Too fast an ascent vs holding breath??

[diver 85]

This question could/should be under under Accidents and Incidents, but i'll ask it here.......


After reading about the UA scuba student that died--very sad indeed-- about 2 days ago(see my post on this matter), I got to wondering, which is more critical from a death standpoint, ascending too fast or holding your breath from let's say 30 feet??...

Since I try not to do niether, I've never really in my mind ranked them....Which one goes 1st??......thanks.....

 

[Thalassamania]

Ascending too fast may get you a case of the bends, then again it likely will not ... field observations conducted on sports divers by researchers from UCLA back in the 1980s indicated that divers were often ascending at 120 and even 180 feet per minute without incident. Holding your breath from 4 feet of depth or more to the surface is likely to result in an embolism that may kill you rather quickly.

 

[TheTrickster]

I would say holding your breath, as this one is the first one to kill you, you will most likey die on breaking the surface, as your lungs contain 2x air, as then can hold, causing ruptures in the alveoli and other lung tissues.

Ascending too fast, that would depend on the bottom time, as you might survive a quick ascent if you only been at 30ft for a few mins...

Someone here died recently in 5meters of water, while cleaning the underside of a boat, paniced, ripped off fullface mask and bolted for the sun and seaguls.

 

[do it easy]

If I had to choose, I would rather ascend too quickly than hold my breath. An embolism usually has a much faster onset than DCS. Usually, the symptoms of embolism are immediate upon surfacing, while DCS could take several hours for symptoms to manifest. If I had to choose, I would rather buy some time.

Of course, in a perfect world, I would ascend safely and breathe continuously.

 

[fisherdvm]

An argument between myself and my sister and her hubby about this.

My nephew was low on air, his 4th dive of the day on nitrox - and likely getting close to the limit of his NDL.

He wanted to shoot to the surface, but they grabbed him and made him do a safety stop until he was down to 100 psi.

I thought that it was wrong... As his risk of being hurt by a lung emboli would be high if his gauge is reading 100 or even 300 and actually might be zero. And he might panic at the surface (new diver) if he were out of air and there is heavy waves. Fortunately, both of my sister and her husband had plenty of air (close to 1000 psi). They should have shared with him rather then letting his tank go to 100 psi, in my opinion.

I would rather see a diver with a minor bends and 500 psi at the surface than one with zero psi and a safety stop.

With alot of divers getting C card with poor swimming skill, there is no better medicine at the surface than a regulator in the mouth.

 

[Thalassamania]

I would rather see a diver with a minor bends and 500 psi at the surface than one with zero psi and a safety stop.

I’ve often said that air on your back does not help you keep air out of your body. Sure I’d rather see a diver with even serious bends than one with AGE, but I fail to discern the equation that creates an absolute equivalence between a low tank and an AGE. While we should keep in mind that a safety stop is an embellishment and not a requirement and remember disciplined divers did just fine without them for years, waiting at 10 feet until your tank is dead empty and then making a 10 foot free ascent might be the best plan.

 

[diver 85]

Ascending too fast may get you a case of the bends, then again it likely will not ... field observations conducted on sports divers by researchers from UCLA back in the 1980s indicated that divers were often ascending at 120 and even 180 feet per minute without incident. Holding your breath from 4 feet of depth or more to the surface is likely to result in an embolism that may kill you rather quickly.

That's what I figured but in the (2nd) article about the Alabama student dying dated 4/19, someone stated he ascended too fast from 20 feet & that's what killed him.....I'm going to guess he held his breath from under 10 to 15 fee & (tried to)surfaced........thanks.......

 

[scratchmyback]

For reasons already mentioned, definitely holding your breath.

 

[String]

Holding breath from 30ft will most likely kill you. Ascending very rapidly from it is unlike to hurt you at all.

...and yes id rather see a diver complete a safety stop with just about zero air than have one skip it and surface with 50 bar.

Its a reserve for a reason, not to be part of the usual plan, its there in case of emergency. There is no sense rushing or cutting things short to get back on a boat and NOT using it what so ever.

Too much emphasis is placed on the "Back with 50 bar/500psi" without people thinking of the reasoning behind it.

 

[fisherdvm]

I’ve often said that air on your back does not help you keep air out of your body. Sure I’d rather see a diver with even serious bends than one with AGE, but I fail to discern the equation that creates an absolute equivalence between a low tank and an AGE. While we should keep in mind that a safety stop is an embellishment and not a requirement and remember disciplined divers did just fine without them for years, waiting at 10 feet until your tank is dead empty and then making a 10 foot free ascent might be the best plan.

I think for folks who still believes in CESA, that makes sense. But my nephew is newly certified, and I would question if he remembers what to do if he ran out of air. I had serious reservation about his diving at all, and how he got his C card in the first place.