In Water Recompression (IWR)...death invited?

[Scuba-Jay]

Just finished reading an article (or at least most of the article on In water re compression.) Obviously we are tought that this is a no no, except possibly with the correct training and when diving remote locations, BUT, from the studies discussed it appears to me as if the benefits of IWR have been ignored or at least downplayed?

It is FACT that administering 100% oxygen topside is more beneficial than taking the diving down to a pre-determined depth (30ft in this article) and applying treatment via a full face mask? Not sure what im asking here, but rather just thinking out loud.

Jay

http://www.bishopmuseum.org/research/treks/palautz97/iwr.html

 

[lamont]

the IWR procedures discussed in that areticle are a long way from recreational diving.

if you have a rapid ascent and/or feel that you may be bent while *recreational* diving it is better to get to the surface and get onto O2 because you have no equipment, training or know any procedures to do effective IWR and any DCS you suffer from a recreational dive is overwhelmingly likely to be minor and treatable. the risks of descending in either a panic or while symptomatic for DCS outweigh the risks of not immediately recompressing in recreational diving.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Like lamont said, there's a difference between recreational diving and decompression diving. IWR is definitely not recommended for recreational divers. IWR is discussed quite a bit in technical diving courses and recommended in certain situations.

 

[PaulSmithTek]

Honestly I wish there were more readily available chambers on charters, to do SurDO2 Dives (Surface Decompression on 100% O2). For all who don't know what Surface decompression is. For example being a commercial Diver most decompression is done on the surface with Minimal in water decompression stops. Lets say you do a dive to 175' for 25 minutes and it says you need 15 minutes of deco on surface. You would make your accent from 175' to 30' from 30' to the surface you have one minute and from the time you break the surface you have 4 minutes to get gear off and in the chamber and be blown to 60' where you can decompress in a warm environment on 100% O2. The thing is it causes less fatigue on the diver as well as the diver is comfortable. So in conclusion I believe that this is a safe practice for the Commercial Diving Industry that could benefit deep wreak divers, and tek divers. But I live in a dream world.

 

[sea2summit]

Im in the middle of my Advanced NITROX/Deco Procedures and they covered missed stops and how to safely return to "make up" your deco for lost gas etc. But IWR was still very much not recomended for anyone showing symptoms of Type I or II DCS. Gut feeling says go for a ride in the chamber, better a controled enviornment then not.

 

[PhilEllis]

Just finished reading an article (or at least most of the article on In water re compression.) Obviously we are tought that this is a no no, except possibly with the correct training and when diving remote locations, BUT, from the studies discussed it appears to me as if the benefits of IWR have been ignored or at least downplayed?

It is FACT that administering 100% oxygen topside is more beneficial than taking the diving down to a pre-determined depth (30ft in this article) and applying treatment via a full face mask? Not sure what im asking here, but rather just thinking out loud.

Jay

http://www.bishopmuseum.org/research/treks/palautz97/iwr.html

I was involved in a situation of the coast of North Carolina in 1996 were in-water recompression probably saved the life of a diver. Had it not been used, I have no doubt that the end result would have been much different. While it is not recommended, it certainly is better in some situations than the alternative.

Phil Ellis

 

[PaulSmithTek]

I belive that recompression in water is asking for serious injury or death. Certain times extream measure are a must.

 

[Soggy]

In a case where a bend is noticed in the water, a small amount of IWR can be beneficial. Take, as an example, a diver who notices a bend at 15 ft after ascending from their O2 stop at 20 ft. Descent back down to 20 ft and extending decompression for as long as is practical at that depth, followed by a slow ascent, can decrease DCS symptoms.

 

[do it easy]

I'll stress that proper surface support needs to be in place to make IWR successful- the worse case scenario would be for the diver to try to recompress, but have to bail out to the surface because they don't have enough gas or thermal protection, or the environmental conditions change. In this case, aborted IWR would probably be worse than staying on the surface.

My opinion is that IWR is a worse case scenario for a deco diver and not even an cosideration for a diver with recreational equipment. Also, I can't think of any reason why a diver within or near the NDLs, would want to attempt IWR. In other words, I think that most divers will be safer on the surface breathing air than rolling the dice underwater.

 

[do it easy]

In a case where a bend is noticed in the water, a small amount of IWR can be beneficial. Take, as an example, a diver who notices a bend at 15 ft after ascending from their O2 stop at 20 ft. Descent back down to 20 ft and extending decompression for as long as is practical at that depth, followed by a slow ascent, can decrease DCS symptoms.

In your example, I wouldn't consider this IWR, but simply padding the deco. In my mind, IWR is essentially a wet, cold chamber ride.