12 boys lost in flooded Thai cave

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Given Ketamines often very negative effects on the human body (I'm only speculating here) there is a dosage that is referred to by junkies as "Key Holing" where you know you are alive but are unable to move, open your eyes or speak. If that was the dose given...what a pair of brilliant minds It must have taken to correctly give each boy dosage suitable for their body weight to take them to the edge of that state. The good docs were good..no..best..no..very best.

ETA - Ketamine seems to wear off quite quickly - not sure of the effect on humans but I've seen my colts gelded in the paddock after Ketamine and get up and stagger for a few minutes then be walking perfectly (if painfully) within ten minutes.

Based on the Tham Luang sump profile, the worst one was at the beginning. the rest were manageable. Once the boys went through the first sump, the rest would be like strolling downhills, so-to-speak.
 

"These caves are home to a surprising abundance of wildlife, from birds and bats to rats, which can carry microbes, including rabies, Marburg virus and obscure fungal pathogens. As you go deeper, caves become lost worlds of venomous spiders, millipedes and scorpions. The ticks that feed on them carry “cave fever”, a rare disease that is also sometimes caught in abandoned buildings."

How cow! The boys & divers aren't out of the woods yet! :eek:
 
team from go to mission accomplished they used Ketamine. Dr Craig Challon being a vet and ketamine being used mostly for vetinary work I'd say is purely coincidental...I'm sure there was a reason it was chosen.

Unlike most other anesthetics ketamine does not suppress breathing that much. That is why it's is a common choice when sedation is required without advanced monitoring (and possibility to assist ventilation). It is still used in some field applications in extreme or primitive conditions. Probably these same qualities make it very useful in veterinary work...
 
Thank you @taiman for a much better informed answer as to ketamine s rather than my observations gleaned from watching junkies and horses being gelded.
 
Ketamine is very commonly used in emergency medicine for pain control, sedation and amnestic effects. Ketamine is dosed by the patient's weight and will produce varying effects, depending on the dose given. It's used very often in pediatrics for procedural sedation, to sedate the patient enough to allow for painful or uncomfortable medical treatment while still allowing the patient to maintain their own airway, speak, etc. It's also used in prehospital (EMS) medicine for pain control and sedation as well. It's actually a pretty good choice of drug for this situation, given the victim's age and potential for panic/anxiety or future psychological issues. Since it has some amnestic properties, it could block their memory of the actual extraction/rescue. Probably better if the kids were just snowed from the start and didn't remember getting dragged out under water, in the dark!
 
The BBC has posted a good Questions Answered article that may be of interest if you haven't seen it yet:

Key questions on Thai cave rescue

Thanks for the post Kathy. More details on the sedation:

"Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said they had been lightly sedated. But the BBC has spoken to a number of people involved in the operation who say the boys were heavily sedated, and only semi-conscious.

The logic for this would be the fear their rescuers had that they would panic when wearing diving equipment for the first time in darkness and swirling cave water, endangering the lives of all of them...."
 

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