Nitrox for older divers

[MichaelMc]

Never been bent, no DCS, no nitrox, is my point. It is just as anecdotal as your post about Wookie was.

Less N2 than what? Once you hit your NDL with or without nitrox you have absorbed the same amount of N2 unless you are using the air NDL, and we all know nitrox does nothing for narcosis. So the only place your getting less N2 is in your gas, it just takes a little longer to get absorbed in your blood.

You had listed two nitrox dives in there. I got the no DCS bit, and that you'd done some deco.

Seeing pretty fish A at reef B with temp C and boat waiting to move on, with a mix with less nitrogen should lead to less loading, than doing it on air.

Using nitrox to go to a different deeper reef or convincing the boat to stay longer is on the diver.

 

[AfterDark]

You had listed two nitrox dives in there. I got the no DCS bit, and that you'd done some deco.

Seeing pretty fish A at reef B with temp C and boat waiting to move on, with a mix with less nitrogen should lead to less loading, than doing it on air.

Using nitrox to go to a different deeper reef or convincing the boat to stay longer is on the diver.

I've gotten some of my best pictures while hanging at a SS That's one of the reasons I do longer SS more time in the water. Anything even a diver hanging at a SS depth will attract fish sometimes big ones.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Wow! I have never seen that statistic before. COuld you cite the source?

Magic Gas?

 

[boulderjohn]

Since nitrox came into general use, DCS cases have declined less than one-tenth of a percent. There is only a minuscule reduction of risk. Nitrox does give me more ndl, which is the only reason I use it.

Magic Gas?

Well, it all depends upon how you word it when talking about things like this.

Here's what I found in the article: "For one thing, if a diver breathing air follows the rules his risk of DCS is already so low there's not much room for improvement by switching to nitrox. Since Divers Alert Network (DAN) began collecting records, the risk of DCS has averaged two or three cases in 10,000 dives, whether on air or nitrox, and those few are mostly the screwups." I must have missed the part with the statistic you mentioned. Could you find it for me?

What this says is the very familiar (and very true) statement that DCS risk is very small to begin with which is not quite the same thing.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

3 in 10,000 cases is .0003, which, if I remember math class, is less than a percentage point. Nitrox does not lower the risk of DCS.

 

[GJC]

If you are a rec diver using AL80s at mid level depths, you are probably going to use up your gas before you get to your NDL using nitrox.

So if your dive time would be the same, whether you are on air or nitrox, your nitrogen load would be less using nitrox.

Even if the DCS incidence is not that different, the incidence of venous bubbles is higher when using air.

Enriched Air Nitrox Breathing Reduces Venous Gas Bubbles after Simulated SCUBA Diving: A Double-Blind Cross-Over Randomized Trial

I prefer to not have bubbles in my blood, so I'll stick to using nitrox as much I can.

 

[Celt]

I've gotten some of my best pictures while hanging at a SS That's one of the reasons I do longer SS more time in the water. Anything even a diver hanging at a SS depth will attract fish sometimes big ones.

View attachment 594482

Lovely, I dived a wreck yesterday in terrible vis ( 2 feet) on the bottom. What a wash out I was thinking on my way to the 3 meter stop when I got this hanging under the boat.

 

[JMBL]

Lucky you !

 

[Ukmc]

Never been bent, no DCS, no nitrox, is my point. It is just as anecdotal as your post about Wookie was.

Less N2 than what? Once you hit your NDL with or without nitrox you have absorbed the same amount of N2 unless you are using the air NDL, and we all know nitrox does nothing for narcosis. So the only place your getting less N2 is in your gas, it just takes a little longer to get absorbed in your blood.

You are correct. However, with NitrOx, you will be off gassing more efficiently. More importantly, while everybody is concentrating on lesser nitrogen concentration, don’t forget about higher Oxygen content. Oxygen helps cells not to go into anaerobic state certainly during exertion which would be helpful to decrease risk of DCS and probably has some other mechanisms on how it helps DCS (100% O2 and HBO is a treatment for DCS and it is not just because you are improving nitrogen off load gradient )

 

[AfterDark]

You are correct. However, with NitrOx, you will be off gassing more efficiently. More importantly, while everybody is concentrating on lesser nitrogen concentration, don’t forget about higher Oxygen content. Oxygen helps cells not to go into anaerobic state certainly during exertion which would be helpful to decrease risk of DCS and probably has some other mechanisms on how it helps DCS (100% O2 and HBO is a treatment for DCS and it is not just because you are improving nitrogen off load gradient )

All that would happen with a longer SS. Dive nitrox all you want but it isn't some kind of miracle mix that will keep you safe from N2 overload. Only what you have between your ears can do that.