Diving Air vs Nitrox

[danvolker]

This is VERY untrue! It IS true that pulmonary toxicity is not really an issue for recreational divers, whose dives are relatively short and who keep their ppO2s low. But divers doing technical dives with significant decompression obligations, who are spending sometimes hours on 50 or 100% O2, DO get into pulmonary toxicity problems.

Beaverdivers, according to your profile, you are an instructor trainer. I'm rather perturbed that you do not know this.

[abstract] PULMONARY OXYGEN TOXICITY AT 1 ATA AND ABOVE - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.

Absolutely....
With all the tech dives I did with George Irvine and Bill Mee, we would do "air breaks" on any O2 stops that had duration needs of over 10 minutes.

It was a major issue from the huge exploration dives they would do at Wakulla, where 6 hour bottom times at 280 feet would require between 12 and 16 hours of Deco with lots of O2 essential at the end. Without the air breaks, their lung functions would have looked more like pneumonia.

 

[mcdougal]

My wife and I are currently going thru nitrox training. Our reason is more of a "have to do it" rather than an option. We are strictly recreational divers with about 60 dives each over the past 3 years. Unfortunately my wife developed skin bends on the last 2 dive trips we took. This May, in Cozumel, we went to a DAN physician who, after a physical examination as well as review of our dive profiles for the dives where the rash developed, recommended she (notice - not me) should dive nitrox with an air profile. After research and consultation with our 2 local dive shops and divers/friends with many years of experience, we have decided to proceed with the nitrox recommendation. As we are dive buddies, I feel I must dive the same gas she dives for safety reasons. Our next trip is this year, first week December going to Roatan and will dive nitrox for the first time. Cost cannot be a factor for us as the only other we perceive is for her not to dive anyomre, and that is not really an option.

 

[captain]

Depending on you dive profile it might be money better spent to join a health club and get in tip top shape, that would probably be more bang for the buck when it comes to health.

 

[Hatul]

My wife and I are currently going thru nitrox training. Our reason is more of a "have to do it" rather than an option. We are strictly recreational divers with about 60 dives each over the past 3 years. Unfortunately my wife developed skin bends on the last 2 dive trips we took. This May, in Cozumel, we went to a DAN physician who, after a physical examination as well as review of our dive profiles for the dives where the rash developed, recommended she (notice - not me) should dive nitrox with an air profile. After research and consultation with our 2 local dive shops and divers/friends with many years of experience, we have decided to proceed with the nitrox recommendation. As we are dive buddies, I feel I must dive the same gas she dives for safety reasons. Our next trip is this year, first week December going to Roatan and will dive nitrox for the first time. Cost cannot be a factor for us as the only other we perceive is for her not to dive anyomre, and that is not really an option.

Last time in Cozumel we dove with Aldora Divers on HP120 tanks, and the Nitrox made a huge difference in our bottom times. Perhaps you could seek out a dive operator with bigger tanks. The extra weight is not a big issue on a boat.