New York tourist dies in Cozumel

[Chris12day]

"Symptoms of mild acute poisoning include lightheadedness, confusion, headaches, vertigo, and flu-like effects; larger exposures can lead to significant toxicity of the central nervous system and heart, and even death. Following acute poisoning, long-term sequelae often occur... Chronic exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide can lead to depression, confusion, and memory loss. Carbon monoxide mainly causes adverse effects in humans by combining with hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) in the blood. This prevents oxygen binding to hemoglobin, reducing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, leading to hypoxia."

Carbon monoxide poisoning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Dave Dillehay]

According to a well placed member of the Cozumel Medical establishment, Mr. Fox was a ex pat who lived in the Corpus Christi area. According to the same source he had an existing heart condition and had been warned not to dive. The cause of death was heart attack, simple as that.


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[Chris12day]

There was a death of a cave diver recently in Cozumel from CO poisoning and it was found they have no CO monitor on the island. When I asked at Scuba Club about CO they did not seem to aware this could even be a problem.

Adam

I believe you are overstating the facts. There may be no goverment body who measures and asseses the quality of compressed air in Cozumel, but I would be surprised through DandyDon's efforts, some private carbon monoxide monitoring does occur on the island at various dive shops.

 

[Ayisha]

Do you mean carbon monoxide (CO)? CO2 (Carbon Dioxide is not a poisoning, but lack of O2 (oxygen). Carbon Monoxide (CO) binds to the hemoglobin preventing available oxygen from entrering.

Unless it was a large number of people, why suspect carbon monoxide poisoning? If a house has a problem in the heating system, the whole family gets sick, not a single person. If tanks are filled with carbon monoxide, many people would have had problems.

Cozumel/Mexico has had several suspected and three confirmed cases of CO poisoning in the last several years. The three confirmed ones resulted in deaths, all in caves.

One tank can have a higher concentration of CO than others from the same compressor, actually. There is quite a bit of info on SB about how that happens...

 

[Jax]

According to a well placed member of the Cozumel Medical establishment, Mr. Fox was a ex pat who lived in the Corpus Christi area. According to the same source he had an existing heart condition and had been warned not to dive. The cause of death was heart attack, simple as that.


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

Thanks, Dave. If true, then he made an informed choice and accepted the risk.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Cozumel/Mexico has had several suspected and three confirmed cases of CO poisoning in the last several years.

Well, which is it? There's a big difference between Cozumel and the entire country... and knowing which you mean would, I think, make a big difference to anybody evaluating their risk.

 

[Tigerman]

I suspect its cozumel/pdc/cancun area..

 

[Jax]

Well, which is it? There's a big difference between Cozumel and the entire country... and knowing which you mean would, I think, make a big difference to anybody evaluating their risk.

A cave diver died from CO just a few weeks ago, in a Coz cave.

 

[Bob DBF]

Do you mean carbon monoxide (CO)? CO2 (Carbon Dioxide is not a poisoning, but lack of O2 (oxygen). Carbon Monoxide (CO) binds to the hemoglobin preventing available oxygen from entrering.

A high CO2 level can also poison you with 21% O2 level.

[h=2]"Basic Information about Concentrations of CO₂ in Air[/h]

• 1,000,000 ppm of a gas = 100 % concentration of the gas, and 10,000 ppm of a gas in air = a 1% concentration. At 1% concentration of carbon dioxide CO₂ (10,000 parts per million or ppm) and under continuous exposure at that level, such as in an auditorium filled with occupants and poor fresh air ventilation, some occupants are likely to feel drowsy. The concentration of carbon dioxide must be over about 2% (20,000 ppm) before most people are aware of its presence unless the odor of an associated material (auto exhaust or fermenting yeast, for instance) is present at lower concentrations. Above 2%, carbon dioxide may cause a feeling of heaviness in the chest and/or more frequent and deeper respirations. If exposure continues at that level for several hours, minimal "acidosis" (an acid condition of the blood) may occur but more frequently is absent. Breathing rate doubles at 3% CO₂ and is four times the normal rate at 5% CO₂.
• Toxic levels of carbon dioxide: at levels above 5%, concentration CO₂ is directly toxic. [At lower levels we may be seeing effects of a reduction in the relative amount of oxygen rather than direct toxicity of CO₂.]

Symptoms of high or prolonged exposure to carbon dioxide include headache, increased heart rate, dizziness, fatigue, rapid breathing, visual and hearing dysfunctions. Exposure to higher levels may cause unconsciousness or death within minutes of exposure."


It kills you because you cannot offgas the CO2 to atmosphere and allow you to absorb the O2 for your body to use.



Bob
-------------------------------------------
Submariner

 

[Hatul]

I believe you are overstating the facts. There may be no goverment body who measures and asseses the quality of compressed air in Cozumel, but I would be surprised through DandyDon's efforts, some private carbon monoxide monitoring does occur on the island at various dive shops.

My information about a lack of analyzer comes from the cave diver CO death thread of a month ago:

...the autopsy report revealed elevated carboxyhemoglobin levels. An attempt was made to analyze the contaminated tank, but a CO analyzer was unable to be located on the island.

I believe Aldora now has an analyzer, but at SCC when I was there 2 weeks ago they were not even aware of the problem. In the past I dove with a much smaller dive operator who had a CO analyzer for the divers to use.

Adam