Incident report

[The Iceni]

Kev Martin once bubbled...
I still stick with my statement that it is easier to treat whatever ails the casualty on the surface than it is wasting time and subsequently bringing up a deceased diver.

Amen to that.

That's two examples that seem to prove that not farting about underwater is the right think to do.

In my opinion it seems extremely dangerous to attempt to do anything other than to lift the victim (or get him to the surface somehow). I am all for high standards but to suggest that the bog standard dive leader/master is capable of clearing the casualty's mask or much esle at all in a genuine emergency situation seems extraordinary.

Did it matter whether the victim was "unconscious" or not? He had lost control and needed lifting.

Well done Wetvet! He owes you one.

 

[ebbdiver]

I'm new to diving, so can't comment on that aspect, but I do know about the cold. This sounds a lot like hypothermia. I'm wondering if the student had a problem feeling too cold earlier and didn't speak up. In hypothermia, a person can become dazed and lethargic like you stated. Also, since everything in the body slows way down (heartbeat, metabolism), he may not have felt a need to breath. Often when someone hypothermic is under water, they get a sense of calm and don't struggle when they begin to breath water. Something to ponder.

 

[jbd]

if the mask is partially flooded on an unconscious diver you simply remove the mask. There is no effective way to clear someone elses mask that I am aware off. There is very little time involved with this. I would agree with you and Dr. Paul that when conducting a rescue you can not waste time on trivial tasks. The mask check,removal if needed can be done as you are getting a hold of the victim and starting up.

ebbdiver has an interesting perspective to consider in this particular case.

BTW, kudos on your rescue.

 

[The Iceni]

ebbdiver once bubbled...
. . . This sounds a lot like hypothermia. I'm wondering if the student had a problem feeling too cold earlier and didn't speak up. In hypothermia, a person can become dazed and lethargic like you stated. Also, since everything in the body slows way down (heartbeat, metabolism), he may not have felt a need to breath. Often when someone hypothermic is under water, they get a sense of calm and don't struggle when they begin to breath water. Something to ponder.

Hi ebbdiver,

I agree with the symptoms of hypothermia you describe. I have far more experience on land-based hypotermia than that experienced in scuba. Certainly the victim loses all sense of the imminent danger he is in and even becomes euphoric, before he settles down to take that last sleep on a rainy windswept hill in winter. However, in this scenario, it is slow and insidious but I see no reason why it should not be quite rapid in a diver if he is not adequately protected from the cold.

The adage goes, "Put a diver underwater and he leaves his brain on the surface." I suspect there is more to this incident than hypothermia and/or narcosis.

We all learn for these incidents so I welcome their publication. It is really surprising just how often a buddy pair may have experienced some sort of minor problem that is not admitted least of all analysed.