Nitrox: Narcosis myth?

[tarponchik]

The last study I saw found there was no decrease in fatigue, however they noticed that divers on Nitrox consistently felt better after the dive. They attributed the feeling better to having less sub clinical DCS. Since the study was about fatigue the feeling better after the dive was just note on the findings.

It seems fatigue has a different scientific meaning than the meaning regular people use.
Bob

I've checked the latest and, here is the main finding. Divers performed beter on Nitrox (mentally) but could not tell which gas they used.

Somewhat off-topic, but... 29% of female air divers but only 14% of male divers were bubble-free (P = 0.058). Why would this be the case? Testosterone for bubbles? Or fat tissue, more abundant in women, may help?

 

[Saniflush]

Or fat tissue, more abundant in women, may help?

I don't care how much empirical data may exist in the future for this, I wouldn't dare suggest this to my wife.

 

[ajduplessis]

High Pressure Neurological Syndrome | DIVER magazine
And a few others seem to disagree with you. I don't have access to "proper" resources at the moment, so I simply picked one of the first google hits which presents it.

The cited article describes descent rates as the major contributing factor in controlling HPNS.....

 

[Patoux01]

And nitrogen is the leading cause of narcosis... Yet replacing some N2 by O2 may not solve the problem.

Also, deco for divers mentions this as well. And HPNS matters to some technical divers, not just saturation divers. It actually matters to any "bounce diver"

 

[GlennL]

This is all very interesting to me. I did my "deep" class and my instructor tried to get me narked so I could recognize it and its onset. However I did the puzzles and whatnot. My times underwater were actually better than on the surface. Maybe because I did them on the surface first and knew what to do. Anyway let me say I never felt impaired, at least not before the instructor signaled to ascend
I will say I drink almost everyday. Straight liquor neat (scotch). I can down a fifth if JW RED and not think twice about it.
So as alcohol effects people differently, doesn't narcosis effect people differently? Not everyones mental faculties are equal

 

[Russoft]

Our PADI Nitrox course emphasized that oxygen is approximately as narcotic as nitrogen and so Nitrox is considered equivalent to air in terms of narcosis. Up until very recently I'd assumed only the Nitrogen in air caused narcosis (and Argon, but hardly worth considering).

During AOW, I did not notice any narcosis at 106 ft on EANx30. The only example of serious impairment (on another dive entirely) was due to CO2 retention from fighting a strong current for a prolonged period of time. I got a headache and was very angry and anxious. In general, I don't remember any of my diving in any great detail, even at 30 ft. I've always assumed it's just how memory works. For example, I don't try to remember my work day in any great detail but I bet if I tried, I would fail. Memories are formed by novel experiences. I think diving on Helium would be interesting if only to gain some insight into the effect of narcosis on me.

I also had heard that the whole "feel better after using Nitrox" was just the placebo effect and the only real benefit of Nitrox was longer bottom times due to less nitrogen loading.

Needless to say, this discussion is very interesting. Please continue.

 

[GlennL]

I also had heard that the whole "feel better after using Nitrox" was just the placebo effect and the only real benefit of Nitrox was longer bottom times due to less nitrogen loading.

Needless to say, this discussion is very interesting. Please continue.

Back when I was active duty Air Force, I used to crack the lox tank vent. Breathing straight up o2 cures a hangover like nobody's business. Nitrox has higher 02. Does it make you feel better? Maybe maybe not. I think there are a lot of factors involved

 

[dmaziuk]

S/he is a pretty standard internet way of referring to a poster when the gender is unknown and one is trying to be polite.

S / h / it, OTOH, is a pretty standard Internet way of referring to a poster when one is is trying to not be polite.

HTH

 

[dmaziuk]

This is all very interesting to me. I did my "deep" class and my instructor tried to get me narked so I could recognize it and its onset. However I did the puzzles and whatnot. My times underwater were actually better than on the surface. Maybe because I did them on the surface first and knew what to do. Anyway let me say I never felt impaired, at least not before the instructor signaled to ascend

So what happened when he signaled? -- IME "impaired" is usually "no way, let's keep partying"

That's part of the problem I have with AOW: I would like to get narced with a sherpa to keep it safe and controlled, but I have a suspicion I'll just come out with a card that says I've been below 60 feet and no wiser.

 

[GlennL]

So what happened when he signaled? -- IME "impaired" is usually "no way, let's keep partying"

That's part of the problem I have with AOW: I would like to get narced with a sherpa to keep it safe and controlled, but I have a suspicion I'll just come out with a card that says I've been below 60 feet and no wiser.

Maybe i should have been clear. I never felt "impaired". He signaled to ascend due to NDL.