Nitrogen Narcosis: What It Is and How It Affects You - Maluku Diving

[DevonDiver]

Jim, there's no magical immunity, nor physiological ability to adjust to narcosis.

The old generation of deep air divers was very self-selecting. You learned your limits when the near-misses taught you the lessons. Or you perished.

Nobody is immune to narcosis, but some divers can learn to function whilst narc'd.

The ability to function.. and staying alive.. whilst heavily impaired is about highly ingrained skills, flawless focus, a highly cultivated attention-to-detail and understanding exactly how you are under-performing. Its about being highly conservative and always taking the safer option when you know you're mentally compromised and prone to making gross mistakes.

Trimix allows lesser accomplished divers to do dives that would be beyond them on air. It also allows highly accomplished divers to the same dives with much less risk of making punishing mistakes.

The Doria, as example, was once considered the "Everest of diving"... but nowadays it's an achievable dive for the average trimix diver. Elite level divers are using modern solutions to conduct dives which absolutely eclipse the Doria.

The only divers who don't realise they're compromised on deep air are the ones who've not dived sufficiently to understand how narcosis works.

 

[wildbill9]

Well since this is the newbie forum I will try to be pc. As I showed this to my life time partner and wife her exact quote to the op was "put down the bong and step away from the keyboard". Why try to sow fear in the new divers? "OMG, I am at 62 ft and am going to die....." Yes diving deep has a unique set of problems and can be dangerous if you panic or in an emergency situation where you are not prepared. Plan your dive, dive your plan but mostly know your buddy and practice safe diving. No I will not say diving below 60 feet is unsafe (and yes I can pretty much promise us you won't turn into a cow). No you don't lose i.q. when you put on your equipment nor do you lose it seems you go under. OP, why are you spreading fear? New divers, remember 5 feet, 5 seconds separation from you buddy. Be safe, be aware but.mostly have fun and enjoy youreading dive. Don't panic and all will be good. OP, I respect you post but must disagree with your conclusion. Bill

 

[oldschoolto]

I'm not dismissing Tri-mix, I'm not down playing Narcosis and it's affect on the diver.. I think the stores told confirm the fact that Narcosis effects people differently.. that's all...

Jim

 

[northernone]

Boy the garage they allow to be spread on the internet.....

Jim...

Couldn't say it better myself!

Respectfully,
Cameron

 

[Diesel Dan]

Nitrogen Narcosis: What It Is and How It Affects You - Maluku Diving
Anybody interested in diving beyond the 60 foot mark needs additional training that includes information on Nitrogen Narcosis. The cause of nitrogen narcosis is an increase in the partial pressure of the various gases breathed when diving. When it comes to recreational diving, the gas in question is nitrogen. With the partial pressure being high, more nitrogen is able to dissolve into your tissues. It dissolves into your brain’s nerve cells and in your fat tissues cause a disruption in signal transmission where the brain is concerned.

View attachment 403280

The result can be a feeling of euphoria such that everything becomes suddenly funny. Along with this comes absentmindedness, which means that you are not able to monitor your diving instruments. On the other hand, you may begin to feel paranoid, which is often accompanied by anxiety. If not managed properly, this anxiety can worsen. Whichever way you lean the following will be true:

• You will react slower
• Simple tasks become hard to complete
• Judgment, memory and coordination will be affected
• Going deeper will make things worse

Dealing with Nitrogen Narcosis
To begin with, you will need to recognize it and know its effect on you. Other things will include:

• Before the dive, get lots of rest and drink plenty of water. Exhaustion slows down your brain and narcosis will worsen that.
• Do not drink alcohol before the dive. Alcohol and narcosis do not mix.
• Don’t just suddenly go on a deep dive. Instead, build up your tolerance slowly through regular dives that go deeper each time. Even though you can never become narcosis tolerant, you can learn through experience how to cope with its effects on you.
• Do not overexert yourself just before a dive. Avoid over exertion during the dive as well since accumulating too much CO2 can enhance narcosis.
• When descending, go slow so that partial pressure increases slowly. It is a good idea to stop every 10 meters for half a minute.
• If you are cold, narcosis increases so get warm and then ensure that you stay that way.
• Keep everything simple and do not task load. It is a good idea to carry your slate and use it. Ensure that you have pre-written phrases on it.
• Practice your emergency skills and other diving skills well ahead of time
• Don’t be afraid to bring the dive to an end if you are not feeling too good.

To get rid of the narcosis, simply ascend so that you are at a depth that is shallower thus reducing the partial pressure. You should recover almost immediately. Being a diver, nitrogen narcosis is your enemy.

Shouldn't matter @ what depth if you are suffering from narcosis you need to know the symptoms so you can deal with the issue ! In 1978 I felt the effects of narcosis @ 165 ft I found it amusing that there was a huge drop off in front of me ! Thankfully I was able to regain my senses and return to the surface and recover

 

[cipherbreak]

According to REV 7 of the US Navy Diving Manual "for a dive on air, narcosis usually appears at a depth of approximately 130 fsw, is very prominent at a depth of 200 fsw, and becomes disabling at deeper depths. There is a wide range of individual susceptibility to narcosis. There is also some evidence that adaptation occurs on repeated exposures. Some divers, particularly those experienced in deep operations with air, can often work as deep as 200 fsw without serious difficulty. Others cannot."

I researched and learned about gas narcosis and oxygen toxicity as a brand new diver, when there was slim to no chance I would experience it. I don't see how being informed about this topic could hurt anyone. In fact, because gas narcosis can occur within the limits of the AOW-required deep dive (even though most instructors will not take you near the 130 fsw limit during training) and a new diver can pursue AOW immediately after OW, new divers NEED to be aware of gas narcosis, the symptoms, and how to deal with it. So @Maluku Diving is totally right in saying that anyone diving beyond the 60-foot mark--and thus, moving to the AOW domain--should have this information.

As a learning diver, I would appreciate if you keep your baseless ideas, misinformation, and elitist "you don't need to worry your little head with these things"-attitude out of this forum.

 

[Father]

When I got my AOW my instructor had this great puzzle made out of PVC pipe and connectors.
Does anyone have a picture or the plans for one of these? I did a google search and looked on Pinterest but didn't have any luck.

 

[kafkaland]

The truly debilitating effect is that you just don't mentally process as much information. What you see with your eyes, doesn't reach your brain. Your mind doesn't see the connections it should, doesn't see solutions it'd normally see.

That is precisely what I experience at depth, especially in cold water. What my senses register doesn't really sink in. I don't act stupidly, but there seems to be some kind of dissociative effect. In fact, when I'm trying to recall all the details of a dive later, there is a whole lot less that I remember of the details of a cold water dive to 130ft versus let's say warm water at 100ft.

 

[Bubblesong]

When I got my AOW my instructor had this great puzzle made out of PVC pipe and connectors.
Does anyone have a picture or the plans for one of these? I did a google search and looked on Pinterest but didn't have any luck.

This?

 

[Father]

View attachment 415489
This?

No... it was different. IIRC it used all the same size tubes and connectors.