Question about rescue

[WhiteSands]

Is rescue still part of Fundies syllabus? I understand it's no longer being taught.

In speaking with friends who learned rescue during fundies, they were taught that if you found the unconscious diver with the reg in the mouth, proceed to rescue and keep reg in mouth.

However, if you found the unconscious diver without the reg in the mouth, do not attempt to put the reg into his/her mouth.

I'm not clear on the reasons for the 2nd part, can anyone explain?

 

[PfcAJ]

Is rescue still part of Fundies syllabus? I understand it's no longer being taught.

In speaking with friends who learned rescue during fundies, they were taught that if you found the unconscious diver with the reg in the mouth, proceed to rescue and keep reg in mouth.

However, if you found the unconscious diver without the reg in the mouth, do not attempt to put the reg into his/her mouth.

I'm not clear on the reasons for the 2nd part, can anyone explain?

No benefit to dicking around underwater to replace a reg. They aren't breathing anyway at that point. Surface ASAP.

 

[Cyprian]

I just asked a GUE Instructor to verify if something had changed or not as I was taught unconscious diver recovery in Fundies, Cave 1 and Cave 2. It is still being taught in Fundies at the tech pass level (and, of course, at C 1/2 as well as T 1/2).

I also went and looked in the standards and they have not changed:

GUE Fundamentals | Global Underwater Explorers

Look in the requirements for tech pass:

"Demonstrate diver rescue techniques, including effective management of an unconscious diver."

 

[LiteHedded]

if the diver has spit the reg out and is unconscious, shoving it back into his mouth is just for show and a time waster.
that diver is having a really bad time and needs to surface ASAP

 

[Patoux01]

Probably a stupid question, but it has been bothering me a lot: What about deco then?

I also think some studies have said that if someone is unconscious, he'll start breathing again within 2-3 minutes (don't have the exact time), any info on that?

 

[LiteHedded]

Probably a stupid question, but it has been bothering me a lot: What about deco then?

I also think some studies have said that if someone is unconscious, he'll start breathing again within 2-3 minutes (don't have the exact time), any info on that?

that's where it gets dicey. on 90% of dives straight up is where you should go. surfaced and bent is better than underwater and dead
if you're taking on a big gas burden and you have arranged habitats in a cave scenario, that's where i'd take him

 

[PfcAJ]

Probably a stupid question, but it has been bothering me a lot: What about deco then?

I also think some studies have said that if someone is unconscious, he'll start breathing again within 2-3 minutes (don't have the exact time), any info on that?

Tech diving is risky.

If there's a deco obligation you risk either a fatality or a DCS case. I know which one I'd pick.

depending on the site and conditions, you might be able to go back down and complete your decompression. Or you might be able to hand off your buddy to a support diver.

its a sticky situation and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.

even if respirations start, the diver likely has water in their mouth and will aspirate it. That's why surface is the only real option.

 

[TSandM]

If someone is unresponsive because they have seized, yes, they will start breathing again shortly. But if they are unconscious and not breathing from some other cause (carbon monoxide, cardiac arrest) they will not. A person who is unresponsive and has their regulator out of their mouth at depth is likely dead, but if they have any chance of survival, the key is to get them to the surface, where CPR and other medical aid is available. How much risk you are personally willing to take on to do that is an individual decision. And this is one of the horrors of technical/cave diving that nobody talks very much about.

Several years ago, there was a dual fatality in a lake in California. I remember reading the account of it -- four divers went there, a recreational team and a well trained and experienced technical team. The tech team planned a deep dive with mandatory decompression. At about 140 feet, they encountered one of the divers from the recreational team, who conveyed to them that he had dropped his camera. They didn't have it, and he swum off. Shortly, he returned to them, out of gas and panicky. An air-share was initiated successfully, but the diver did not calm. When the tech team hit their gas switch depth, the donor decided that the OOG diver was not going to be able to maintain his equilibrium through their deco schedule, so he signaled his buddy that he was going to take the guy to the surface, which he did. He watched him start up the beach, and then returned to 20 feet to do his omitted deco. The OOG diver collapsed on the beach and died. The buddy, who was left at the 70 foot stop, never surfaced, and was found the following day. His cause of death is unknown, as far as I know.

Technical diving can present some problems for which there ARE no good solutions. That's why it's considered high risk.

 

[kr2y5]

I just asked a GUE Instructor to verify if something had changed or not as I was taught unconscious diver recovery in Fundies, Cave 1 and Cave 2. It is still being taught in Fundies at the tech pass level (and, of course, at C 1/2 as well as T 1/2).

I also went and looked in the standards and they have not changed:

GUE Fundamentals | Global Underwater Explorers

Look in the requirements for tech pass:

"Demonstrate diver rescue techniques, including effective management of an unconscious diver."

In our class, it was listed as an "optional" skill that we were going to go over only if it turns out there is time for it at the end (there was not). My understanding is that it is actually not required, or at least the decision is left at instructor's discretion.

 

[LiteHedded]

In our class, it was listed as an "optional" skill that we were going to go over only if it turns out there is time for it at the end (there was not). My understanding is that it is actually not required, or at least the decision is left at instructor's discretion.

it's required for a tech pass. if your class had no time for that skill there were likely more important issues that needed attention