If your regulator fell out of your mouth...

[Louie]

When doing the reg recovery skills in OW, I always like to remind students: "The reg is attached to you so if it leaves your mouth, it's still going to be within reach - under most normal conditions". Remember "relax, lean to your right and sweep with the arm" when recovering a reg.

As I always say, practice under safe conditions is always useful to get over these uncertainty situaitons. In the real world - not OW training - things aren't always predictable. I've seen some experienced divers panic on the surface and u/w when they can't feel the reg immediately in front of them. Familiarity with both the primary and alternative is important so have a good feel of your equipment and get familiar with how and where everything is positioned.

And eventually, you may want to consider the Rescue course. It's an excellent bit of training and will go through issues such as equipment problems and in-water stress and emergency situations. The idea is to arm you with knowledge, skills and confidence to a) Prevent problems from occuring b) Resolve a problem early before they become serious c) Attend emergency scenarios.

 

[Randy43068]

What if you are exhaling and just about ready to inhale when your regulator somehow is knocked out of your mouth.

Wouldn't it make more sense to just grab your secondary regulator, which is right in front of you, attached, exactly where you know where it is and can see it, and then while breathing quickly get your regulator behind you?

I'm a new diver and the idea of the regulator behind me suddenly while I have to continue exhaling and trusting that I'm going to retrieve it in time has me nervous.

I know the answer is for me to continue practicing retrieving that regulator so that if I'm in the situation it won't make me nervous.

But still, I can't help wonder if grabbing the secondary regulator if I'm immediately in need of inhaling is a better idea than the normal protocol.

As you get more experience diving, you'll learn to avoid getting kicked in the face with a fin or swiped with an errant hand from another diver. It will probably happen sometime but be aware of avoiding it. However, should somehow you get hit in the face with a fin or hand you're likely to have your mask dislodged at the same time as losing a regulator. Practice recovering your regulator with no mask, but only in shallow water with a competent dive buddy.

You should become comfortable dealing with recovering your regulator and replacing your mask. No matter your experience level, having a regulator, or your mask suddenly removed or dislodged is a little disconcerting for the first couple of seconds. However if you practice this skill you'll figure it out and get things back into place and continue your dive.

A few things I'd suggest. 1) practice regulator/mask recovery with a competent buddy. 2) while you are diving try to avoid getting the fin kick or a hand in the face. Stay well clear of the divers who swim with his or her hands. 3) make sure your equipment is in good condition. Inspect the regulator and mask strap before each dive. It only takes a moment to do it. 4) take a look at how some divers attach that second regulator on a bungee necklace, and consider attaching yours the same way.

As much as I like the rescue class and highly recommend it, I don't really think it's the answer to the question you asked.

 

[AndrewA]

I have lost the regulator in my mouth 3 times. Once it was kicked out in a cave, once I snagged the hose in a wreck and the third time I was testing brand new Jetstreams in 5m when the reg and mouthpiece parted company leaving me breathing water! On all three occasions I switched to the alternate necklace around my neck before retrieving the lost primary.

 

[David_57]

What if you are exhaling and just about ready to inhale when your regulator somehow is knocked out of your mouth.

Wouldn't it make more sense to just grab your secondary regulator, which is right in front of you, attached, exactly where you know where it is and can see it, and then while breathing quickly get your regulator behind you?

I'm a new diver and the idea of the regulator behind me suddenly while I have to continue exhaling and trusting that I'm going to retrieve it in time has me nervous.

I know the answer is for me to continue practicing retrieving that regulator so that if I'm in the situation it won't make me nervous.

But still, I can't help wonder if grabbing the secondary regulator if I'm immediately in need of inhaling is a better idea than the normal protocol.

This happened to me when I got to close to my buddy in low vis fairly high current conditions all it took was a flip from his fin, I reached out managed to grab my primary reg stuck it back in my mouth, if I could not find my primary I would have used my oct hanging around my neck, funny after I thought about it realized it was a automatic reaction I did not even think about it.

On another occasion was practicing an out of air emergency with my wife while on the up line, for some reason when she donated her octo no sooner had I placed it in my mouth she took of for the surface pulling it from my lips, when I tried to put my primary back in my mouth her leg was in the way as so waited a few seconds before putting it in my mouth, that time must admit was freaked for a second.

Funny after I thought about it starting to wonder about that insurance policy she took out on me

 

[Maple Bubble]

Grabbing either regulator to repair your interrupted air supply guarantee is fine.

In an actual 'emergency situation' the first priority is getting air, if your octupos is your best option, use it. Then retrieve your primary, switch, purge and return your octopus to its proper position.

The exercise is not meant to taunt you, but to show you how you easy it is to retrieve your primary regulator. With practice you will see that you always have plenty of time before your breath impulse becomes an issue.

 

[Randy43068]

I have lost the regulator in my mouth 3 times. Once it was kicked out in a cave, once I snagged the hose in a wreck and the third time I was testing brand new Jetstreams in 5m when the reg and mouthpiece parted company leaving me breathing water! On all three occasions I switched to the alternate necklace around my neck before retrieving the lost primary.

You must have a really big mouth! LOL, just kidding.

 

[JJTNJ]

WOW, I am so overwhelmed with the generosity and insight and fantastic knowledge you have all shared here. I'm too lazy for pointing out each and every thing that I found very helpful.

But, trust me, you've helped me a lot and I'm sure others reading here as well.

 

[Gombessa]

JJTNJ,

I'm with you 100% percent. Know where your backup regulator is and go to that immediately, rather than try to retrieve a lost reg without having a gas source on-hand. Learning about this procedure shortly after taking OW was one of the things that really convinced me of the value of the "bungeed backup" you see many people talking about here.

 

[*dave*]

I'm having a pendatic afternoon.

We don't hold our breath underwater, do we ladies and gentlemen?

As instructors, that's a lot easier to teach than giving a laundry list of exceptions. Much as we teach our kids to "STAY AWAY FROM THE STREET", "NEVER HOLD YOUR BREATH" is safer when the kid or student isn't capable of knowing when it is not only safe, but desirable to hold their breath.

Yes, I hold my breath on every dive.

In cases where I've lost my primary, it has always ended up about a foot in front of my face, so I just grab it. If you are horizontal, you'll typically find it dangling just below you.

 

[DevonDiver]

No, I just don't hold my breath. I blow small bubbles....just as I was taught to do 16 years ago on my OW class. I do it every time....because it is instinctive.... an instinct that saved my life once.

If the **** hits the fan, you will react instinctively.... if you instincts are wrong, you will die.

It's better to not get into bad habits.