Does nitrogen narcosis mimic alcohol use?

[mikerault]

Do the physiological effects of nitrogen narcosis mimic those of alcohol? Or is that just a gross over simplification of the true effects?

Mike

 

[fdog]

Yep, pretty much. The same, I mean.

It's not a conclusive study, but in college (I worked as an Instructor at a University with a chamber) all of us instructors met at the chamber on weekend, and made some trips to 120' to get narced. Then, safely back out of the chamber, we had a couple martinis until the alcohol effect was about the same as being narced. The testing sample was small, only 8 particapents as I recall.

Thus was born "Martini's Law", which states every 60 fsw is the equivalent to 1 martini.

Yep. Except for the hangover, about the same.

All the best, James

 

[Jimmer]

Narcosis hit's everyone a little differently, but for many people yes, it is very similar to drinking. Personally, I tend to get a slightly elevated heart rate and breathing rate, and have to intentionally think and remind myself to relax, and then I get everything under control. I also seem to get a little light headed. My shop owner get extreme paranoia, and feels like the world is collapsing in on her right about the 100 foot mark. With her and I, it just focuses us more and makes us concentrate on the task at hand. I have met and dove with some people that get narced and get totally out of sorts, one case I saw a guy looking at his octopus trying to figure out how much pressure was still in the tank, and how deep he was, and others that start to chase the pretty fishes (I know they're pretty much drunk in that case, since it's Lake Erie and there are no pretty fishes). Anyway, it seems to hit people differently, and at different depths, but pretty much everyone feels it sooner or later.

 

[DennisW]

I would say, no. You know when you are drunk, you don't always know when you are under the effects of Nitrogen Narcosis. A lot of people will say they have never been Narc'd. They have been, they just never knew it. That is a different effect than alcohol. Although Nitrogen Narcosis affects your judgement and your ability to work problems, similar to alcohol, they are not totally the same. When I am aware of being Narc'd, I have some paranoia, I may feel like I can't breathe very well, and I am uncomfortable. I have never had those feelings when I was drunk.

 

[Tom Smedley]

While nitrogen and alcohol are similar in the feeling of euphoria the effects - I think - are different.

Alcohol is a vasodialator and affects the bodys ability to regulate temperature and plays havoc with on and off gassing - among other things.

The half-life of nitrogen is counted in seconds and alcohol in hours. The "cure" for nitrogen narcosis is to ascend a few feet until the effects diminish. No such thing with the effects of alcohol.

 

[fdog]

Oops. Tom reminded me that I had overlooked the OP's question about physiological effects; I had been refering to perception.

I can say that I feel no differently between narcosis and alcohol. Thank god there's helium!

All the best, James

 

[rookers]

I would disagree, I have been extremely drunk and severely narc'd and they are different beasts. I would also point out that I have extensive experience with other intoxicants long ago, so perhaps having a broader experiential range allows me to comment a bit more. Personally I find narcosis at shallower depths 110->150ft to be a bit like a cross between nitrious oxide and any number of opiate derivatives. At deeper depths (150-180ft) it becomes more like a cross between nitrious oxide and maybe methaqualone, though without some of the more severe effects of either. I have very limited experience at the deeper depths (150-180) and don't intend to have further experience on air, so my observations are suspect (as are all narc'd observations).

If one has only alcohol to compare it with, I could see someone saying 'yep, just like alcohol'. I would suggest that others carry on further experimentation.

 

[Cheekymonkey]

At shallower depths shallwer than 130 I would say they are very similar for myself except for the fact that the narcosis ends much more quickly ten alcohol

 

[Rickg]

I remember reading a while back an article on narcosis and one of the points discussed was that it appears that divers that drink alcohol seem to be either (1) less susceptible to narcosis (2) better able to function when under the effects of narcosis.

Unfortunately I didn't save the article.

Rickg

 

[Walter]

There are superficial similarities. While there are additional problems, I usually think of narcosis as lowering one's IQ. The deeper you go, the stupider you are.