matt_unique:
Obviously the consequence to a tox hit or blackout while diving is drowning. How do you know there is a "very good chance" the diver will recover? Do you have information on numerous examples of a full tox hit or blackout where the diver was good to go after a buddy rescue?
I would be pleased if this were the case and it would change my thinking a bit. The reality is, from my understanding of anecdotal stories, that you're a gonner if it happens and there is nothing a buddy can do. An earlier poster asked to see evidence of two cases and we have not collectively produced it. I'm not talking about a buddy getting woozy after a few hits off high 02 and a buddy intervenes to correct the gas switch - this thread was about a full blackout and the chances of recovery with or without a buddy.
--Matt
Well, if you understand the consequence of a TOX hit or blackout is most likely drowning then you understand the recoverability of it then. We have near drownings all the time. Also if you read your rescue diver manual or your nitrox manual it will tell you exactly what I said about recovery. I also searched diving sites around the web for information and they all said the same thing. That if they are brought to the surface that they have a good chance at recovery.
You have to look at the situation for what it is, not what you think you see. A TOXing diver doesn't have to recover from a TOX hit because that is not what kills them. The drowning is what kills them.. People are rescued from drowning all the time, but if nobody is there to act on your rescue then you will not survive.
Your chances of recovering from a drowning caused by a TOX hit or blackout are the same as your chances of recovering from a drowning because you hit your head on a rock underwater or blacked out due to any other reason that can cause people to drown. Obviously there are things such as stroke and heart attacks that might cause a drowning and not be recoverable from often.
Here are some stats from a couple of medical pages.
6000-8000 drownings in the U.S. each year
15,000-70,000 near drownings in the U.S. each year.
That translates to a 71-89% survival rate for any drowning victim.
Now, since you don't die from the TOX hit or the blackout (meaning you don't have to recover from the hit) you die from the drowning (this is the only thing you have to recover from) that 71-89% chance of living if somebody is there to rescue me seems like a "very good chance" to me.