Improved safety?

[don Francisco]

I once had a major coughing fit underwater at over 60'. No problem, except for the coughing itself. The only real issue was keeping calm. The coughing was so violent it was hard to resist bolting for the surface. After a few minutes I finally got it back under control was able to continue the dive, though with lots less air.

 

[Web Monkey]

Thanks for the attempt but you did not address my question
If I cannot find my reg at the end of the hose that is another problem.
If I run out of air, I have failed to recognize other problems.

My question was. . .If I suck water (with no side to grab, or bottom to stand on with my head clear of the water) If I suck water instead of air, (and 40 divers offer alternates) what are my chances? Can I choke out through a reg?

Anything that you can get out of your throat will fit through the exhaust valve of your reg. You can cough though it, puke though it, blow water though it, whatever you want.

If you have a properly functioning regulator in your mouth, you won't be breathing water. If you lost your regulator, you shouldn't be inhaling until you get another one from somewhere.

Other than that, I probably don't understand the question.

Terry

 

[TSandM]

Everybody above is correct -- you can aspirate some water and cough it out while diving. I think almost all of us will have done that at some time.

As far as your survival chances if you attempt to breathe water, they will depend on how much water you get into the lungs, and how long it is before you begin to breathe air (or any other oxygen-containing gas mixture) again. Obviously, the deeper you are when you take a breath of water, the poorer your survival chances are, simply because of the amount of time to get you to the surface.

 

[Oxy]

There is no way to accurately compare fatality rates over years past. In the early years, I don’t know how early you’re talking, there were fewer people getting certified. Very few passed the classes unlike today when very few fail a class.

People didn’t take a class for a once a year diving vacation as they do now. So basically you had divers getting certified, or teaching themselves that continued to dive. Today that isn’t always the case.

So let’s just make a hypothetical thingy here. In the early years 1000 divers hit the water in a 12 month period. Those 1000 divers’ average 100 dives a year and 2 end up kicking the bucket.

Today 10,000 divers get certified and hit the water. They average 3 or 4 dives a year to some exotic remote tourist trap and 2 don’t make it.

There is no factual basis for this it’s just how things have changed over the years. In the early years getting certified wasn’t something you did over a weekend. It was a longer more demanding process that wasn’t gear dependent as it is today.

Gary D.

Sorry! I guess that was a poorly worded question. Thank you for trying to answer rather than just knocking me out of my chair.

 

[Oxy]

1. Not sucking in water is a skill that is learned.
2. Yes, you can cough (even puke) through a regulator and still breathe.

Thank you! that is the very thing that I have been wondering. However I do not care to try it. Once as a kid is all I need to remember forever.
ps you just made my desire to dive much worse (it's all your fault)

 

[ucfdiver]

Thank you! that is the very thing that I have been wondering. However I do not care to try it. Once as a kid is all I need to remember forever.
ps you just made my desire to dive much worse (it's all your fault)

Dive training is about preventing accidents and then managing them when they happen. Sometimes all the preparation in the world can be done and something goes wrong, don't fall into believing it can't, so when diving, always think a little bit about what you'd do if stuff goes wrong.

 

[Oxy]

Are you comparing cave diving accidents or accidents in general? I doubt any of us have been diving for very long without getting at least a little water in our lungs accidentally when breathing.

I was wondering about accidents in general when the first attempts to use breathing devices underwater were being developed. Before any classes or training. Who were the Wright brothers of diving?

As for unintentionally sucking water at depth, my question has been answered and I feel much better. I don't ever want it to happen again at any depth but feel better knowing the surface is not the answer.

 

[Thalassamania]

In over fifty years of diving I can remember coughing on aspirated water when snorkeling. I also remember having my regulator kicked out of my mouth, without aspiration, a few times, a few incidents, a few exhaust valve failures, that resulted in VERY wet breathing (no coughing) and two strange incidents where I was left with the mouthpiece, no regulator, and water coming in ... but again no aspiration.

 

[Oxy]

Dive training is about preventing accidents and then managing them when they happen. Sometimes all the preparation in the world can be done and something goes wrong, don't fall into believing it can't, so when diving, always think a little bit about what you'd do if stuff goes wrong.

Would like to have you around in a pinch

 

[Gary D.]

I had a hard headed tough guy cousin that tried to teach me how to swim. We had a pool and the beach in Santa Cruz was only a couple of hundred feet away so he thought I needed to know how to swim.

So one day when I was either 6 or 7 he grabbed me by an arm and tossed me into the deep end of the pool and walked off. I did get to the edge and get out but half the pool was in my gut and that was the end of my water days for a while. The pool and the Pacific got a wide birth when I was walking by.

Gradually the fear went away and I was just like any other kid around the water. My cousin is in his late 80’s now and has continued to brag about making me a good enough of a swimmer to become a Navy Diver. The truth is I can’t swim worth a darn. I can get from point “A” to point “B” but as far as form it would be -10 all the way.

Work through the feeling you have and don’t let it take over your life.

Gary D.