First Nitrox Dives

[letsgodiving]

Nitrox shortens the SI's, which is great for vacations. If you are going somewhere and intend making 3+ dives a day you will benefit.

It also reduces fatigue, and I tend to use it if I have a long drive home the same day. If I dive nitrox and then make the 4 or 5 hour drive back from the SE of Florida, I am wide awake while the rest of the car that doved air are all exhausted. If you are under 30 you will not see a huge benefit but it helps for the over 40s, trust me.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

We just got back from Bonaire...where are you staying? Nitrox will be an advatage on that trip.

We are staying a Buddy Dive from Sep 21st to the 29th.

 

[jbd]

If you are under 30 you will not see a huge benefit but it helps for the over 40s, trust me.

I'm over 50 and haven't noticed any difference.

 

[jpcpat]

In Islamorada the wrecks are doable on nitrox, and the benefit there is pretty marked in terms of bottom time if you have decent breathing skills

 

[Nemrod]

Over 50 here also and notice no difference. N

 

[tridacna]

Nitrox shortens the SI's, which is great for vacations. If you are going somewhere and intend making 3+ dives a day you will benefit.

It also reduces fatigue, and I tend to use it if I have a long drive home the same day. If I dive nitrox and then make the 4 or 5 hour drive back from the SE of Florida, I am wide awake while the rest of the car that doved air are all exhausted. If you are under 30 you will not see a huge benefit but it helps for the over 40s, trust me.

This is one of the great SCUBA myths. :no

The owner of my LDS starts every newbie on the supposed "feel good" benefits of Nitrox as soon as they finish OW. It is good for his bottom line however. Now we have the age differential introduced too. Dang, I'm going to start diving pure O2 just for the high.

Someone should contact Snopes.com to put this one to bed. I can't believe that people still think that it makes them feel better after a dive. I guess Trimix should make you feel really bad. Just think how much less O2 you're getting.

Funny, I've been diving on tri, heliox, nitrox, oxygen and air. None makes a smidgeon of difference to how you "feel" after the dive.

This sounds like the BS O2 inhalers that were (are?) so popular in bars a few years ago. I guess that we should all drink oxygen enriched water before each dive. Better bottom time, SI. Same effect!

 

[Crowley]

This post may stir some controversy (please read it carefully) but:

I disagree with tridacna that people who dive on enriched air don't feel less fatigued. I think some genuinely do - and noticeably so - but hear me out tri, I have a reason!

After a number of years working in the industry I have come to the conclusion that those who do feel the benefit after diving on enriched air are often reasonably inexperienced and are suffering from (very) mild symptoms of decompression sickness (fatigue) due to poor buoyancy control, poor dive profiles or over-exertion on a dive when they are using air - all perfectly normal issues for a relatively inexperienced diver. Using Nitrox obviously eliminates their nitrogen uptake/release due to these factors and therefore their symptoms are lessened - ie, they are less fatigued. I think as time goes by, the effect becomes less and less because the divers's buoyancy and breath control become better.

Now I'm not saying that those who have posted above who feel these benefits are inexperienced or have poor buoyancy control - I can't tell either way - but the argument won't go away and certainly I myself was an advocate of the "feel good" factor back in the day when I was a diver with limited experience. These days - like Tridacna, it doesn't matter what I breathe I don't feel any difference due to the gas supply.

Just my observations...

C.

 

[letsgodiving]

I'm over 50 and haven't noticed any difference.

Do you drive 5 hours after four or five hours on a dive boat?

 

[jbd]

Do you drive 5 hours after four or five hours on a dive boat?

The longest drive I've made after diving (two morning dives, 1st to 110, 2nd to 90 on air) was 12 hours. I've made similar drives after two similar dives on nitrox. I honestly can't say that either drive was easier/harder related to how I felt.

 

[jbd]

After a number of years working in the industry I have come to the conclusion that those who do feel the benefit after diving on enriched air are often reasonably inexperienced and are suffering from (very) mild symptoms of decompression sickness (fatigue) due to poor buoyancy control, poor dive profiles or over-exertion on a dive when they are using air - all perfectly normal issues for a relatively inexperienced diver. Using Nitrox obviously eliminates their nitrogen uptake/release due to these factors and therefore their symptoms are lessened - ie, they are less fatigued. I think as time goes by, the effect becomes less and less because the divers's buoyancy and breath control become better.

I've felt that this is the case, however, I had one person relate to me a personal experience regarding feeling better after starting to dive nitrox. In this case the individual suffered a heart attack not long after starting nitrox diving. I suspect or speculate the reason this for this was the increased O2 improved oxygenation of the tissues.

Incidently the individual survived, had surgery which has greatly increased the blood flow to the heart and has been cleared to return to diving and is doing quite well. IIRC doesn't feel the nitrox makes much difference now like it did before.