Holding your breath

[dumpsterDiver]

If I exhaled hard to descend, like if I were carrying the bare minimum amount of weight, and then I held the exhalation all the way down, could I theoretically collapse a lung as that small amount of air gets smaller under pressure?

I like to hold an exhalation for the initial part of the descent. It is fine unless you really push a descent with very empty lungs.. if you do that you can be injured..

 

[Tortuga68]

IMHO, it is irresponsible to input any positive encouragement, discussion or speculation about 'open-glottis respiration pauses' into the 'Basic Scuba' forum.

And get rid of condom vending machines so teenagers will stop having sex, dammit

 

[DevonDiver]

And get rid of condom vending machines so teenagers will stop having sex, dammit

So, you're implying that novice divers are just gonna keep holding their breath and dying,... and that reading posts from role-model/opinion informer status divers about the positives of breath holding can't potentially contribute to any ambivalence or confusion about the issue?

 

[EastEndDiver]

I agree completely with what DevonDiver has stated....KISS is important for a new diver.Factor in how "watered down" most Basic courses are and trying to add 'open-glottis respiration pauses' and you have a confused diver.

 

[buddhasummer]

Am I missing something here, I don't see the confusion.

 

[captain]

Also remember that the volume change is proportional not linear. Holding your breath at 100 feet and rising to 95 feet is different than holding your breath at 5 feet and rising to the surface. The volume change from 100 feet to 95 feet is small compared to the change from 5 feet to the surface. Boyle's law.

 

[Tortuga68]

So, you're implying that novice divers are just gonna keep holding their breath and dying

How often does that actually happen? You seem to be implying that it will now occur more often now because of Lynn's post

Anyway, my point was that trying to protect people from themselves by stifling discussion is at best a waste of time & at worst counterproductive

 

[redacted]

IMHO, it is irresponsible to input any positive encouragement, discussion or speculation about 'open-glottis respiration pauses' into the 'Basic Scuba' forum. Such considerations are the preserve of experienced divers - those who've done a few hundred dives, dealt with a few problems...and developed sufficient instinct to eliminate any likelihood of screwing up an ascent during high stress loading.

God forbid that divers should be told the truth in the Basic OW forum.

One of the problems with recreational scuba business is that there are too many professionally endorsed and propagated lies and deceptions.

If you are willing to lie about breathing control, are you also willing to lie about regulator service and cave diving? How do divers know when it is the truth?

 

[DevonDiver]

Am I missing something here, I don't see the confusion.

Try an empathize with a viewer whose dive count is 0-25.

---------- Post added May 9th, 2013 at 10:31 PM ----------

How often does that actually happen?

I'd hazard a guess it's significant in the annual accident statistics.

You seem to be implying that it will now occur more often now because of Lynn's post

How many times would it need to happen, before it became a bad idea? Once? Ten times? A hundred?

Anyway, my point was that trying to protect people from themselves by stifling discussion is at best a waste of time & at worst counterproductive

My point was that discussions might have a more responsible venue, not that they shouldn't be discussed.

As an instructor, I take a sense of responsibility in what I post here. What I write in the instructor area or the tech area is not necessarily what I'd write in basic scuba etc etc. Choice of posting location is, I think, akin to adding a certain caveat to the post - it directs divers towards the appropriate level of the discussion.

But hey.... if you want to chance that someone might read your views and go try it out at a stage where they're still getting to grips with basic buoyancy skills... go for it champ... publically demonstrating the full breadth of your specialist knowledge and ability at each and every opportunity must be far more important than having any sense of responsibility on the internet...

 

[swimmer_spe]

So, the answer is actually like everything: You do not have the skills yet to attempt it safely, so don't do it.

I guess after 1000+ dives, I may risk it... but still not likely. Death is never a good thing.