Caveeagle
Contributor
No disputing that.. howevever even mild narcosis in the 100-125’ range is real. It’s the people in denial of this that can be dangerous.
And.. “I don’t remember ever forgetting anything!” ......really?!
Nitrogen Narcosis - Deep air dives
- Thread starter Landlocked123
- Start date
-
- Tags
- nitrogen narcosis
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
No disputing that.. howevever even mild narcosis in the 100-125’ range is real. It’s the people in denial of this that can be dangerous.
And.. “I don’t remember ever forgetting anything!” ......really?!
OP
Landlocked123
Contributor
And I was looking for more and I found this.... holy mother....
Geez... I don’t think I saw that diver kick his fins once.
Caveeagle
Contributor
Kid was stoned!
Read some valid arguments here.. I think that factors like visibility, perceived depth, depth under the diver, fixed references etc. play an important role on the brain which greatly affects the effects of narcosis.
In my area deep air is still a thing unfortunately. Old timers still diving air to 200' - 240'. I quit taking such risks years ago, besides that I wanted the most out of the experiance. Some people still persist, falsely thinking they're managing narcosis while the element of narcosis is always present to detract from the overall experience.
In my area deep air is still a thing unfortunately. Old timers still diving air to 200' - 240'. I quit taking such risks years ago, besides that I wanted the most out of the experiance. Some people still persist, falsely thinking they're managing narcosis while the element of narcosis is always present to detract from the overall experience.
Sure.
A couple of buddies and I were bombing the wall off a Caribbean island. Myself and another were weighted so we could sink easily without kicking, but not so overweighted we couldn't stop our descent. The third was underweighted and had to kick hard to descend. The combination of exertion and narcosis caused him to black out around 240', eyes rolled up in his skull, lights were on but no one was home. I grabbed him and pulled him up. He came to around 130'.
OP
Landlocked123
Contributor
thanks for sharing.
Another Carribean island experience.
Cold water buddy came down to visit. A "narcosis doesn't effect me" diver. Agreed to cruise the wall at 120ft. Side by side, myself slightly behind him we descent.... He continues dropping past 120. He starting breathing heavily and finning headdown into the abyss. Unresponsive to hand signals. I shadow him till 178ft where I decide he's gone deep enough and something is wrong. Get him by the tank valve and bring him back to 120. He comes back to normal.
After the dive he talked about a strong down welling current and how he had such a struggle swimming up against it. Asked where I was and how I didn't feel it. Didn't recall forgetting which way was up or me hauling him back to the shallows.
That's my most extreme example I've witnessed of a form of narocisis.
The subtler forms I feel are just as likely to be deadly in an incident and go unnoticed.
(I still deep air dive personally)
Cameron
Cold water buddy came down to visit. A "narcosis doesn't effect me" diver. Agreed to cruise the wall at 120ft. Side by side, myself slightly behind him we descent.... He continues dropping past 120. He starting breathing heavily and finning headdown into the abyss. Unresponsive to hand signals. I shadow him till 178ft where I decide he's gone deep enough and something is wrong. Get him by the tank valve and bring him back to 120. He comes back to normal.
After the dive he talked about a strong down welling current and how he had such a struggle swimming up against it. Asked where I was and how I didn't feel it. Didn't recall forgetting which way was up or me hauling him back to the shallows.
That's my most extreme example I've witnessed of a form of narocisis.
The subtler forms I feel are just as likely to be deadly in an incident and go unnoticed.
(I still deep air dive personally)
Cameron
johndiver999
Contributor
These kinds of stories really scare me. The variability between individuals who can and can not function at depth is dramatic.
120 feet is NOT deep from my personal perspective on narcosis, but for that individual - on that day- it certainly was.
The message to new divers is very confusing:
- divers are drunk and they don't know it,
- divers who say they are acclimated (to depth) are foolish and delusional,
- diving past 100 on air or nitrox is too dangerous. etc.
Then there are other people who have demonstrated their ability to function adequately in 180 feet and some a good bit deeper during many dives. Often times these individuals are not particularly, young, fit or strong.
I personally think there are huge discrepancies between different people and their susceptibility to narcosis and their ability to manage it. So maybe a more reasonable message is to progress past 100 or 130 feet very slowly and be super vigilant to avoid excessive strenuous activity (like dragging a diver up from the depths when he has completely lost situational control).
In any regard, the ability to navigate, control buoyancy, monitor air pressure and depth, keep track of a buddy etc. are all skills that must be totally mastered and must be over learned so that they are almost instinctive- BEFORE anyone should be trying to go deep.
Similar threads
