Emergency Oxygen Kits

[MuddyFox]

My dive club is currently looking to purchase Emergency O2 Kits for our boats. We are considering purchasing the kits found in the back of Diver Alert Magazine as our boat rides are less than 30 minutes. I have been tasked with researching them.

My questions are as follows:

1. What licenses/certs do you need to have to administer oxygen? My rescue diver book says that a Rescue Diver can administer oxygen from nonresuscitator demand valve and continuous flow units. Does the person administering oxygen have to be Rescue cert'd?

2. For obvious reasons the cylinders are shipped empty. What is the procedure for and where does one get their oxygen cylinder filled? What is the shelf life of a fill?

3. As sad as this may seem, the club has asked that I research the costs in owning and maintaining the oxygen kits. So, regretfully I ask what does it cost to fill them, and what are the maintenance costs and procedures for these units.

4. Any additional information you could give would be appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[chrispete]

Recently went through the DAN O2 class, I can catch a couple of the questions and speculate on the others

1) We were told in the DAN course that there were no prerequisites to holding the O2 cert - but it only covers operation of the unit and the administration of O2 through non-demand masks. They stressed however, that taking seperate first aid and CPR courses would prove to be invaluable and were not replaced by simply taking the O2 course.

2) Here in Texas, we were told that there were a couple of options: The first would be to go to a medical supply house, show your O2 cert, explain what the O2 will be used for, and they will usually allow a fill of the cylinder. The other option would be to go to a local airport and get a fill of aviator's grade O2.

3) The cylinders have to be hydro'd just like all other cylinders, but I'm not sure about other maintenance.

4) Only let O2 certified people operate the unit, and only for the uses that they are certified to use it for - according to the "good samaritan" laws (here in the US), if you attempt to perform any medical procedure or first aid that exceeds your training, you can (and unfortunately usually will) be held responsible for any problems that arise (i.e. you can get sued out of existence.) One of the people in my O2 class had been previously certified (I assume at least) and related a story about how he and a friend came across a serious wreck on the way back from diving before the authorities or paramedics had arrived. One of the drivers in the wreck was obviously suffering from severe injuries and was clearly near death, so they pulled out their DAN O2 kit and began to administer O2. While commendable, can you imagine the lawsuits that would have flown had that person died in their care with them not being properly certified in the use of O2 on dry land as their training only included diving-based accidents, not something of this nature? All the wife of the guy would have to say is, "Well, they didn't know how to administer the O2 [they have no certification] - for all we know they smothered him and he might have lived." It's sad that because of lawsuits people can't help each other anymore.

 

[SubMariner]

He's basically covered all the important info.

Other points:

1) some States require an actual prescription to get Medical grade fills from a medical supply house. Aviator grade is what most scuba places have if they do partial pressure gas blending; no prescription required.

2) Current hydro cert IS required or you can't get your cylinder filled. VIP doesn't seem to be an issue here in Georgia. Shelf life of a fill is basically the same as any cylinder. The last fill I got from a local dive shop cost me about approx $12 for the 8.7 cu ft bottle. This was at the end of last month.

3) For costs on a complete O2 setup, check DAN: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/. You may be able to find a used one through Ebay or by advertising for one on some of the scuba msg boards (like this one).

Hope this helps,

~SubMariner~

 

[MuddyFox]

So was the PADI rescue diver book correct in saying a rescue diver is qualified to administer oxygen from the nonres and continuous flow units? Or do you have to have a certification for even that?

 

[SubMariner]

The Rescue Diver course doesn't "qualitfy" anyone to administer O2. In fact you really don't need any sort of "certification" to use an O2 kit.

HOWEVER the O2 courses offered through DAN/PADI teach people how to properly/effectively use the O2 units. For example, the demand ventilator system is best used on conscious patients, while the non-rebreather mask (constant flow) is advised for unconscious people or those who are not comfortable using the heavier demand mask.

BTW, the aforementioned courses are first aid, not diver, oriented.

~SubMariner~

 

[JSheward]

The Rescue Diver course doesn't "qualitfy" anyone to administer O2. In fact you really don't need any sort of "certification" to use an O2 kit.

HOWEVER the O2 courses offered through DAN/PADI teach people how to properly/effectively use the O2 units. For example, the demand ventilator system is best used on conscious patients, while the non-rebreather mask (constant flow) is advised for unconscious people or those who are not comfortable using the heavier demand mask.

BTW, the aforementioned courses are first aid, not diver, oriented.

~SubMariner~

I know this is well past the last reply to this topic; but I have come across this topic after a search; and some of the information is now outdated.

Please be aware that nowadays, oxygen administration is illegal in some countries unless you hold a certification of training in this area. Some countries allow administration during BLS but not First Aid. In a diving malardy resulting in DCI, the patient may not be in a life threatening situation, therefore BLS is not necessary; however, Oxygen administration will help to wash-out the nitrogen and improve the effectiveness of recompression treatment. In this situation, you would not be able to legally administer Oxygen in some countries (E.g. UK), unless certified to do so.

All proceedures in the Rescue Diver course and EFR course (as well as other BLS courses) are still subject to local law; consult local guidelines for more info. In the UK; this is: https://www.resus.org.uk/

 

[blanik]

- according to the "good samaritan" laws (here in the US), if you attempt to perform any medical procedure or first aid that exceeds your training, you can (and unfortunately usually will) be held responsible for any problems that arise (i.e. you can get sued out of existence.) One of the people in my O2 class had been previously certified (I assume at least) and related a story about how he and a friend came across a serious wreck on the way back from diving before the authorities or paramedics had arrived. One of the drivers in the wreck was obviously suffering from severe injuries and was clearly near death, so they pulled out their DAN O2 kit and began to administer O2. While commendable, can you imagine the lawsuits that would have flown had that person died in their care with them not being properly certified in the use of O2 on dry land as their training only included diving-based accidents, not something of this nature? All the wife of the guy would have to say is, "Well, they didn't know how to administer the O2 [they have no certification] - for all we know they smothered him and he might have lived." It's sad that because of lawsuits people can't help each other anymore.

actually this is all wrong, the Good Samaritan Law WILL protect you against a law suit if what you did seemed reasonable at the moment, any untrained person doing something reasonable (putting 100% O2 on an injured person certainly is) can't be sued EVEN IF IT DID CAUSE THE DEATH OF THE INJURED PATIENT, the important thing is that the act has to be reasonable and done in good faith, it could go to the point of cutting a limb with your dive knife of someone stuck in a burning wreck to save the person. On the other hand, if you are trained in a medical field and you don't intervene to help someone then you can be held accountable in court (unless your safety was at risk of course, helping someone could be as simple as dialling 911 in some cases)