nitrox downsides

[bletso]

I know a lady diver who can no longer use nitrox.
Yet her physical condition and age, 68, mean that she should be using nitrox.
nitrox irritates her lungs; she coughs when she gets out of the water and feels a burning sensation for hours.
when she uses air, she doesn't cough and her lungs aren't irritated.

Interesting if true. She should at least consider getting a thorough medical work up concentrating on lung function. If it is a function of the PO2 then she should have the same symptoms when she dives near max sport diving depths or a little beyond. (simulating same PO2 a nitrox dive would give at shallower nitrox depth)

A couple posters have mentioned trimix in this thread. That should be addressed in a separate thread. As a rebreather diver I always dive trimix as I don't like narcosis, again a separate topic.

Good luck to your lady friend. Get her to see a pulmonary specialist.

 

[lowwall]

Interesting if true. She should at least consider getting a thorough medical work up concentrating on lung function. If it is a function of the PO2 then she should have the same symptoms when she dives near max sport diving depths or a little beyond. (simulating same PO2 a nitrox dive would give at shallower nitrox depth)

Good luck to your lady friend. Get her to see a pulmonary specialist.

Make that a pulmonary specialist who understands pO2 in the context of diving. Perhaps one who is an experienced diver and/or a hyperbaric specialist.

 

[greatwhite1]

tips are a gratuity and not mandatory, In Japan tipping is seen as an insult. No requirement to tip anywhere really. In places like Philippines I wont tip cash but buy a lechon pig so all the staff & boat crew and guides get a good feed in.

why not just give all the staff tips instead of a pig? Same thing except they can buy their own food for their own family.

 

[Nemrod]

Oh good grief, I am a geologist, MS+30, I often relate to my geo-knowledge and the paleo-atmosphere is of a particular interest to me, particularly prior to the current ice age and Mesozoic and older. You can always put me on block . I would appreciate it.

 

[davehicks]

Oh good grief, I am a geologist, MS+30, I often relate to my geo-knowledge and the paleo-atmosphere is of a particular interest to me, particularly prior to the current ice age and Mesozoic and older. You can always put me on block . I would appreciate it.

As a professional, maybe try and do a better job representing and educating the public. A snide quip might seem cute to you, but they add to the rampant misinformation and cynicism around the climate crisis. As divers we should all be concerned about the rapid coral bleaching and damage to ocean ecosystems that is more apparent year over year as average temperatures rise. The list of destinations worth diving is getting shorter at a disturbing pace.

 

[Boarderguy]

This guy is a Troll, definitely. Saying inflammatory and stupid stuff to elicit reactions. Ignore him.

He's for sure a troll but he isn't wrong about narcosis. Wrong forum for sure, but a little narc is nice.

There's a spectrum at play here, as well. Do we need trimix to take a short dip down to 33m under calm tropical circumstances as part of an otherwise slightly shallower dive? I think most would agree, no. Would I plan a cold water wreck dive to 40m on air? Also no. I suspect most of the "bah, trimix shlimix" people are talking more about the first kind of recreational dive than the latter?

I'm often below 50m on air and occasionally at 60m. Do it often enough and with the right equipment/mindset and it's fine. Yes, trimix is the right answer for these dives but they are inherently unaffordable for OC. I can go and see the same wreck at 155fsw for the cost of a doubles fill ($10-15) and a 40 of 50% ($18). On trimix that would be a ~$200 dive + the cost of getting training to breathe the gas. No thanks

 

[Allen-1]

Whenever I see this statement I shake my head because upon deeper analysis it makes no sense when viewed in isolation.

If you're diving a rental tank from an op that also supplies Nitrox, you are incurring a similar risk in that you could very well be diving a tank full of nitrox and are exposed to potentially more danger than getting a nitrox blend that is a bit different from what you expected.

Yet air divers are not trained nor expected to analyze their air tanks.

My instructor taught me to analyze every tank I dive, regardless of what its contents are "supposed" to be. That way I know what the percentage of oxygen is, and set my dc accordingly. Analyze it, slap painters tape on it, initial it and put the percentage on it. Only time I haven't taped the tank(s) is when the tanks are brought to the boat and analyzed at my station.

 

[Scuba-guy]

TROLL!! He's going on the "ignore" list.

I'm also putting you on ignore list

 

[bardass]

Interesting if true. She should at least consider getting a thorough medical work up concentrating on lung function. If it is a function of the PO2 then she should have the same symptoms when she dives near max sport diving depths or a little beyond. (simulating same PO2 a nitrox dive would give at shallower nitrox depth)


Good luck to your lady friend. Get her to see a pulmonary specialist.

I'm not in the habit of writing nonsense; I'm well known enough in French diving circles to avoid doing so.

The lady has been seeing a pulmonologist every year since we advised her to consult a doctor.
She is trained to dive to a maximum depth of 20m. She has always used a Nx30 maxi, which makes her cough.
Her pulmonologist has authorized her to dive since he has been treating her, limiting the use of nitrox, which is still allowed, but diving more often with air.

In France, every diver must provide a medical certificate signed by a doctor who is responsible in case of a problem.
So I assume that if he authorizes it, it's because he knows what he's doing.
Once again, to respond to the “god of diving,” I am not a doctor. And even less so a lung specialist.

Since she doesn't like diving while breathing air, she has reduced the number of her dives so that she can continue diving with nitrox.
When she dives several times over a weekend, she alternates between nitrox and air diving.
To date, the doctor has never said that he disagrees with her choice.

 

[LFMarm]

He's for sure a troll but he isn't wrong about narcosis. Wrong forum for sure, but a little narc is nice.

I'm often below 50m on air and occasionally at 60m. Do it often enough and with the right equipment/mindset and it's fine. Yes, trimix is the right answer for these dives but they are inherently unaffordable for OC. I can go and see the same wreck at 155fsw for the cost of a doubles fill ($10-15) and a 40 of 50% ($18). On trimix that would be a ~$200 dive + the cost of getting training to breathe the gas. No thanks

Narcosis is not the major problem of diving deeper 40 m without He. Has density is. It may all work out fine until the one time you have a problem on the bottom, need to do higher physical effort, CO2 combined with gas density may prove to be fatal. You are off course free to do it but personally I would not dive below 40m without trimix. If not available or not affordable, I would enjoy the large amount of things to see shallower. I hope new divers get good information about breaking standards and the risks they incur.