What should be done with unconcious diver at depth?

[rjack321]

Not to hijack the thread (too late!) but I remember during my TDI course being taught that if you had incurred a deco obligation and you had an unconscious diver at depth, you only took them up as shallow as you could personally go and then you shoot them the rest of the way. I remember thinking that sounded like bad advice - surely it would be better to take them all the way up and then return back down alone to complete your deco without lingering at the surface (small risk to you vs big risk to them). The Tec instructors on the board can correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure that's what I recollect being taught.

Only if you want them to survive.

You need to do a controlled ascent, keeping the airway open and the reg in the mouth to prevent water ingress. Purging lightly is a good way to help with this.

They may actually regain conciousness on ascent but will be disoriented and may gag, etc. If they don't, you can hand the unconcious diver off to a support diver. If its so risky for you to go to the surface and hand them off to the boat crew, then redescend for deco (if any)) you probably should consider support divers.

 

[RonFrank]

Rescue teaches a number of things. If the diver is NOT conscious at depth, then even if you screw up, they are deader if you do nothing so to speak!

You try and get their attention, wake them up. You then put the reg in their mouth if it is not already there. You try and keep the airway open, but they may have already ingested water. You grab their tank valve, and do a reasonable ascent.

You will have to manage both their buoyancy, and your own. So you go slow, and try not to let the ascent get out of control. You need to have their inflator in reach or in hand to dump air, and you need to dump your own air.

Remember that YOUR safety comes first. They may already be dead, but two dead divers is 2X worst then one, so you do NOT put yourself in huge danger to rescue what maybe a corpse.

Once on the surface, there are several things one must factor, like are you boat diving, shore diving, how far are you from medical help, etc. Basically you do rescue breathing until the diver is on the boat/land/etc., and you get someone to contact emergency response the second you can.

This would be a very bad situation, and the likely hood of saving the diver is low. Remember during a rescue, your first priority is to keep yourself safe.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I do agree that this does not need to be in the advanced discussion. We (SEI) teach this skill to open water divers in pool session 6 or 7. We also do rescue tow with rescue breaths and gear removal, paniced diver at surface, and 2 other rescue/tired diver tows in OW class. So to say it's not taught til rescue is not entirely correct. It depends on the agency and instructor.

 

[bluebubble1995]

I disagree that this discussion should be hidden in another forum. I also strongly disagree with everyone who chose to not answer the OPs question and just said "take the rescue course". This attitude of elitism benefits no one. Get off your high horses people and provide some of this secret society information that can benefit everyone. It just might be your ass that need saved.

 

[Diver0001]

I have already signed up for my Rescue class, it will be in early April. The reason I posted this thread was to get an idea of what I should do, if an emergency were to happen.

I am really surprised more people do not ask this question. Also I am disappointed that this thread was moved from 'accidents and incidents', this emergency could affect anyone.

Yes it could. I moved it to a forum where the chances of it being seen are better...

R..

 

[Blackwood]

FWIW, when I suggested this thread doesn't belong in Advanced, I didn't realize that it had come from Accidents/Incidents (which I think is for specific incidents, not hypothetical ones). Rather, I assumed it came from Basic (where I maintain it belongs).


In any case, I think that those who are suggesting that the OP take a rescue class aren't trying to hide or conceal information. Rather, they're pointing to a better venue to learn such a skill. Some things are hard to describe in text, and are better demonstrated. Rescuing an unresponsive diver is one of those things.

Given the internet, a video is a good place to start. Here's one, but without the accompanying voice-over it's not of complete use.

YouTube - toxing diver rescue

 

[Divingguy]

The question you are asking is a good one. However, it should be addressed to YOUR INSTRUCTOR for your upcoming rescue class, who can discuss with you both the SKILL and LIABILITY aspects of a multi-step procedure which requires evaluation of and response to more variables than can possibly be addressed in a "post". I would be VERY concerned about putting a supposed "how to" type answer in a "post", and then have someone not properly trained who reads the post think they were properly or sufficiently trained to do one, and blame a poster when it ended badly for the rescuer or the victim. When doing OW water courses for NAUI, we definitely teach a BASIC rescue, in both confined and open water. However, we also teach that doing a rescue entails risk, and liability, and is best left to someone properly trained to and under a legal duty to effect it.

 

[bluebubble1995]

The question you are asking is a good one. However, it should be addressed to YOUR INSTRUCTOR for your upcoming rescue class, who can discuss with you both the SKILL and LIABILITY aspects of a multi-step procedure which requires evaluation of and response to more variables than can possibly be addressed in a "post". I would be VERY concerned about putting a supposed "how to" type answer in a "post", and then have someone not properly trained who reads the post think they were properly or sufficiently trained to do one, and blame a poster when it ended badly for the rescuer or the victim. When doing OW water courses for NAUI, we definitely teach a BASIC rescue, in both confined and open water. However, we also teach that doing a rescue entails risk, and liability, and is best left to someone properly trained to and under a legal duty to effect it.

So I can cross my arms and declare I'm not qualified to help? There is no limit to the amount of text that can be in a post. I thought this forum was a resource to educate divers? Is it really just a hangout for elitist master divers?

 

[merxlin]

So I can cross my arms and declare I'm not qualified to help? There is no limit to the amount of text that can be in a post. I thought this forum was a resource to educate divers? Is it really just a hangout for elitist master divers?

I think you missed the point. The idea to take a rescue class is spot on. Without getting into the various agencies and the training standards, it is invaluable as both a buddy rescue and self rescue tool.

It is also almost impossible to be "qualified" based on reading a post. Will you have more knowledge than someone who did not read the information? Of course. But do you know what it feels like when you inflate someones BC, start them up, then have the buoyancy change in both your and their BC? Do you know how to respond? You may know how you are supposed to respond but until you try it, you may not be able to execute it.

So in order to answer the question, here are some for you: What will your reaction be upon finding such a diver? What do you think will happen to your SAC rate while you are doing so? Will you remember to check your gages and make sure you have enough gas to do a controlled ascent? How do you manage your BC and theirs? What if they are OOA and you can't inflate their BC? What do you do with them once you get them up to the surface? If and when do you drop their weights? Do you know how to do a rescue tow? How far from help are you? Can you perform rescue breaths once you get them to the surface? Do you need to remove their gear? What will you do if they regain consciousness on the way up and panic?

Granted, if you find an unconscious diver they will be better on the surface than underwater. But getting them their is just one aspect of what needs to be done. So the short answer is " use a controlled and safe ascent". Shooting them to the surface will probably do more harm than good. The best answer is learn how to do that safely for both you and them. There's nothing elitist about that. You are better off crossing your arms and doing nothing than doing more harm to you and/or the other diver.

 

[Divingguy]

So I can cross my arms and declare I'm not qualified to help?
Well, since you have NO signature line, NO number of dives, and NO certification level, I have NO idea whether you personally are qualified to help or not. If you are NOT, you under NO legal duty to do so, and should not undertake something for which you are not qualified.

There is no limit to the amount of text that can be in a post.
The internet is NOT always the best place or best way to learn something as complicated as whether or how to effect a rescue of an unconscious diver at depth. How about instead of FLAMING someone who took the time to post what was intended as a thoughtful response, you go run a net search and see how many websites you can find which purport to teach a rescue class ONLINE, for FREE. Good luck with that.

I thought this forum was a resource to educate divers?
It is, and sometimes the edcuation is that something is more complicated than be explained in a post.

Is it really just a hangout for elitist master divers?
That is just insulting. The only thing I am interested in hearing is whether the OP now understands why his question is so difficult to answer in a post.