gotten shallow water blackout too, but you hear that occuring more with free divers. CO2 can certainly get you if you aren't careful.
Mike
The Iceni
Medical Moderator
Hyperventialtion is well known to cause the blowing off of carbon dioxide and a shift in the acid-base balance in normal healthy adults, with resulting tetany and even transient loss of conciousness.
Teenage girls are more prone to panick attacks and often hyperventilate sufficiently to suffer a black-out, which is rapidly reversed once their concious over-control of breathing stops or they are made to rebreath into the traditional paper bag.
I am not aware of this occurring, by itself, when scuba gear is used and indeed it is much less likely to occur because of increased dead space and inherent resistance to airflow make CO2 RETENTION more common. Unfortunately the sufferer of an underwater panick attack is much more likely to remove their mouthpiece and/or make an uncontrolled ascent to the surface with all the attendant problems.
I think it would be very, very difficult to attibute any such incident, whether fatal or not, solely to hyperventilation alone.
The golden rule, is never to get into such a position in the first place. If any diver is at all uncomfortable he must stop and take stock to regain his composure, before he falls into the incident pit, which is what you quite rightly did. This is why I, personally, believe no diver should push his buddy beyond his ability/comfort limits as the underwater environment is entirely alien and a feeling of discomfort or ill-at-ease can rapidly turn into an extremely hazardous panic.
I am fairly certain Mike's example was a case of heat exhaustion.
Teenage girls are more prone to panick attacks and often hyperventilate sufficiently to suffer a black-out, which is rapidly reversed once their concious over-control of breathing stops or they are made to rebreath into the traditional paper bag.
I am not aware of this occurring, by itself, when scuba gear is used and indeed it is much less likely to occur because of increased dead space and inherent resistance to airflow make CO2 RETENTION more common. Unfortunately the sufferer of an underwater panick attack is much more likely to remove their mouthpiece and/or make an uncontrolled ascent to the surface with all the attendant problems.
I think it would be very, very difficult to attibute any such incident, whether fatal or not, solely to hyperventilation alone.
The golden rule, is never to get into such a position in the first place. If any diver is at all uncomfortable he must stop and take stock to regain his composure, before he falls into the incident pit, which is what you quite rightly did. This is why I, personally, believe no diver should push his buddy beyond his ability/comfort limits as the underwater environment is entirely alien and a feeling of discomfort or ill-at-ease can rapidly turn into an extremely hazardous panic.
I am fairly certain Mike's example was a case of heat exhaustion.
Angry Turtle
Contributor
"Teenage girls are more prone to panick attacks"
Dr Paul ?
This is a liitle bit out of the thread but...Why would teenage girls be more prone to panic attacks than anybody else?
The Iceni
Medical Moderator
Hi bori!
I really have no idea why teenage girls are more prone to panic attacks and hyperventilation than adults, for instance, but I believe this is a generally accepted medical fact.
I hope you do not think I was being sexist!
It is most certainly not common but perhaps it is all to do with hormones, after all adolescence is a pretty awful time.
As you know, teenage boys usually express their distress in other ways.
I really have no idea why teenage girls are more prone to panic attacks and hyperventilation than adults, for instance, but I believe this is a generally accepted medical fact.
I hope you do not think I was being sexist!
It is most certainly not common but perhaps it is all to do with hormones, after all adolescence is a pretty awful time.
As you know, teenage boys usually express their distress in other ways.
Angry Turtle
Contributor
Dr Paul
:approve:
Well...
to tell the truth, at first I thought you were sexist, but then my don't-jump-the-gun kinder self told me to ask first, judge later; and asked to see if there was a real reason for this.
I guess these could be somewhat safe generalisations, and if you have data to prove it, then...
Anyway, I didn't mean to raise a stink about something else than what the original question was.
:approve:
Well...
to tell the truth, at first I thought you were sexist, but then my don't-jump-the-gun kinder self told me to ask first, judge later; and asked to see if there was a real reason for this.
I guess these could be somewhat safe generalisations, and if you have data to prove it, then...
Anyway, I didn't mean to raise a stink about something else than what the original question was.
- Messages
- 5,721
- Reaction score
- 473
Hi boricuamojao,
Dr. Thomas, being a self-described cranky British family physician, likely won't call in a specialist until it's life-or-death, so excuse me while I elbow forth.
An extensive research base shows that females outnumber males about 2 to 1 when it comes to anxiety disorders. With panic attacks, the ratio is very slightly higher. And, with the type that involves fear of having the panic attacks themselves and associated avoidance of places & people that may provoke anxiety, women are represented at about 3 to 1.
As regards age, panic attacks are most common in those ages 12 to 45. For both males & females, it is most frequently seen in the late teens/early 20s.
The preponderance of females to males should not be perceived as a pejorative thing. Panic attacks are a disease, not a sex-linked moral or characterological failure. If it is any comfort, there are a number of psychiatric conditions where males outnumber females.
While the basis of this sex disparity is not well understood, I'm quite sure there is a "real reason" for it. Studies have shown a genetic/hereditary component, and it seems likely that the way in which females are raised also substantially contributes.
I hope you found this informative.
DocVikingo
Dr. Thomas, being a self-described cranky British family physician, likely won't call in a specialist until it's life-or-death, so excuse me while I elbow forth.
An extensive research base shows that females outnumber males about 2 to 1 when it comes to anxiety disorders. With panic attacks, the ratio is very slightly higher. And, with the type that involves fear of having the panic attacks themselves and associated avoidance of places & people that may provoke anxiety, women are represented at about 3 to 1.
As regards age, panic attacks are most common in those ages 12 to 45. For both males & females, it is most frequently seen in the late teens/early 20s.
The preponderance of females to males should not be perceived as a pejorative thing. Panic attacks are a disease, not a sex-linked moral or characterological failure. If it is any comfort, there are a number of psychiatric conditions where males outnumber females.
While the basis of this sex disparity is not well understood, I'm quite sure there is a "real reason" for it. Studies have shown a genetic/hereditary component, and it seems likely that the way in which females are raised also substantially contributes.
I hope you found this informative.
DocVikingo
The Iceni
Medical Moderator
Dr Vikingo,
I trust you comment was meant in jest but at least in the US you have a decent hospital system. In case your were not aware of it our hospitals are probably the worst in Europe and to my mind they resemble those in the former soviet block.
As you say, it is more likely I won't call in a specialist until it is absolutely necessary. Even if I refer one of my patients to a specialist physician they are unlikely to be seen within a year, and even then are more likely to be seen by a paramedic alone (nurse practitioner).
As for emergencies, our ambulance paramedics qualify after a six week course, an average wait for treatment by a qualified doctor (whose English is most likely to be poor) in the ER of our major hospitals can exceed five hours and many patients admitted in an emergency lie on a gurney overnight.
I have no doubt there are some excellent specialist physicians in Britain, unfortunately very few NHS patients get to see them even if their doctor requests it (unless they are in the small minority who have insurance, of course.)
I wouldn't recomment you to become ill over here!
We no longer have many doctors. We have spin!
At least I try!
I trust you comment was meant in jest but at least in the US you have a decent hospital system. In case your were not aware of it our hospitals are probably the worst in Europe and to my mind they resemble those in the former soviet block.
As you say, it is more likely I won't call in a specialist until it is absolutely necessary. Even if I refer one of my patients to a specialist physician they are unlikely to be seen within a year, and even then are more likely to be seen by a paramedic alone (nurse practitioner).
As for emergencies, our ambulance paramedics qualify after a six week course, an average wait for treatment by a qualified doctor (whose English is most likely to be poor) in the ER of our major hospitals can exceed five hours and many patients admitted in an emergency lie on a gurney overnight.
I have no doubt there are some excellent specialist physicians in Britain, unfortunately very few NHS patients get to see them even if their doctor requests it (unless they are in the small minority who have insurance, of course.)
I wouldn't recomment you to become ill over here!
We no longer have many doctors. We have spin!
At least I try!
Similar threads
