Does nitrox make you feel good?

[Charlie59]

Undersea Hyperb Med. 2003 Winter;30(4):285-91.

 

[jeckyll]

I used to get VERY tired after two or three dives. I switched to Nitrox about six months ago, and now I'm with you -- I'm no more tired after diving than after anything else I do.

On the other hand, I had a night dive where we did a whole bunch of ascent drills (probably too many) and I almost fell asleep at the wheel driving home. The fatigue was really striking.

I'm in the camp that post-dive fatigue is subclinical DCS, myself.

Why do you think that the extra drills caused to you to feel that way? I'm assuming they were all slow & controlled?

 

[HowardE]

I have nitrox tanks with no stickers on em.

 

[Charlie59]

What study would change your nitrox habits?

 

[Wayward Son]

If you dive nitrox on air tables, you will have less nitrogen saturation for identical dives. So there is one possible reason to expect some benefit in how you feel.

But if you dive on nitrox tables, & dive to your max NDL limits, compared to making the same dive on air but also to max NDL limits, while you get more BT, you also end up with the same nitrogen saturation at the end of the dives.

So, would you expect to then feel any different?

 

[HowardE]

Me - none.

I dive nitrox on almost every dive. I only pay 7¢ / cu ft of gas. Approx $3-5 for a "normal" fill.

 

[fisherdvm]

Undersea Hyperb Med. 2003 Winter;30(4):285-91.

Can you summarize the study, sample size, and findings? I can't find it on pubmed medline

 

[Charlie59]

www.scubadiving.com/article4545

 

[HowardE]

Less fatigue. "Those long and tiring drives returning from a day of diving are over!" enthuses one dive shop's web site on the benefits of diving on nitrox. Is it really the "feel good" gas? The theory here is that the work of offgassing nitrogen is a major cause of diving fatigue, so less of it should leave you less tired. Many nitrox divers swear it's true, but Bennett cites a blinded study that proved otherwise. Using unmarked tanks, one group of divers was given nitrox, another was given air, and both were asked later how they felt. "There was no difference," says Bennett. "It's a placebo effect."

this is not a scientific study. It would theoretically be impossible to conduct a purely scientific study, since you would in reality have to see how it effects EACH person, at the same time. One would have to dive nitrox and air on the same dive, given the same physical condition at the time. Measure fatigue before, etc... there's just too many factors.

A double blind study doesn't take into account how the people feel before they dive...

This article from SCUBADIVING magazine was discussed in length when it came out.

 

[Charlie59]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrox#_note-0