A Rescue tip (Reminder) to those who freedive

I am not a freediver, but more of a scuba diver. However I am a healthcare professional who is certified in CPR and AED use. Now the thing I'd like to preach to those of you here, is the importance of the head tilt chin lift of the ''blacked out'' diver. If someone has gone unconscious, mouth to mouth may be necessary to help the victim breathe. If the head is not tilted back, the airway may not be open, and so air will not pass down the trachea (windpipe) into the lungs. I'm not going to get into any of the technical jargon, but know this- This reminder to those of you trained is not theory, is proven. Want me to prove it?
I knew you would!
Freediver blackout surface video - YouTube
In this youtube video, a freediver loses consciousness while under, and her buddy(s) dives down and brings her to the surface. Upon reaching the surface, the two rescuers are seen blowing on her face to try to induce breathing. At 52 seconds into the video, the diver in the blue hood attempts two rescue breaths, both unsuccessful. Take note of two things, A) He did not pinch her nose shut (air will escape the easiest route) and B) He did not tilt her head back, to ensure the airway was opened. As a result, the two breaths were innefective. At 1:01, you can see the diver on the bottom of the screen using his right hand to help tilt her head back as the other rescuer delivers the second unsuccessful breath. After that, the diver at the bottom of the screen takes control of the situation, preforms the head tilt, pinches the nose, and delivers an effective breath. Shortly after, she begins breathing on her own

It can be hard to remember the small details that make the biggest difference, just a gentle reminder

Thanks for posting.

Wow! Good vid of Bad practices. What does the blowing on the face accomplish?

I think (not 100%), But when someone has just fallen unconsious, the body is still trying to breathe, if you blow on the face you may further stimulate the breathing. Since that female diver was fairly deep (and using a shuttle, right?) her body had stopped trying to breathe either due to inhalation of water, or the mask being present, and disallowing inhalation through the nose. At that point, the stimulus would be innefective. If she had passed out at 15 feet or so, she would probably have not needed a rescue breath

In this video, Kyle was so shallow upon passing out, his buddy brought him to the surface before his body stopped trying to breathe, and upon removal of his mask, he resumed breathing on his own.
Kyle Hart's Freediving Blackout - YouTube
However these are my own assumptions, not fact. Purely based on observation

Your points on correct airway positioning are well taken, and in fact I use this video when teaching freediving classes as an example of incorrect rescue breaths. (as an aside, though, the freediver was breathing before the correct breaths were given)

Exposing the face to air, and stimulating it by blowing on the face, has the opposite of the Mammalian Diving Reflex. Almost all freediving blackouts resolve by getting the face out of the water and blowing on it. Also, the last sense to "go away" for the freediver during blackout is hearing; this is why you repeatdly hear them telling the CNF freediver in the video to "Breathe, breathe!".

Be careful in encouraging freedivers to always position the airway open. During underwater rescues of a freediver, the nose is pinched shut, the mouth held closed, and the chin dropped to the chest while the unconcious freediver is brought to the surface.


All the best, James

Thanks for posting the play-by-play so I didn't have to watch the video and possibly pass out at my desk.