Near Misses

[Merchant.r]

I was at the Grand when this happened. It was our last day there, so we weren't diving. My husband and I dove with them 3 days and had no issues. GeneV was diving with us as well.

It wasn't from the people involved.. but I heard at least one of the "incidents" involved hypothermia...

 

[DandyDon]

Can anyone recommend a reputable dive op in the Allegro area (but not Dressel)? I'm really not in the mood to take any chances with my daughter and undetermined amounts of CO on the bottom.

CO poisoning is officially rare, but all that really means is it's seldom confirmed. DAN admits that they have no idea how many deaths attributed to drownings, etc had CO for a cause as even in deaths most destinations don't test. I also wonder how many cases of "travelers' flu" are really near misses.

Thanks for the info .... that would explain why no other op was affected.

For the day anyway....

A few years ago I did a cave diving trip @ Villa De La Rosa, (Akumal) and one reason my cave instructor chose that facility was because they used their own on-site ELECTRICAL powered compressors, he refused to go cave diving with an outfit using gas-powered compressors for this exact same reason, he wanted to avoid even the possibility of CO exposure/poisoning ! Also, a while back there was a very interesting (and very sad) accident/fatality story of some very experienced cave divers in Mexico who were killed by CO poisoning, of course caused by CO blowback from the compressor used to fill their tanks.

A good start, but not a guarantee. Air intake, overheating, etc - there are possibilities.

I was at the Grand when this happened. It was our last day there, so we weren't diving. My husband and I dove with them 3 days and had no issues. GeneV was diving with us as well.

It wasn't from the people involved.. but I heard at least one of the "incidents" involved hypothermia...

Hypo-what? One can get chilled in Coz, but I doubt that has anything to do with this case.

 

[RubberDucky]

(emphasis / bolded text mine)

There is only one reputable/reliable supplier of tanks on the island, that is Infra out on ave 30. Their owner is a Mexican who owns most of the compressed gas facilities in Mexico. We personally think he is an ******* but his company does a great job in delivering safe gasses for our divers, including nitrox.

Dave,

What specifically would you say is great about Infra's gas delivery? Do they use inline CO detection? Please elaborate for those of us that don't know much about this sort of thing.

Thanks.

 

[ggunn]

I also wonder how many cases of "travelers' flu" are really near misses.

Have you ever experienced CO poisoning? I have - twice. It doesn't feel anything like the flu or any other disease I have ever had, and except for a lingering headache the symptoms clear up relatively quickly after the victim is removed from the source of CO (if it's soon enough, of course).

 

[Uber]

spoke with a mate on the island (reliable source IMHO).... he's telling me Palencar did have a problem... according to him couple of folks got bad air and one got the bends... I'm going to talk to Palencar and suggest they explain themselves here before their reputation is irreparably damaged...

 

[DandyDon]

Have you ever experienced CO poisoning? I have - twice. It doesn't feel anything like the flu or any other disease I have ever had, and except for a lingering headache the symptoms clear up relatively quickly after the victim is removed from the source of CO (if it's soon enough, of course).

I have not; just fear it. It can have an extra threat for divers for not only being toxic at low levels when at depth, the way it works in the body under pressure is that it hits harder as you ascend. This came up on the Maldives deaths thread with an expert posting. I will ask him to log on if he can.

How soon is soon enough to avoid lingering effcets?

From CDC - Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - Fact Sheet

What are the symptoms of CO poisoning?

The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. High levels of CO inhalation can cause loss of consciousness and death. Unless suspected, CO poisoning can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms mimic other illnesses.

From Symptoms of Carbon monoxide poisoning - WrongDiagnosis.com

Symptoms of Carbon monoxide poisoning

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Carbon monoxide poisoning includes the 29 symptoms listed below:

* Non-specific symptoms
* Flu-like symptoms
* Headaches
* Tiredness
* Dizziness
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Flushing
* Confusion
* Weakness
* Poor color
* Convulsions
* Respiratory problems
* Wheezing
* Rapid breathing
* Persistent cough
* Chronic heart disease
* Angina
* Concentration problems
* Personality change
* Emotional problems
* Hallucinations
* Panic attacks
* Sleep disturbance
* Clumsiness
* Severe muscle pains
* Trembling
* Vision problems
* Loss of hearing

Sounds like it is difficult to prove either way since air tanks are seldom tested by authorities at most destinations.

BTW, of the posters with gas home heaters, or fireplaces, or attached garages - how many of y'all have a CO monitor in each bedroom? Do you know the monitors expiration date?

 

[loudives]

Symptoms of Carbon monoxide poisoning

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Carbon monoxide poisoning includes the 29 symptoms listed below:

* Non-specific symptoms
* Flu-like symptoms
* Headaches
* Tiredness
* Dizziness
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Flushing
* Confusion
* Weakness
* Poor color
* Convulsions
* Respiratory problems
* Wheezing
* Rapid breathing
* Persistent cough
* Chronic heart disease
* Angina
* Concentration problems
* Personality change
* Emotional problems
* Hallucinations
* Panic attacks
* Sleep disturbance
* Clumsiness
* Severe muscle pains
* Trembling
* Vision problems
* Loss of hearing

Those are the same symptoms is see at the Bars in the AI's

 

[rainmaker]

Thanx for a very good laugh at the end of a great day of diving in Coz, loudives.

 

[swamp diver]

There is only one reputable/reliable supplier of tanks on the island, that is Infra out on ave 30. Their owner is a Mexican who owns most of the compressed gas facilities in Mexico. We personally think he is an ******* but his company does a great job in delivering safe gasses for our divers, including nitrox.

My guess is that 75-95% of the other dive shops in Cozumel use Infra for their tanks and no one should be worried about their air fills. I dive a lot myself, as do my kids and I don't worry about the air from INfra, even without a CO analyzer.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

I would agree with this assessment if that is the facility that used to be called Meridiano or the like. We toured the 10,000 sq. ft plant a decade ago and if I recall correctly there are two very well ventilated Norwalk Slimline compressors with Bauer P14 Securus purifiers for filtration. They were testing their air monthly with one of the US accredited laboratories but this may have changed. At that time there was no CO monitoring on the compressors.

Given that Analox now sells an excellent fixed CO monitor for about $1000 all in (unit, regulators, calgas) it might be worth suggesting to the owner that installing a few of these would not only protect his business but encourage more of the dive ops on the island to use his facility. Given what this industrial compressed air facility must earn annually the cost of a couple CO monitors would be negligible.

You can be sure that if Infra ever had a problem with bad gas one would know very quickly given the number of dive ops which use their air and nitrox exclusively on the island.

 

[ggunn]

I have not; just fear it. It can have an extra threat for divers for not only being toxic at low levels when at depth, the way it works in the body under pressure is that it hits harder as you ascend. This came up on the Maldives deaths thread with an expert posting. I will ask him to log on if he can.

How soon is soon enough to avoid lingering effcets?

It depends on the concentration and length of exposure, but the "lingering effect" I was referring to with my "soon enough" comment was the ultimate one.