My Wifes IPE in Cozumel

[Charred]

So this hits divers, triathletes, swimmers.

Am I correct to assume anyone in a pool is at risk? I am thinking about all those pool exercise classes you often seniors engage in.

 

[Jcp2]

I suppose the first sign of a problem is shortness of breath. A senior doing water exercises with head held easily above water (feet on bottom or floatation belt) will probably just slow down or stop, and the issue will just go away without even being a problem, as intrapulmonary capillary pressure will drop. A different issue than being underwater or swimming in open water.

 

[dmaziuk]

So this hits divers, triathletes, swimmers.

Am I correct to assume anyone in a pool is at risk? I am thinking about all those pool exercise classes you often seniors engage in.

For SEALs and triathletes the trigger is supposed to be over-exertion. If that was the only cause, (edit: non-competitive) swimmers, divers and water-walking seniors would never get it. Divers at least have tight wetsuits that impede peripheral circulation and squeeze blood into core vessels, that's supposed to be a contributing factor. Water aerobics is normally done in pools at 27C or warmer: no wetsuits, no cold to shut off your capillaries and push the blood in. IOW who knows.

 

[kelemvor]

I thought a chamber ride was on the menu for victims of IPE? Clearly I'm wrong or the doc's would have done it and/or the more experienced folks in this thread would have said something. I guess maybe a rescue class would be a good idea... I did take all 4 (or 5? I can't remember) DAN emergency classes. I'm sure this was covered but I seem to have forgotten. I think I'm due for my annual refresher on the DAN classes anyway.

 

[Dan]

I just took PADI Rescue Diver class last week. Very good class. Highly recommended.

 

[InTheDrink]

Seems good IPE out in the open now. Not that anyone seems to know what causes it.

NPPE should be a line of thought/discussion in my absolutely non medical view that should be explored.

Other avenues too for sure.

But might be back to incidents in ICU post procedure that give us best views. They’ve had a lot of this stuff over the years.

Best,
John

 

[shmuggy]

I also want to chime in on on how well DAN insurance and their operators are. I recently had my buddy get the bends in a place about as far away from the US as you can get. The operation we were diving with was fantastic and handled the situation well. DAN was great and insured that everything was done to insure safety for my buddy. I never felt that they were concerned more about the cost than for him. It was a very expensive treatment, evacuation and return home.
My buddy was and is in good health so it was a nasty surprise. He is an experienced and calm diver. He followed all the "rules" and still got the bends and yes, was on Nitrox. He did not do as many dives as the rest of us did. Anyone who goes diving without DAN insurance- especially out of the country- is acting very foolishly and endangering their lives and future well being.
As for this incident- thank goodness she is OK. Thank you for sharing your story.

 

[ScubaPink]

I do not dive like I used to. This post, and the subsequent comments makes me realize “you don’t know what you don’t know.” I was a long distance runner and, during a drift dive a few years back, my buddy and I were blown off a reef due to a very long descent. (She had equalization problems). I cannot remember the specifics, but I was (am) very fit and she was older than I, (thin too) but did not exercise, was a heavy drinker/smoker. So, we had to swim against the current for a bit, she just could not do it so we held hands and I “towed” us both quite a ways. I wasn’t panting, but I was working pretty hard. I now see why that might not have been a good idea, but at the time, I had no clue this could have put me at risk. I chalk this up to another one of those incidences where hindsight is 20/20 and I had Lady Luck on my side.

 

[kelemvor]

Or revving the boat motor in neutral. We were doing both.

I've seen this and the banging on the ladder as a "normal" time to end the dive signal on several occasions. The others might not have realized it was an emergency. That sounds like it is the case since they completed a safety stop.

 

[dmaziuk]

I wasn’t panting, but I was working pretty hard. I now see why that might not have been a good idea, but at the time, I had no clue this could have put me at risk. I chalk this up to another one of those incidences where hindsight is 20/20 and I had Lady Luck on my side.

I read that it was diagnosed in triathletes who felt "unusually out of breath" during the swim, completed the distance albeit not winning, and walked to the medical tent afterwards to get checked out. It seems there is a lot of variance with these, some very git people can just walk it off.