Weird experience today - ox tox warning

[d33ps1x]

Sound advice.

 

[BubbaFetta]

Thanks to those of you who did not respond in a condescending manner.

Well, I hope I'm one of them

Still, I can't see oxygen toxicity with this scenario, but it got my attention.

Your descriptions of your symptoms / experience are consistent with CONVENTID.

CONvulsion,
Visual artifacts / disturbances / changes
Euphoria
Ears (ringing / high-pitched noises. See Bret Gilliam's "Wah Wah")
Nausea & headaches
Twitching (especially of the facial muscles or the lip)
Irritability
Dizziness

Tingline in lips, nausea, a brief sound in my head (I may have been mildly narced, I thought I heard my name called, and then a breif high pitched noise).

... those that dive aggressive profiles will appreciate that I can talk about it.

I will have to disagree with you that your dive profile is "aggressive."
At best, it is misguided and irresponsible.

Remember that convulsions (the CON in CONVENTID) may hit without warning, or having any of the other symptoms (VENTID) appearing first.

Dive safe, dude.


-BubbaFetta

 

[Scubaholic]

ha ha, ok guys, this is what I meant with the "attitude" that I copped. Defining a good or great diver cannot be done in a vacuum. Some of the best divers are those that actually, gasp, dive....regularly. No, not that ones that claim that they have 2000 dives (many of which are included in their pool sessions). I have dove in just about every conceivable situation. Cave, wreck, penetration, big fish hunting, low vis, no vis, shallow, deep, deco, etc. Bottom line, you would like me as your "buddy", because I would not poop my britches if I had to save your butt.

I have not had ox tox symptoms before. I have hundreds of dives of fairly aggressive profiles, although my computer has never maxed out my 02 before. As far as not knowing whether DAN would look at my profiles, that is because I don't call DAN every time I sprain my index finger practicing the "OK" sign.

 

[Scubaholic]

Well, I hope I'm one of them



Your descriptions of your symptoms / experience are consistent with CONVENTID.

CONvulsion,
Visual artifacts / disturbances / changes
Euphoria
Ears (ringing / high-pitched noises. See Bret Gilliam's "Wah Wah") Nausea & headaches
Twitching (especially of the facial muscles or the lip)
Irritability
Dizziness





I will have to disagree with you that your dive profile is "aggressive."
At best, it is misguided and irresponsible.

Remember that convulsions (the CON in CONVENTID) may hit without warning, or having any of the other symptoms (VENTID) appearing first.

Dive safe, dude.


-BubbaFetta

Good reply. Thanks.

I tend to be a Type A personality, always pushing, although I definitely do not dive just for the sake of thrills, or to attempt an X-gamer adrenaline high. I think I am a good technical diver. I understand the phsiology of diving, and respect it. But, I also push is a little.

 

[DEEPLOU]

Carefull!

Perhaps you can explain to us why so many rec/tech divers who CNS O2 Tox at depth die, and so few commercial divers die (almost none) from O2 tox?

Can you supply the location of the data that supports this statement? I have tried to research accidents and deaths that have been attributed to O2 tox but have been unable.

Perhaps I am not going about the research properly.

BTW: agreed planning on 130 w/ 32% is much to much. I feel I am pushing it w/ 30% (1.48 ppo2), but I also find that with a wreck thats in 130 ft, the actual profile of the dive is about 125 or 126, but I usually plan on 28%.

 

[Scubaroo]

Still, I can't see oxygen toxicity with this scenario, but it got my attention.

To look at the facts:

Dive 1: PPO2 1.67, 139'
45 min surface interval
Dive 2: PPO2 1.56, 128'

You exceeded the recommended safe working PPO2 of 1.4 on both dives. 1.6 is considered by many the limit for being at rest - eg at a deco stop, not swimming around. You simply pushed the boundaries of your body, and came very close to an OxTox hit. As pipedope pointed out, oxygen toxicity is not an exact science, and your body's reactions can vary one day to the next.

Got to say that these are very aggressive profiles, even if they were bounce dives - deep NDL dives with less than an hour's surface interval.

 

[captain]

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

Captain

 

[pipedope]

Can you supply the location of the data that supports this statement? I have tried to research accidents and deaths that have been attributed to O2 tox but have been unable.

It is very hard to get hard numbers because reporting of scuba accidents is not required.

Here is the problem.

Technical divers who get into CNS O2 Tox usually also have a significant decompression obligation at the time. This means that they cannot be taken quickly to the surface. While a diver is convulsing their airway is usually closed so you must keep them at constant depth until the convulsion is over. Then you need to recover their second stage and hold it against their mouth so that you are ready to give them air when they start to breathe again. Then you have to keep them under control while they start to figure out where they are and what is going on. Then you need to get them out, up, through Deco, to the surface and to additional medical care.

A commercial diver in a FFM or helmet with a com link has several advantages.
First, the surface will know of the problem through the com link. Second, they will have no chance of drowning because their face is always in air or proper breathing gas. Third, the breathing gas can be changed from the surface. Forth, the standby diver can come down and help the diver up and out. Fifth, there are multiple options for deco as there is nearly unlimited gas available from the surface and there is also a chamber on site ready to use if needed.

Even still we take great precautions to prevent O2 tox problems.

Convulsions are a symptom of a brain injury and besides that, they are not fun at all.

 

[diverbrian]

I must be slipping...

I just noticed this post. To those that claim that they are simply diving "aggresive profiles" (which I can be guilty of myself, unfortunately), I am going to post a link that I saw about a year ago. I remembered who wrote and did a search for it. I do refer to this myself though when I get tempted to get aggressive like you are talking about here.

http://www.palmerenterprises.net/BeyondMachismo1.html

Remember the saying that pilots have about pilots that push limits. It applies to scuba as well and is good for all of us to remember.

I am glad that you came back. Please reconsider your profiles to prevent us from reading about you in these forums as a fatality.

For purposes of this board, I have moved linked this to a more family friendly version on my website. I have the orginal source if someone wants to PM me. This is off the AquaCorps website.

 

[Diver0001]

<snip>
I would advise that your beloved instructor is likely not qualified to carry my lunch bag for me on a dive trip. <snip>

Jeeesh..... Surely you didn't make that post thinking we'd all be impressed at how macho you are did you?

We don't think you're macho.

We think you're risking your life for no good reason and some of us who were perhaps most pointed were also most concerned about your safety.

I fear the worst for you.

R..