Nitrogen Narcosis

[junior]

Hi,

My questions are: 1) what happens on a dive that triggers nitrogen narcosis; 2) what symptoms should I be looking for if this should start happening to me or my dive buddy; and 3) does this happen mostly on deep dives, long dives, or normal 30' 1 hour dives?

-Gene Brotherton
Lake Mary, FL.

 

[Walter]

Our nerve cells have a protein covering in which nitrogen dissolves when under pressure. This partially blocks nerve signals resulting in impaired short term memory, time perception, orientation, judgement, reasoning, etc. In short, you become stupid. The deeper you go, the worse it becomes. Everyone is narced at 100 feet or deeper, not everyone notices the symptoms.

HTH,

WWW™

 

[L. Smallman]

Okay, but what if I'm not to bright to begin with and I descend to 100+ feet???

Hee hee hee

Laura

 

[scubabunny]

Nitrogen Narcosis isn't something that (in my opinion) is a HUGE danger in recreational diving to 130ft or above. But it is something to be very aware of. The most I've been narced is at 159ft. I know that is below the normal limits, but it was a wall dive and I was new to deep dives. At that point, all I can say is...I thought I was flying and everything was sparkling. I completely forgot I had a limited amount of air, or that I even had gauges (hence, the 159ft!) Luckily, I was diving with my boyfriend, who grabbed my tank valve, pulled me up and shook me...which got my attention!

Narcosis isn't a build up of nitrogen intake. It is nitrogen breathed at depth. It is an immediate "feeling" that will go away once you accend a few feet, or usually, once you realize "hey, I'm feeling messed up!"

If you dive at 30ft for 2 hours, the nitrogen won't stay in your system and cause Narcosis. You may freeze to death...but you won't be Narced.

There is real no depth limit for Narcosis. I've felt narced at 60ft before (and NO, I'm not blond!!) Basically, if you are doing the "la-de-la-de-la" thing...not checking you gauges, not checking your compass, not caring WHERE in the deep blue sea you are...THAT is the behavior you have to worry about.

I also experienced the "paranoid" narcosis once. NOT a good thing. I wasn't in a good mood to begin with, and did a dive down to 142ft (same wall dive) and I just felt like I was going to freak. But, I had (regained) the sense to know I couldn't just GO up to the boat..and that I was "feeling funny". So I went up about 10 feet at a time, until I felt like myself again (actually, I was PMSing at the same time so it took a few days!)

But, alot of getting narced depends on the person, and the day. Alot of people think getting Narced is a cheap high...but doing it on purpose is dangerous. It is only really dangerous on deep dives because that is when most people feel the effects.

Ok...think I've rambled enough here...
Hope this helps Gary

 

[greg somers]

The same person can be affected at different depths depending on the day and the persons metabolism...
I don't know about the 100ft thing myself.I have never been narced before even though diving to 40m often.But that's my metabolism....I have self-equalising ears,don't get drunk easily,don't get hangovers and love movies...(just threw that one in..)
The main thing is to recognise differences in thinking... and behaviour...It may not be you that notices but your buddy.
Cheers all over the place ears,
The Gasman

 

[dsquid]

“I am personally quite receptive to nitrogen rapture. I like it and fear it like doom --- l’ivresse des grandes profondeurs has one salient advantage over alcohol: no hangover. If one is able to escape from it’s zone, the brain clears instantly and there are no horrors in the morning. I cannot read accounts of a record dive without wanting to ask the champion how drunk he was.”
---Jacques Cousteau, in The Silent World

 

[Dr Deco]

Dear Junior:

Nitrogen narcosis is a very interesting phenomenon and is currently without an explanation. We are all aware that ORGANIC liquids such as ether and chloroform will produce narcosis and are used for anesthesia (or at least once were). Other organic fluids will also do this, and among these we would find gasoline, lighter fluid, dry cleaning fluid and so forth. Not all of these are good for your health, however. Even anesthetics are not good for your liver after a period of a few hours, but it beats staying awake and watching the surgery.

Some anesthetic are INORGANIC (= do not contain carbon) and the most well known is nitrous oxide. It is commonly called "laughing gas" since it can produce giddiness and euphoria. It was once used in "laughing gas parties" where individuals inhaled it, presumably to short circuit their brain cells for a brief period of time. This gas is used in dentistry to produce relaxation, but it is not anesthetic enough for surgical procedures. If it could be used in a pressurized environment, then it could produce anesthesia as good as ether. In fact, in the late 1800’s, some surgeons did attempt to make a hyperbaric operating theater where nitrous oxide could be used. It was quite a cumbersome apparatus and not used for long.

If one is already pressurized, as is a scuba diver, then on can note the narcosis produced by gases such as nitrogen. It is less narcotic than nitrous oxide but is narcotic none the less. This narcosis increases as the pressure is increased, as a general rule, but there is not any hard and fast point of "narcosis/no-narcosis." :devilish:

In surgical procedures, this is also true of anesthetics. The partial pressure of anesthetic administered and the reactions of the patient must be constantly monitored. It is for this reason that an anesthesiologist is always present with the surgeon. The effect is quite variable.

This variability is also noted by divers with nitrogen narcosis. It will vary from person to person, and with the same individual, it will vary from day to day. It is always a highlight of a chamber dive to go to around 160 feet, and "feel the buzz." :bonk:

Nitrogn narcosis will go away in a few breaths when one ascends. The less soluble a gas, the faster the onset of narcosis and the faster the remission. This is true of "anesthesia" with nitrogen.

Dr Deco

 

[large_diver]

For those interested --

There is an informative article about Nitrogen Narcosis in the most recent edition of Dive Training magazine.