Painting before diving - Don't do it

[Ardy]

I posted this over on the narcosis thread in advanced diving but I thought it might be more useful here.


I had a really bad narcosis like experience about 15 years ago. I helped my outlaws paint their ceiling before going on a dive in Foster NSW Aust. I finished the ceiling jumped in the car and in about 3/4 hr I was in the water. We decended to 33m and then followed a line along the bottom.

I started to fixate on pebbles and forgot about my buddies ahead, couldn't take my eyes off the pebbles or move on. Then it got worse and I couldn't keep my reg in my mouth. I was feeling totally remote from the real world and started to think I was on dry land. I held the reg in my mouth with one hand and slowly followed the line back with the other to the anchor rope, then started to ascend. At 20m it was all gone and reality returned. I exited the water with a lot of relief.

I think I could have died down there. Think I was lucky there was a line to follow, not sure I could have done a free water ascent

 

[jridg]

I would be interested to know the following:

1. What type of paint were you using?

2. At what depth do you normally get narced?

 

[sambolino44]

It sounds like your buddy left you behind. Is that normal?

 

[IceBergSlim]

I posted this over on the narcosis thread in advanced diving but I thought it might be more useful here.


I had a really bad narcosis like experience about 15 years ago. I helped my outlaws paint their ceiling before going on a dive in Foster NSW Aust.

What color?

 

[h90]

many of the solvents have some narcoses effects.....
I recall at university I worked with a couple different one.......I saw my workmate, he had a slightly different colored tooth. That was enough for 1 hour laughing and he laughed (got the same solvents) as well......
And than the headache came.
I made a couple of serious mistakes while I did a distillation, but luckily nothing bad happened.
So I easily believe that it gets stronger under water.

 

[Ardy]

It sounds like your buddy left you behind. Is that normal?

yup! sort of, I was last in the line and they carried on whilst I studied my pebble.

If I dive with a shop the buddies you are given are what they are. It was a nasty experience with a so called buddy about this time that started me solo diving.

 

[Ardy]

I would be interested to know the following:

1. What type of paint were you using?

2. At what depth do you normally get narced?

Hi Jim -

1. flat ceiling paint acrylic (white for the smartarse - icebergslim)

2. Depends on the conditions but 30m in average conditions. I would notice it as a mild indifference. So I would expect some narcing on a dive to this depth but nothing like this.

 

[deltablade]

im a new diver and my wife and i will be doin our shore and boat dives to complete our open water course this weekend,, readin these incident reports has instilled confidence in me and if i take anything away from this forum it will be the importance of having a good buddy that sticks beside u no mater what and the importance of being that good buddy as well, tho i am totally green to this sport i can see how easily this could have turned into a tragedy, thanx for postin