New To Diving (Oxygen Question for experienced divers!)

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@MargaritaMike part of the problem is that those of us with the training and the equipment will at least "unofficially" conduct HBOT on ourselves. I think that damn near all of us have done it if we have sore muscles/joints, or whatever and will hop in with an O2 bottle and suck it down at 20 ish ft. The difference is we are doing it similar to taking ibuprofen and that isn't the sole reason we are diving, it's just a side benefit of having all of that stuff.
Hell I have an oxy generator and compressor and bring O2 bottles when my wife does road races because it makes recovery faster for her, but again, I liken that to taking fancy ibuprofen, not an actual medical treatment...

flame away
 
@MargaritaMike part of the problem is that those of us with the training and the equipment will at least "unofficially" conduct HBOT on ourselves. I think that damn near all of us have done it if we have sore muscles/joints, or whatever and will hop in with an O2 bottle and suck it down at 20 ish ft. The difference is we are doing it similar to taking ibuprofen and that isn't the sole reason we are diving, it's just a side benefit of having all of that stuff.
Hell I have an oxy generator and compressor and bring O2 bottles when my wife does road races because it makes recovery faster for her, but again, I liken that to taking fancy ibuprofen, not an actual medical treatment...

flame away
@TBone I appreciate you "putting me in my place". I do NOT have all of that training or equipment and it obviously shows, but when someone admits to being a new diver and is pretty much asking permission to do something patently dangerous for the untrained, I felt that my limited experience qualified me to encourage them to look for another answer.

Cheers - M²
 
Just my opinion but someone asking for information on carrying out a complicated and extremely dangerous medical procedure on themselves in a basic scuba forum is setting alarm bells ringing. It may well be appropriate treatment for the given ailment and it may well be carried out safely but I think that outcome will be down to luck if successful unless much time and money is expended. But what do I know about it.
 


A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Thread moved to draw the attention of Dive medical Professionals. Note that the OP is New to the board and this was initially posted in the flame free zone. Please maintain the flame-free status in spite of the forum change.
 
. . . but when someone admits to being a new diver and is pretty much asking permission to do something patently dangerous for the untrained, I felt that my limited experience qualified me to encourage them to look for another answer.

I didn't interpret the OP as "pretty much asking permission." The original post lacked details, but the OP revealed in later posts what appears to be at least a basic understanding of the concepts of partial pressures and oxygen toxicity. The replies have pointed out there is evidence that our bodies react differently to breathing O2 in a chamber and breathing O2 underwater, as well as pointed out that seizing underwater is a lot more dangerous than seizing in a dry chamber with medical personnel on hand. The replies have also pointed out the obstacles related to training and equipment. If the OP was looking for replies like these, so he could weight the risks with perceived benefits, I think that's the best we can do. I have nothing to add at this point. Maybe someone with medical knowledge can provide additional perspectives.
 
First thing you need is this... A 25,000 gal tank standing on end in your yard so you can do treatments.

Jim...
 

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Why why would there be a likely oxygen toxicity hit if you follow the correct depths and oxygen levels
Because oxygen is bad for you. They had to breed a special line of mice who could survive breathing pure oxygen.
 
Hi Joe

So I am not here to judge you or lecture you. I will provide some Facts which you may utilize as you see fit.

The first two and most important facts to consider involve the physiology of oxygen exposure while diving. The first of these is that there is a considerable difference in response to hyperbaric oxygen while wet than while in a chamber. The reasons for this are poorly understood but may be related to the mammalian diving reflex. In very broad terms the likelihood of adverse reactions to hyperbaric oxygen are greater while submerged than while dry. The second fact of importance is that adverse reactions to oxygen while diving are frequently fatal, because they involve convulsions, which can lead to inhalation of water as well as precluding effective self-rescue.

In non-emergency situations the customary limit for technical divers during decompression stops where there is no movement or activity to exacerbate the risks is a partial pressure of 1.6 atmospheres. For divers who lack training in decompression procedures, or for technical divers during non-decompression portions of the dive, the usual limit is 1.4 atmospheres with some training agencies recommending a more conservative limit of 1.3 atmospheres. There are time limits that apply at these outer limits of exposure.

For divers without technical training and equipment, the richest oxygen concentration that is considered suitable is 40% O2 (EAN40). Dive shops that offer nitrox blending will typically not blend above 40% for a customer who lacks the training and experience to handle the hazards of such a mix. This is also true for 100% oxygen fills into scuba cylinders.

The training required to perform dives with richer mixtures is demanding and typically only offered to accomplished divers who have already developed their skills throughout a year or more of frequent diving. The exact course names and requirements vary among agencies however you may wish to look at the TDI Advanced Nitrox class or the PADI Tech 45 course for an idea of what is usually required.

Returning to EAN40 dives, with a cylinder of EAN40 you would reach a partial pressure of 1.0 atmospheres at a depth of approximately 50 feet and would have to dive somewhat deeper for the partial pressure to be hyperbaric, with a partial pressure of 1.4 atmospheres (for example) being reached at 82 feet. A question to consider is whether you have ready access to dive sites of this depth.

If you were to obtain 100% oxygen fills, the first question to consider would be whether your equipment is suited for oxygen service. While there are exceptions, most regulators and most cylinders are not suitable for oxygen service when sold, and second hand gear of unknown provenance cannot be considered oxygen safe at the time of purchase even if it was manufactured for such service. Typically it is possible to prepare a cylinder, valve, and regulator set for oxygen service through scrupulous cleaning and upgrading of certain critical parts, but doing so is a job for an experienced technician and may not be possible for some gear. The second question to consider would be training, since even if you were able to obtain fills, the hazards of diving on 100% oxygen are great, particularly for inexperienced divers whose buoyancy control is questionable, or whose mastery of emergency procedures is in doubt.

As one example, I have not and do not dive mixes over EAN40 despite having 100% oxygen readily available to me; while relatively new to diving I have made perhaps 125 dives over the last year or two, and have not taken any technical training. Nor have I or do I exceed an oxygen partial pressure of 1.4 atmospheres.

Best wishes however you decide to proceed.

Thanks for this post I appreciate the detail as opposed to people saying DON'T DO THIS!! without any explanation as to why.
I posted on here to know whether or not this would work first of all. Second of all I wanted to know whether or not it would be feasible with the amount of training and equipment I would need, I wanted to ask before I spent the money and time.

Conclusion so far is that I didn't realize that the pressure in a wet atmosphere affects you much differently than in a dry atmosphere. (Question: would a dry suit affect this at all? might be a dumb question but I am new to diving.)

Also what @tbone1004 said about the "unofficial" and "unknowingly" HBOT was interesting because I am not really looking for a perfect therapy it was more to see if I could do something that could aid in recovery. A fancy ibuprofen is what I'm looking for :). Also wouldn't even regular air doing regular dives be somewhat beneficial because some oxygen is still getting in your tissues.

Thanks for the info everybody!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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