Nitrox and health

[Garrobo]

I've been offered complimentary Nitrox dives several time and haven't taken them up on it yet. I was wondering if breathing Nitrox has any side effects on a person with a physical impairment like asthma or other lung problems, heart trouble, sinus problems, migraine headaches, diabetis (SP?), arthritis or whatever?

 

[Roko]

As a point of interest, in many medical situations oxygen is provided to the patient.. Nitrox is just an increased oxygen level with a decreased nitrogen level. Regarding the specific answer to your question, hopefully somebody actually in a medical profession pops in to give you a proper answer, since I think only they would be able to give you a definite answer. (I for sure am not qualified to answer that)

I don't want to sound like an e-diver doink by saying this, so don't take it the wrong way, but do you have a nitrox certification? There's a couple nuances that you should know about nitrox before actually diving with it. (mainly pertaining to oxygen toxicity at depth)

 

[Blackwood]

Note: Not a medical guy.

Shouldn't be any problems. Sustained high O₂ mixes may bother someone with bad lungs, such as those with Emphysema. As far as "recreational nitrox" goes (as it's most often used) I can't think of any obvious complications.

 

[spectrum]

When you are diving you are already in a hyperbaric state and presented with a higher than normal amount of oxygen though at the same ratio as 1 ATM. Nitrox does change the ratio but from my course recollections (not medical knowledge) I would expect only upside.

I would not expect nitrox to enable someone to dive if those conditions are already significant enough to be contraindications to diving. It's not magic bullet.

Pete

 

[ucfdiver]

I'd suggest reading this before diving nitrox-
DIR-diver.com - Nitrox Class Part 1

Honestly, it's better information than the padi/naui/ssi material that I've seen.

 

[Scuba Ken]

Again not a Doctor's opinion but I am CPR/First Aid trained for diving emergencies and the procedure for most diving emergencies involves administering oxygen. The guideline is it may not help, but it can't make the patient worse. In the water the main reason for it is to decrease the amount of nitrogen absorbed. By increasing the amount of oxygen in the mix you decrease the nitrogen. Our bodies only use x amount of oxygen so PPO2 in our blood increases at depth. The main medical issue is exceeding the MOD for the nitrox mixture and suffering an oxygen toxicity seizure. The seizure on iits own would be fairly harmless, but in water you would likely spit out your reg, breath in water and drown.

Other than the possibility of the seizure I don't believe there are any other issues that would hurt you from breathing Nitrox and the issue of having a seizure can be virtually eliminated by being properly trained in Nitrox use.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

For a medical opinion how about calling DAN or asking Dr. Deco.

 

[Garrobo]

Roko: No nitrox cert. What I am saying is that some shops will include one introductory nitrox dive if you dive with them for like six dives. I usually try to dive a wreck or two in the area of 100+ feet on one or two of the dive days. I don't have any of these problems which I listed but was wondering if there was anything else to look for. I'm just sort of careful and wary about running stuff through my lungs which I don't know about.

 

[TSandM]

Garrobo, you will learn the answers to your questions in a Nitrox class. But a capsule summary is that oxygen in hyperbaric concentrations is toxic to the central nervous system and to the lungs. CNS oxygen toxicity is manifested as seizures, and one keeps the total concentration of oxygen below set levels to avoid this (which is why Nitrox is not good for very deep diving). Pulmonary oxygen toxicity is a product of concentration and time, and most recreational divers will not get into the ranges where pulmonary toxicity is noticeable.

If you are really interested in getting more into it than that, you WILL get better explanations in a Nitrox class, or you can go to the Rubicon Research Repository and search on oxygen toxicity. You'll come up with a lot of references.

 

[Riger]

~I = not a medical pro ~

1. Before diving Nitrox you should have the training and the certification.
2. Diving on Nitrox within the published limitations of Nitrox is safe (notwithstanding the normal risks of diving).
3. Diving Nitrox reduces the Nitrogen build up in the body when compared to the same (profile) as a dive on normal air.
4. Diving Nitrox means you can not dive as deep as you could on normal Air.
5. Diving Nitrox will extend your No Decompression Limits (NDL) which means provided you have the available gas, you can dive for a longer time before you reach your NDL.
6. Diving Nitrox does not reduce the amount of air you use or increase the amount of air in your tank.
7. If your LDS is offering you a dive on Nitrox without certification, that would be a suspicious situation, unless by implication, they are offering you the training as well but expect you to pay for it.

I hope this helps clarify some of the basics.

Best Regards

Richard (Riger)