Nitrogen Narcosis

[gbray]

wow, I think that I just proved that nitrogen narcosis does occur at 1ATA. My reaction time to interpret these results just went from very quickly after reading the first page of response to a near drunkenness state after reading six pages of responses. I'm glad I wasn't operating heavy equipment while reading this.

I'm wondering if nitrogen narcosis compounded or complimented the drunk navy divers condition mentioned earlier.

Seriously though armed with all this information what exactly should I as a fairly new diver do with it? I don't see how it will change any of my diving protocol. Knowing that the monster is out there watching me either makes me continue to dive with indifference to it, dive paranoid of it, or stay out of the water. I sure don't intend on staying out of the water.

 

[wedivebc]

Your right, nitrogen narcosis is directly related to PN2. Personally, I don't believe that O2 Narcosis exists. If it did, why would a diver experiencing Oxtox not feel any narcotic effect? There are however mysteries that are not understood; especially the role of CO2 in Inert Gas Narcosis.

I agree with this statement about O2 narcosis but at the same time I believe that since oxygen comprises a relatively smaller percentage of a breathing mix at least at a depth where narcosis is noticeable by divers that the concept of oxygen reducing narcosis is moot.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Seriously though armed with all this information what exactly should I as a fairly new diver do with it? I don't see how it will change any of my diving protocol. Knowing that the monster is out there watching me either makes me continue to dive with indifference to it, dive paranoid of it, or stay out of the water. I sure don't intend on staying out of the water.

I agree with Diver0001. In the military and commercial field if nitrogen narcosis is a factor, it's understood that the performance of the diver will be degraded. Through increased experience and exposure, the goal is to increase situational awareness and improve the decision making process.

The area of recognition of nitrogen narcosis isn't stressed enough in sport diving imo. The time it takes to react to a situation may be decreased by preparation.

One example is an inexperienced "driver" sees a red light, realizes he's close to the intersection and slams on his brakes (the reaction time is the time it takes him to recognize the problem and move his foot off the gas pedal to the brake).

An experienced "driver" pays more attention to the light as it cycles and can predict that it will turn red. He may have to brake as well, but his "critical reaction time" has been eliminated. This is a result of experience.

I think a diver who's attuned to himself, his equipment and the environment is better prepared to deal with a situation than another diver who's caught by surprise, or never knew what hit him until it was too late.

@gbray: I think Wayne's last post is very insightful. His driving analogy highlights the advantages of experience.

We can all agree that certain aspects of our reaction time or our cognitive ability are significantly degraded by narcosis at depth. There may or may not be some physiological adaptation which occurs over repetitive deep exposures with respect to those measures. Gaining experience allows the diver to increase his awareness of the effect, anticipate it, and plan his responses accordingly.

If there's stuff that you want to see at 100+ fsw, then I'd recommend gradually extending your depth limits. Take a deep diving course to learn about the risks of deep air diving, narcosis, gas management, and exposure protection issues. Learn about decompression procedures. Master buoyancy control. Dive with a responsible buddy team and practice safety skills. Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of helium-containing breathing mixes.

It all boils down to managing the risks. If you do the things mentioned above, then you have significantly decreased the chance that something bad will happen during your deep dive. If you are an overweighted novice diver with an insta-buddy who decides to do a bounce dive to 160 fsw in cold, dark water while using an AL80...then the chance that something bad will happen is significantly higher.

 

[RikRaeder]

Hello fellow bubble blowers. .

When i did my AOW course, my instructor asked me and my dive buddy
when does narcisis start. . I gave him my answer and he said i was his
second student in over 10 years who got the qeustion right. .

So my qeustion to you are when does narcosis start? ? :think:

Happy and safe diving Karel. .

Narcicis starts when he looks into the pool and sees his own reflection. Or perhaps that's when he finishes...I'm not much for philosophy...or am I...?

 

[wedivebc]

A group of Navy drunks were tested to see how Beer affected them. No additional instruction was given. Their performance was tested. The results after 2 Beers: A, after 6 Beers: B, after 12 Beers: C

I was part of that study and group C ended up back at the ship with really ugly dates

 

[gbray]

Very nice summary Bubbletrubble. Thank you

 

[DCBC]

I was part of that study and group C ended up back at the ship with really ugly dates

They may have been ugly, but the beauty of Beer is that:

1. They don't look ugly at the time; or

2. You don't really care. LOL

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I was part of that study and group C ended up back at the ship with really ugly dates

I believe, Dave, the conclusion was "I never went to bed with an ugly woman ... but I sure woke up with a few" ... :shocked2:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Scott L]

I should know this question by now but are post dive headaches & slight nausea indicative of nitrogen narcosis or CO2build-up or possiably both?

 

[Scott L]

I was part of that study and group C ended up back at the ship with really ugly dates

At 10:00pm she was a 2 but at 2:00am she was a 10...Old but still funny IMO...