Signs Of Stress (With Commentary)
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- Signs Of Stress (With Commentary)
After a recent trip to Ft. Lauderdale, where a diver who was on the verge of having an Out Of Air Emergency, an article was posted on ScubaBoard asking for people to write about their experiences with underwater emergencies. In this video you will see a diver who was becoming more stressed about running out of air, and you will see his mannerisms change. Being able to recognize these signs will give you a head start at properly handling underwater emergencies.
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This is the second time I’ve come across this video and I am impressed that you spend zero time criticizing or demeaning this stressed diver. You just stick with the facts. Thanks for the video.
You're welcome Aaron. Glad you liked the video.
As a brand new diver it's good to know there are experienced divers watching out for problems
Hello Douglas Haynes, we hope all divers look out for each other.
Well said Douglas !!! I agree !!!
The very easiest way to avoid stress in my experience is for there to be someone who recognizes a potential need (in my case it was drysuit squeeze at about 70 or 75 ft) just having a persons attention and nearness is enough to avoid stress and panic even if they are unsure of the immediate problem. Another time in near zero vis a dive buddy simply kept intentionally bumping into me on the line. Simply to say I'm right here. These are the kind of ppl I want to dive with. They're the kinda ppl I want to drink a beer with. They are the kind of ppl I try to be. That you had to make an attempt at intervention on another DM or instructors behalf says as much about you as it does them.
Thank you for the kind words Kevin Gumfory.
Excellent video thank you. I had it the other way round where I was the one who ran out of air. We had a conservation dive at about 8m in strong current, I was swimming a box of coral to one of our reefs, afterwards we went on a fun dive. During the first part of the dive I exhausted a lot of my air, then the instructor took us down to 35m, when we got there I checked my gauge to see I only had 1015psi/70 bar left, PADI recommend starting to go back up when you get to 1450psi/100 Bar. So I caught up with the dive leader and showed him my gauge (at this point I was down to 725psi/50bar). The rest of the group all still had 2175psi\150bar and gave me a group shrug, you know "well we are fine!", one of the less experienced divers offered me her backup regulator, however at that depth I would have significantly dropped her air supply so instead I told them all to pair up and I headed up by myself (We had an odd number of divers), I stopped at 5m to do my 3 minute safety stop, however I ran out of air after a minute and needed to surface. Even though it was my first dive of the day and it was only a short dive I chose not to dive for the rest of the day, to ensure there were no bad effects. I'm sure I could have comfortably gone on another shallower dive, but it just isn't worth taking the risk!
Sounds like you made a very mature decision not to dive again. The main thing is, you learned from your experience, and that is the key to becoming a safe and confident diver. Thank You for sharing your story with us, and thank you for watching our video and commenting.
No dive buddy? If an odd number then last group should have been 3. The dive leader should have been kicked in the nuts.
you only had 50 bar at 35m and the dive leader and other divers gave shrug? how weird the group!!!
@@samlin9097 there was one Diver who offered me her spare regulator, however she had only just passed her open water and at that depth se would have gone through her tank so quickly that I didn't want to put her in that position. By the way, I am not trying to encourage people to ignore PADI guidelines, they are there for your safety and if you ignore them and misjudge the situation you could end up in serious trouble. .
Paul Fadden in this circumstance, other diving buddy’s or leader should offer their alternative air supply to the one who had less than 50 bar and the leader can choose to continue the travel or end this dive together instead of letting the one to go up by him/herself.
Thank you for sharing this experience. Your commentary was very helpful in pointing out the signs of stress while being done in a respectful manner. Body language is such an important communicator both in out of the water.
Great share. I always thought it strange that a diver would prefer to continue to be stressed as this man did rather than checking the ego and accepting the air share and knowing at that point they have enough air for a relaxed safety stop
Hello @daveturner6155, even as a seasoned Instructor, sometimes my ego gets the best of me as well. It's a human trait we all suffer from at times. Being able to recognize our own vulnerability is key.
Well done sir! You appear to be everything an instructor should be. My father is a dive instructor and I always felt safe with him. You seem to be cut from the same mold as he. The way you diagnosed these red flags EARLY ON from this diver, is extremely impressive. GREAT JOB SIR!
Thanks for the kind words Jason Frye.
I'm seriously considering SCUBA certification. I've been watching a lot of videos. I didn't realize there was so much that can go wrong.
Hello Tim Murphy. Diving is an extremely safe sport, as long as you follow the rules.
@@LakeHickoryScuba Good.
not sure if you ended up getting your SCUBA certification in the end, but if you haven't, it's well worth it. Just gotta remember to check your guages and kit and go through things calmly.
Hey you got it. Go to any pool, take your snorkel gear (with or without your fins) and start getting used to the discomfort of and practice over and over and over clearing out your mask and when the instructor gives you the hand signal to go forward deeper in the pool...just do it without thinking and make sure you equalize constantly. You got it. 👍
Thank you so very much for sharing this! Your commentary was awesome, your awareness of the situation and willingness to observe, offer assistance, and continue to monitor the entire situation was a blessing to that man and everyone on the dive. Sharing these videos is a wonderful service to our dive community, for that I thank you!
Glad you liked the video @skirblah. We show this video to all of our Rescue Students.
Thanks for the video. Good training for Rescue and dive master candidates. As a dive instructor, these are the kind of things we look for. Although with someone like him quickly look at his gage myself. Eliminates confusion. Thanks again.
You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it.
Very valuable video. This guy's whole body language - not just checking his computer - says he's stressed. The fact that he is constantly looking up at the other diver's on the line above him and also to the surface itself, and also looking down regularly to also see how the divers below things are doing could indicate be is anxiously thinking "am I doing the right thing"? Its also the speed and frequency he does all this. Spotting this the first thing, then quickly working out a strategy - such as yours - to take care of him is crucial. Identifying a problem but not resolving it is no better than being unaware of the problem.
We stress the point to all of our Rescue Diver students, that once they notice a problem, they should go ahead and handle it before it gets out of control.
how long was the dive tou said the depth ws 110 feet right
The bottom of this dive was around the 110 ft range.
Our bottom time was around 20-25 minutes.
Thanks for the video, very educational.
From experience, upon reaching about 200 PSI on a balanced regulator, you start feeling slight difficulties breathing, but not until you get to about 140 PSI when you will really struggle and be out of air. I tested it with two different regs and tanks (80 AL and 100 Steel) had the exact same results. Great observation of yours, it is important to keep an eye on other less experienced divers.
Thanks for sharing.
Hello Luiz Carlos Laba, glad you liked the video. We show this video to all of our Rescue Diver Students. As you mention, observation is key when responding to an incident.
Spot on advice....great lesson...thanks!
You're welcome John Carlson.
Jesus, why didn’t he just take your octo when you offered it to him... 🤦♂️
I hope he took further training!
Great video, thanks for sharing 👌
Hello Elmo, thanks for watching and commenting. If I had to guess, EGO is the biggest reason he refused.
Exactly, I don't even consider this to be a dangerous situation. Here in our german lakes, you constantly see someone hanging on an octo at the end of the dive to not risk getting into your reserve. Pretty much standard practice.
It's really interesting for me to see the consistencies in body language when a diver is panicking - it's almost like a "panic syndrome" the way a stroke will cause the same signs or a certain type of encephalitis will cause a person to tilt their head to the left etc...the standard behaviors I see over and over again are the bicycling legs, splayed fingers and grabby jazz hands, and the groping arm movements even if visibility is good. Almost every video I've seen so far includes this triad.
That is a great observation Sarah. All of the telltale signs of stress and panic.
Agree with Phillip Peeler "Your commentary was very helpful in pointing out the signs of stress while being done in a respectful manner. " Three thoughts on why this happened. 1) Diver not aware of air @ 1000 psi, when he should have begun safety stop 2) Divemaster did not insist "end-of-dive" at 1000 psi and 3) where is buddy or divemaster on the line sharing "Octo"? Diving is the coolest sport in the world but could be deadly or at least an expensive night in the "chamber hotel".
Very true and thank you. We hope other divers learn from these videos.
you said he signalled 200, to me he signalled 20. Not having a kick just saying I would have used the same sign for saying I was that low too. Thanks for sharing the vid.
He probably did signal he only had 20 psi. Thankfully he made it back to the surface with out incident.
I'm a beginner, only fifteen dives and I took that as 20 also, only have 200 at start of dives generally...
it's probably an issue of Bar vs PSI. 1 bar is around 15 PSI, so they use different hand signals for different pressures because of the difference in units.
Chris Debieux "...only have 200 at start of dives generally..."
This is in the USA, where we use PSI. At the start of a dive you'd usually have 3,000 or better, and 200 - 500 at the end of a dive. (And I prefer to end with 800, just in case of delays getting out of the water.)
SeikiBrian, I'm from Florida but was trained in the Maldives and I only know Bar hand signals.
Wow that's pretty serious. Thanks for sharing this video.
David Crowson You are welcome.
I certainly agree..And the more technical they get.the worse the ego grows..I worked as crew on several boats along new jersey and new york for years with loads of techies..It was SOMETHING to see..New divers are eager and alot more careful..I became a divemaster because I loved seeing the excitement of new divers.Its reminisque of when I first got my cert. I will say that Ive never experienced a diver getting shamed because of some issue whether sea sickness..equiptment malfunction or just not being up for a dive.Its all about having fun and safety.The dive community has always been a great place to spend time in...I miss it..
Having fun is the reason the majority of people get into diving.
LakeHickoryScuba roger that...safe diving😎
Same to you.
Very good, proactive awareness is the key. Rescue Diver is my next course.
You will find great benefit in the Rescue Diver Course.
At 14 yrs old certified at only 12 I was on a wreck dive in Oahu paired with what I found out later was a drunk diver, at the time I just thought he was strange. Once under at 110 Ft he was swimming all over not maintaining any depth eventually he was too dangerous for me to handle as he was much larger and kept grabbing at my fins I only had 4min of bottom time, the dive master was playing with a shark in the wreck and not helping, back at the boat he said sorry I gave him to you I found him with 100psi at the bottom. Moral of the story don't dive drunk and don't pair a 14yr old with an even more inexperienced drunk.
Glad to hear that you were safe. This is why we stress that Rescue is a much needed class, not just for potential dive buddies, but for self rescue skills as well.
LakeHickoryScuba Agree, I had no skills to rescue and now looking back should not even be diving that deep as a junior open water diver.
On my last dive I got into the boat with no more than 3bar in my tank I even had to buddy breath with my dad (DM) and I wasn't as stressed as you would think because I trusted my dad and my instructor with my life if I was by myself I would be dead so thanks to ppl looking out for me ( this was my ow last dive)
Your dad is a Divemaster and let his OWN SON run out of air on a dive with him? I'm sorry, but if that's true he should return his DM license immediately. That is beyond irresponsible.
Thanks for sharing. Good video and notation of stress awareness and positioning to keep an eye out and keeping all divers safe.
You're welcome Nym1824 Nym1824, glad you liked the video.
Forgive me if I remember incorrectly but safety stops are best practice but not mandatory especially in a low air situation. He mismanaged his gas and just followed the crowd instead of signalling his buddy (if he had one)for an earlier ascent. Even if the D.M. was his buddy he could have ascended the 15 ft by himself
You are correct joerocket1977.
I just ran across this video. I know that in panic one usually does not think clearly, but I am surprised that the diver in distress wouldn't take your octo from you.
When a situation hits the point of panic, then the flight or fight sense kicks in. At this point most have rational thought with in them.
I can't say what I'd do, as I've not had a close to out of air emergency. I'd like to think if a buddy offered me air, the thing I was worried about, I'd take it. I tend to dive very conservatively, I'm still pretty new and know I have a lot to learn.
Diving conservatively is the best way to dive.
I like the play by play on this. And though you are specific to this stressed out diver looking at his computer, I think I look at mine a lot even though I’m not stressed out. I just like looking at it to see what it’s doing. Not every 5 seconds though...
A lot of divers will look at the gauges frequently, and its a good habit to develop, however on this dive, he was quite obsessive.
Your videos are great Informative In depth Good stuff thanks for all the good work
You're welcome Rick, glad you enjoy them.
LakeHickoryScuba not only enjoying but learning as well thank you hope to dive with you one day
Absolutely fantastic video !!! This helps us all !!!!
Hello jackjackattack, glad you liked the video. We hope all our videos help other divers as well.
This is fantastic to learn and watch!
Thanks Megan Elisabeth Beauty, glad you liked the video.
Great informative post
Cheers
Glad you liked the video Richie Mattinson.
Just found you, love the content. Glad you paused video. You almost caused a wormhole in time. Great stuff and thanks for all the videos
Thanks firediver Safety, glad you like our videos.
A great training video, I have to compliment you for all the great videos you post, keep it up. From St. Louis.
Thank you and glad you liked the video Mike McClanahan, we hope this video helps all divers in the future.
I know the safety stops are mandatory, but I had so much anxiety just watching this....I didn't know you had to ascend so slowly because of the bends....I thought were like 30 seconds to a minute....
Hello Lance Burley, we do encourage all divers to perform a Safety Stop at the end of the dive, although for recreational diving, or what we call non stop diving (a fancy way of saying no decompression diving), Safety Stops are not actually required. We simply do them for added conservatism, considering Decompression Theory is theoretical at best. The current safe ascent rate being taught by training agencies is 30 feet per minute, or in short, a foot every 2 seconds. We actually recommend making this even slower. Its all about staying safe while underwater.
Good video. I'm sure ill be more aware of this behavior in the future.
Thank You.
Great job boss
Thanks Elvis Don, glad you liked the video.
I’ve never dived, but he looked to me like myself when I’m being obsessive-compulsive about getting something done. It would be hard in that environment to translate psi into number of breaths left, so you would want to double and triple check to see if you read it correctly. I don’t think he was enjoying the experience. Some people won’t have an aptitude for a particular sport, but it’s early days for him, right?
Hello Lisa Schuster, you make a great point about him probably not enjoying this particular dive. He very well could be OCD about checking his gauges and not trusting what he was reading. We have a philosophy in diver training called "Comfort Through Repetition." As he grows as a diver, hopefully, he will become more confident in his own abilities, equipment, etc.
Next time in Ft. Lauderdale try diving with American Dream Diver II. Very awesome crew.
We will check them out, thanks.
Good video, thanks for sharing... I have the same alternate reg as you!!!
Fantastic commentary and technique. I'd like to know how experienced he was. Could've done with a snorkel when he surfaced.
Hello Milo B, I never asked him once we were on the surface what his skill level was.
Yep. The SPG is not just there for decoration.
Marilyn Rangel Very true.
Your videos are so helpful. Thank You
You're welcome Tana Asad, glad you like them.
great video thanks for sharing i cam looking for it from the scubaboard article that you mentioned
saph the sergal Thanks for the kind words. Some on Scuba Board is a great resource for divers to learn.
LakeHickoryScuba it really is a good place to learn and im getting some good info (cert in 2 years or less hopefully) i feel like ive learn a lot so far mostly with how things work and all that
Great video thanks for sharing it
excellent presentation
Thanks Sparky
The other time this was happened to me, i forgot how to signaling my instructor, i just showed him my spg, luckily he understood
This is definitely the easiest way to relay information. Show the gauge.
I think when a diver is stressed, their focus changes and they stop being calm and rational... Some could say they even become stupid... Well, additionally stupid - my instructor always said that underwater, everything becomes twice as hard and people become twice as stupid.
I once dived with a german guy (sorry my American friends, but in this story, we used bar, not psi) and starting the dive with 200 bar is great. Turn around was 100 and surface pressure was 70, leaving 20 for safety stop and 50 for reserve. We where just concluding our dive by going up a small 'chimney' which could comfortably fit 2 divers, 3 at a squeeze and 4 if you were desperate and didn't mind the sea urchins stabbing you.
Either way, this guy decides to wait until we're in the chimney to tell anyone how much air he has (previously signalled he had 70 bar not 5 minutes ago) and now, with the 4 of us (first the divemaster, then the irish lady ahead of me, then him in the rear) lining up to go and pass through the channel and surface at the end.
Not 1 minute after the first two start going up, he starts pushing me up and following immediately after. Unfortunately for him, there are cleaner shrimp on the inside and the DM was showing the other diver. So he ends up cramming all of us into this confined space and grabs the DM's attention and signals that he's got 20 bar left!
That's a fairly strong worry and when we finally surface not 3 minutes later, he's now down
to 5 bar at the surface! It was probably because he's obsessed with blowing bubble rings and wasted most of his air.
He's a bit of an asshole...
After nearly two months doing survey dives and sharing a dorm with him, wrapping up a triple transect with the same irish lady and myself he had the job of reeling up the tapes, so I carried the tape bag and the other diver held the SMB while we swam. He singalled having 50 bar as we finished our transects and began reeling in so we had 150 meters swim to go and he only has it in his mind to reel in as fast as possible so when he almost leaves us both in the gloomy abyss twice, I had to have a word with him after the dive. He still wonders why he finished with such a small amount of air despite practically sprinting 150 meters underwater...
Another time he, I and another intern went snorkelling around an island... About half way through he just sprints off and we don't see him until we get all the way to the end and he's dicking around with a pineapple tree. So long buddy system...
I guess what I'm getting at is some people panic and forget, some people just don't know outright and as my instructor said - twice and hard, twice as stupid...
What a story. Thanks for sharing.
Great video. The reason he crowds the other diver at the ladder of the boat is because he doesn't dive with a snorkel. Just saying, as I always make sure my divers have snorkels. Once on the surface, he can relax with a snorkel in his mouth.
Very True. However, if his mind has already reached a high level of stress, he probably wouldn't be able to mindfully switch over to the snorkel.
Not trying to single out poor training or self awareness on the part of this diver but a few things come to mind: 1. Where is the diver's buddy and why didn't he take advantage of assistance from his nonexistent buddy? (poor diving practice); 2. Why did the diver run so low on air that he was in danger of being completely out? (again poor diving practice, matching gas consumption with time and depth, lack of awareness); 3. The diver has no snorkel so on arriving at the surface he would have to lift his head put of the water to breathe (again poor diving practice probably initiated by poor training); 4. Doing a safety stop for 6 minutes doesn't gain the diver any advantage (based on DAN research) and gets him closer to exhausting his cylinder, making me wonder if he really knew what he was doing or was simply hanging out with the rest of the divers hoping that they would show him what to do or was uncomfortable moving past them on the down line. The rest of the divers also seemed to be doing very long safety stops, which doesn't hurt but also is not demonstrably better. 5. Refusing assistance of redundant air tells me that this is a very uncomfortable diver.
All very good observations Dan Marelli.
thanks, super helpful
You’re welcome
completed the Rescue Diver Course today and will share your video. Told the dive shop here about your video.
Thank You for the share, and congratulations on completing your Rescue Diver Course.
The problem diver also didn't remember how to orally inflate his wing at the surface. He's all stressed out about staying at the surface, which is why he crowded the exiting diver. Had he orally inflated, the problem would have been over.
They guy needs to seriously reconsider his attitude to diving.
1- Gas mismanagement.
2- Refusal to share air.
3- Actively kicking up the last bit of his ascent (the most critical).
4- Failure to establish positive buoyancy.
And that's just what we can see from the end of his dive.
You make some great points Oren Noah.
I would have definitely taken his alternate. Will definitely verify 3000 psi before going down.
Hello marcelarispe, I would have as well. There is no shame is staying alive.
Great job!!
Thanks Jack Grant.
I am always look "stressed and nervous" during safety stop - not due to low air or lack of experiences but I need to pee and I dont like to pee into wetsuit :) so I frequently check time and move with fins :-D
Fear of peeing in a wetsuit is common with a lot of divers.
I would like to end every dive aleast 1000 psi or more in my tank in case of emergencies. One of the most important rules of rules is monitor your gauges and breathe slowly.
Most of us here at the Dive Center dive by the rule of thirds as well Jess.
He was fine, he had split fins which make you go faster is all :)
That's exactly what one of my Divemaster's said, he was fine since he was using Split Fins. LOL
Shame it’s not true. Split fins are more efficient but blade fins provide a more powerful thrust
200 psi at the safety stop is gas mismanagement and lack of awareness, but definitely isn't a reason to struggle with a prolonged safety stop. If I were in your place, I would get in front of him and look at his computer because it looks like accidental deco for me. If no deco, then make contact if acceptable, skip the stop, ascend with him in a controlled manner, and end the dive without that funny underwater ladder climbing.
Why do people like him refuse air share? It's relatively common, they think like this: If I end the dive being on somebody's long hose, I'm a piece of crap. If I end without help, I'm a hero. It's just a horrible mindset for diving.
I agree Anzelm Bakker.
This is useful.. Thank you
You're welcome FROGSTOCK. Glad you liked the video.
Now I realize you posted this video a while ago
I think I'll shoot you a message
Ok
And why did he refuse your alternate? Non of this makes any sense
Not really sure. Purely speculation, but I would guess his pride.
LakeHickoryScuba Wow silly
Fintan McAteer "And why did he refuse your alternate?"
Once stressed, a diver might be very reluctant to take his regulator out of his mouth even for a moment; he'd subconsciously lock onto his own regulator -- even though it's about to become useless -- as his "life preserver."
@@seikibrian8641 Exactly, it's just like in the fire service, we're trained not to take off our SCBA masks until we're out of the fire and...... "Cooled off", even though we could be just about out of air, and on a SCOTT 4500 bottle, they say you have 30 minutes, but it's more like 12-15 minutes, that is where a technique comes in called "skip-breathing". Now I did ask my Ow instructor about "skip-breathing" and had to explain what it was, and he said absolutely NOT, you keep breathing, even if it's semi-shallow, you keep breathing, that if you run out of air on that last breath, you should be able to hold it for a minute and then exhale as you surface.
@@jackgrant4795 "...if you run out of air on that last breath, you should be able to hold it for a minute and then exhale as you surface."
I would NEVER teach a diver to "hold it for a minute." Although in the real world we sometimes do, we teach to NEVER HOLD YOUR BREATH. Holding your breath can lead to pulmonary barotrauma if you ascend even a few feet, because the decreasing water pressure against your torso will cause the compressed air in your lungs to expand.
Low on air signal never sank in
Apparently not.
Did... Did you just make a pun?
But how how much time you guys took as a safety stop? I count more than 3 minutes!
Most training agencies recommend more than a 3 minute stop for added conservatism.
1) The safety stop is not that important and actually, in an emergency situation, the safety stop should be skipped. Until 10 - 15 years ago safety stop did not even exist.
2) I want to share an emergency situation that occurred to me.
I dove with a defective mask that kept filling with water. As I breathe equally from nose and mouth, mask filled with water is not a cause for panicking for me and I did not see it as a major problem. Yet I wanted to see, so I kept emptying the mask which required frequent inhaling/exhaling of air. At 100 feet I even took some pictures. At a certain time, I signaled the divemaster that I had a problem and he signaled me back to go up. I went up slowly and made the safety stop and finally, I reached the surface with fully inflated BCD. Only then, I started to feel weird. I released the weight belt as I thought it would give me a relief, but could not hold it so it was lost. I signaled the boat and it got closer. I managed to get on the boat, and only then I almost fainted. They gave me an oxygen which did not do anything. I went back to the room and slept for almost 4 hours and then step by step I recovered.
Analysis of the case.
Due to the frequent inhale/exhale, my blood CO2 level became too low and I entered a situation of HYPERVENTILATION (or too much oxygen), which during my sleep corrected itself. I was lucky that it happened on the surface, as hyperventilation can cause a loss of consciousness that could be fatal if occurs underwater.
If anybody ever encounters a situation like that this is what needs to be done:
1) Do not fight the mask, if you can't stand a mask full of water just remove it and go up with your buddy. Close your eyes if you can't keep them open and let your buddy lead you.
2) Once on the surface, ask somebody to put a plastic bag around your head (yes like choking). This will cause an inhaling of a CO2-rich air which will resolve the situation almost instantanusly.
3) Make sure that whoever puts the plastic bag wants you alive and not dead (LOL) and remove it in a few seconds.
4) Remember, as long as you have air and the regulator is in your mouth you are not in any immediate danger. Even if you run out of air in 15-20 ft, you can still go up on your lungs. Don't panick.
Hello D.E., glad to know you made it safely back from your incident. Unfortunately though, there are a lot of things I disagree with you in regards to how you would handle certain situations. The last part of your comment, I do agree with completely. DON'T Panic. In regards to your mask leaking, its very important to make sure you have a proper fitting mask. Check out a recent video we produced talking about sealing your mask with facial hair. Even if you don't have facial hair, it still goes into detail about getting a proper seal. ua-cam.com/video/JqSR-iAYDzE/v-deo.html. Also here is another great video on safety stops as well, that you may find interesting. ua-cam.com/video/-sT-SYnbzDU/v-deo.html. Happy and safe diving.
Thanks, for your comments
1) It would be helpful if you could specify the things that you do not agree with me. I am always happy to learn.
2) You are right about the need to check the proper fitness of the mask before diving. In this case, this mask passed the vacuum test on board but failed underwater. The purpose of publishing this incident was to show what how hyperventilation can occur and how to avoid it and minimize the risk is associated with.
3) I know that mask filling with water is a major cause for panic with many divers especially with novices.
D.E. A few of the things that we disagree on are:
1. Though I agree Safety Stops are not needed for the average recreational diver, there is still an added value to doing them. In short, it adds an extra sense of conservatism, considering dive theory is just theory. No two humans have the exact same body, so our on gassing and off gassing changes diver to diver. Both the tables and the computers use a basic model, assuming everyone's body on gasses and off gasses nitrogen at the same rate. Since we know this to be not true, we should always be willing to add such conservatism to our dive plans to be safe while diving. I will agree with you during the emergency situation, the safety stop should be aborted.
2. In your scenario you stated you released your weights but could not hold them, so you had to let them go. It has always been my mind set that if I ever have to remove my weights, then I immediately let them go. I know having to buy new weights can be expensive, but compared to the cost of your life, always let them go. The weights are replaceable, you are not.
3. Just from a medical standpoint, as I am a North Carolina EMT as well, its never a good thing to tell someone to put a bag over their head. I know where you were going with this option, but there is a much better way to do it. In a high stressful situation, it is true that breathing CO2 enriched air, will calm your body down, but at the same time, it takes away the oxygen the body needs to have adequate perfusion of O2 in the blodd. Thus it may take the panic attack away, but, it causes other issues in return. The best option is to have the diver lay in a position of rest, and if they can tolerate the O2 administration then have them breathe from a non re-breather. If the panic attack worsens in this case, you can always use a blow by method as well. The biggest reason we would want to treat all divers in this manor, vs the way we would on land, is we are not working in a stable environment (being on a boat vs on land), and there are multiple signs and symptoms of both a panic attack and decompression sickness that are the same. Thus, treatment for both needs to be the same as well, simply because you can't really diagnose it on a boat. Remember decompression sickness has up to 24 hours before it can set in. Thus, the more O2 you can administer to the diver, the better of a chance you can slow it down or prevent it.
Now with all this being said, I like how you ended you comment, by saying "Don't Panic." That is the key to every bad scenario that can happen underwater.
One final note: The old school method of breathing into a brown paper bag (not putting a bag over your head), can work with a drink bottle just as easily. In very rare emergencies, I have had patiences do this before, where they will exhale into a bottle, remove the bottle from their mouth, to allow ambient air to mix with it, then breathe from the bottle during the inhalation process. I usually will cut a few small slits into the bottle to allow the ambient air to mix with the CO2 as well. This way the patient is not breathing pure CO2. I wouldn't suggest this on a boat, but maybe have it in the back of your mind as a survival option for the worst case scenario. Happy Diving.
Thanks for the detailed reply. I definitely learned a lot from your experience and knowledge.
1) I totally agree with your point regarding the safety stop.
2) I agree with most of the comments regarding the handling the hyperventilation.
3) Please understand the situation, until I came back on board I did not realize the magnitude of the danger of that situation. I released the weight belt because it bothered me, I did not think that I had no strength to hold it. The last thing that crossed my mind was the cost of the belt. I was more reluctant to let the belt go because of other divers that might have been under me.
4) Last but not least I don't remember anyone talking about hyperventilation neither in the diving course nor in the rescue course that I took just a year ago. None of the three dive masters on board didn't know what to do.
In the light of panic mode that masks filling with water can cause, I wanted is to draw attention to this type of risk.
Thank you
You're welcome, and once again glad to know you made it back safely and was able to learn from it. That is the key to any situation we may come across. We need to be able to learn from it, and grow as a diver. If you haven't seen our Troy Springs Incident video, and our update, they are a great watch. You will see first hand how I dealt with a stressful situation.
Troy Springs Incident
ua-cam.com/video/3j6EwSbB1oY/v-deo.html
Troy Springs Revisited
ua-cam.com/video/zc39RK4ffMU/v-deo.html
I'm not a diver but getting stressed will cause you to burn more air.. Calm down relax. Control your breathing. Your only 15ft of water.
You would be correct Michael Edlin.
If he was low on air, 20 or 200psi, doesn't matter, why didn't you send him up? The safety stop is not something you must do, being able to breathe at any depth is more important, is it not?
Unfortunately he was not part of our group or I would have sent him on up. He chose to make the safety stop without assistance.
Would an out of air diver be out of gas if he were flying an airplane? If you never completely 100% trust your gear to be trouble free; and your buddy to be there, you'll never have misplaced trust. Tommymac
Idk about others, but I would probably tap on his shoulder and ask if he's okay, even if he says he okay, I'll ask how much air has he got, then signal to suggest to share air. Even if he technically had adequate air, with him under stress he would just consume more air than he should if he were to be calm. He was wrong and silly to decline your offer, yet I would have gone to him immediately once I see his first signs of stress.
All great advice Joyce. We should always be proactive when trying to help a fellow diver.
Hi there, I'm wondering why you didn't inflate his bcd at the surface when he clearly didn't and was struggling to get out. He was almost under the girl at the ladder and could have been knocked out by her tank when she struggled getting up the ladder.
Thanks!
Hello Jessy B, great question. If he would have struggled in anyway at all, once he was at the surface, then I would most definitely would have stepped in an took action. Based off his neglect and refusal of the air source I offered to him, I chose to hang back. In any rescue situation, we can never force help onto someone who does not need it. Now with this being said, if this would have been a training scenario, and he would have been one of my students, then I most definitely would have took action.
I ask to see the gauge when this happens to make sure I understand what "2" means. I'm also concerned about this diver's basic training for the reasons you mentioned and the fact that he didn't seem to understand that a "safety stop" should not be a place to drown if his tank is empty. Did anyone recommend a refresher with him?
Hello Michael Dallas, a refresher was mentioned to him by the Divemaster on board.
Why didn't you just ask him how much air he has as soon as you thought he may be low?
Great question Paul Riley. At this point, I'm not sure he would have been able to answer based off his actions or lack of actions through out his stop.
2 finger is 20 Bar for me.
I forget we have different units around the world
50 Bar is pretty much as low as you want to go, 30 Bar is pretty much absolute 0
Metric vs Imperial, will always be the topic of debate. This is why I teach my students to simply show their pressure gauge to their buddy when trying to communicate air pressure to them.
200 psi @ 15ft, is it not a rule that you get on the boat with 500psi?
Hello Crypto B, typically charters will make recommendations, which is usually 500 psi.
Another problem is bad communication between the diver and his buddy. If they really check how much air they have they could avoid this problem.
Agreed, most out of air emergencies occur due to divers not checking their air.
Another reason I carry a pony!!!
They definitely come in handy.
whats a pony?
mohammad sadaghiani a pony is a small cylinder that is generally attached to ur main tank or BCD. It has a reg plumbed in that can be accessed in a emergency or low air situation. It's never relied on as a extension to a dive time. Hope that explains it.
douglas whi ON POINT.
@@douglaswhi6980 how much extra air does it give you?
He didn't take the alternate air...what else can you do?
We can only do the best we can.
I could never do this! I don’t like screwing around with me not being able to breathe!
Hello jdrose1000, sorry to hear that diving is not for you.
LakeHickoryScuba It’s ok, there is a big beautiful world above the water to see! That’s why I watch thees videos, because I will never do it and it’s fun to watch! 😊
His tank looks smaller than AL80 ? Maybe its the angle..
Hello Kenny Kant, it must be the angle. The charter we used, supplied cylinders during this dive.
Do you think getting closer to him and letting him see your gauge would've calmed him and coaxed him to take your alternate air ? Or would that have put you in greater danger of him grabbing hold of you ? Also it looked as if his stress was spreading to the divers around him. How much did that play into how you handled this situation?
Robert Chambers To me it didn't really seem like his stress was rubbing off on the other divers, but yes I probably could have showed him my gauges. I honestly believe he still would not have taken my alternate. Sometimes people are afraid of appearing flawed in front of others. I believe this was the case with him.
Thank you
Robert Chambers You're welcome
Why wouldn’t you just ascend with him? Did you have a deco obligation? Safety Stops are not mandatory, air permitting they should be done, but they can totally be shortened.
Hello Arturo, that is an excellent question. In short, he was not part of our group, as the video stated, and I had no way of knowing what his dive profile was like.
Hey Brian, good videos. I was trained with the metric system even though I'm from Florida. Can you show us the common hand signs for psi volumes? PS, if you like the Ga aquarium, I think you'd really enjoy Epcot aquarium.
I will be happy to make a video on hand signals for psi and bar. In regards to the Epcot Dive, I would like to do it one day.
With psi, I was trained to do thousands on the arm and hundreds in the air. So for 1400, i would tap my arm with one finger, and then hold four fingers up in the air
If he was at 20 psi, It's really weird that he refused your second.
Something is fishy.
Calculating the volume of air he had left in his tank at 20 psi goes like this:
Given:
Volume of gas at some ambient pressure = cylinder volume x cylinder pressure / ambient pressure.
Therefore:
an aluminum 80 with .39 cubic foot volume, at 20 psi, at 15 feet deep is:
.39 x 20 / 20 =.39 cubic feet of air left.
He obviously had more than 20 psi in his tank.
Wonder if his pride was not letting him tell you how little air he had. The same pride that refused your help. Or if he actually did blow thru 200 psi in that panic.
Fishy.
By the way it's been a long time since classroom, and if my memory of the volume formula is incorrect, let me know. Lol
In this particular dive, he was using a steel (and I apologize, I don't remember what size) not an aluminum. The way I calculate cubic feet is based off the size of cylinder / the working pressure * the actual pressure. So in an AL80 it would be. (80cf / 3000psi) x 20psi, which would have gave him .53cf of air, just barely over half of a cubic foot. If he was using a steel 100hp, the math would have been (100cf / 3442psi) x 20psi, which would have been a remainder of .58cf of air. Still just barely over a half of a cubic foot of air. He was also using an air integrated computer, and in my experience, as a cylinder gets low, they can become inaccurate, or at the minimum, fluctuate with each breath. If I had to take an educated guess, his pride prevented him from taking my alternate.
@@LakeHickoryScuba I don't think your calculation accounts for the increased absolute pressure around him at 15 feet deep.
(14.7 + 6) approx. He would have less gas available under water than in outer space lol
Close enough though.
Pride comes before a fall.
Have a great day.
There is a lot my calculations don't account for, his SAC rate, his mental status, etc., etc. Just reporting the facts as I discovered them.
If you would have given me the ok during a stop, I would reply with the minutes left. I assume he has 2 min left on his stop. Thoughts?
That would be a reasonable assumption. However, his mannerisms told a different story in this case.
Could the stress of the diver be a result of the diver not having strong enough swimming skills? (Remember that a while back that I left a comment about a swimmer's quality of his stroke. The video where you talked about a swimming test.)
Very possible Charles.
The split fins wouldn’t help there either.
200 psi air left at the safety stop? When i start my dive my tank is at 200 psi.
mohammad sadaghiani PSI or BAR?
LakeHickoryScuba ya i think its Bar. Wr start with 200 Bar.
Thought so. 200 BAR is around 3000 PSI, so you have plenty of air.
2000 psi?
Just in case someone reads this, if you are using bar you start at +/- 200 to 220 bar and should start heading to your safety stop at 50 bar.
So after he broke the surface, why would he crowd the female diver who was climbing up the ladder into the boat?? After breaking surface, wouldn't he be OK then?? Why would he still need to be watched??
The biggest reason is because of PANIC. Once a diver gives in to panic, the the flight or fight response kicks in. Thus, he may do what ever is necessary to get out of the water. Even if his stress levels decreased once he hit the surface, you could still tell he was not completely comfortable being in the water. As he approached the ladder, the female diver was still trying to exit the water. By him being too close to her, if she would have fell backwards, he could have sustained multiple injuries from her falling on her. Thus, causing even more stress or even more panic.
Lake Hickory Scuba That makes sense! I never thought of those reasons. I guess that's why you're a diving instructor and I'm not. :)
holy moly he is a bad diver. RELAX!, breath deep and slowly. 200 is MORE than enough. he should stick to snorkeling
Hello Morten, the good thing is, hopefully he learned from this situation and hopefully new divers can as well.
This comment section has me convinced divers are arrogant bossy gossips. I’m rethinking whether I really want to learn if it means being surrounded by such jerks the whole time. The instructor seems really coolheaded and worthwhile though.
Hello Coretta. We are sorry some of the viewers seem arrogant, we call them keyboard warriors. Please understand not all divers are that way. Our goal here on this channel is to promote the Scuba Diving Industry and to teach safe diving practice.
15 feet with 200 psi...whats the problem..New divers get crazy under 500...
Safety stop is a good idea but NOT if you’re going OOA. Just ascend.
Very True.
the two fingers means he really needed to get out of the water and take a dump
You may be right CollegeRepulblican.
panicking with 200 psi at 15 feet? really?
Yes sir. He was on the verge.
I'm sorry but there's no excuse and for him to refuse help shows even further that humility could kill. He's an idiot for not accepting your air. Usually, most dives I've been on, if you return to the boat with less than 500psi, the Captain will not let you dive again cuz it shows lack of air management.
All very true HILO
Yeeee-haw~!
I can't believe this man refused your octopus. omg pride is going to kill a diver one day. This is a guy who would rather run out of air than be the first one to signal for half tank and turn the dive around
I agree. Our pride gets in the way of our safety, if we let it.
Maybe he was afraid to put out his second stage.
I hope this guy never dives again. People want so badly to think everyone is the same. Everyone is equal in every way. It’s just not the case. Many many people have no business ever being in situations where life threatening things are involved.
This is a great learning experience for all. He can learn from this and become a much better diver.
ur low on air and why not surface at the bow and drift aft..For him not to want to share air is a ego thing
Ego plagues a lot of divers, both new and old.
he is fine....bot short on air
his fault though
Just another reminder to all of us, we should always monitor our air.
this is why you have to get drown proof'd before you even consider doing a sea dive
We agree simunator.
one rule...dont lie about your gages and air you haveleft!!!
That would be a very important rule.
LakeHickoryScuba I never understood why do people lie when asked him much air they have !!!
Who knows.
Nice group, all of them wear the dive computer on the wrong arm... :( Why did the rookie divers a deep wreck dive?
Right Arm, Left Arm, doesn't really matter to me. In regards to diving deep, we all have to make decisions for ourselves.
was there a current he had to swim against.
I,m just trying to figure out why he was so low on gas
There was a small current, but most likely he is just a heavy breather, and at the depths we were diving at, he went though his air 4 times faster than normal. There are a number of variables that could have played a role in him going through his air so fast.
strokes lol...