I haven't dove enriched air nitrox in a while and was suprised at the difference I noticed. I felt a lot better after the dives, no headache, and a better SAC rate. I know there's little to no evidence for this but has anyone noticed this?
Nitrox
I haven't dove enriched air nitrox in a while and was suprised at the difference I noticed. I felt a lot better after the dives, no headache, and a better SAC rate. I know there's little to no evidence for this but has anyone noticed this?
Its been reported anecdotally for a number of years, I have heard dive shop owners use it as a selling point for people to get Nitrox certified.
Personally, I've never noticed any significant change in the way I feel between diving Nitrox vs Air. There seems to be no scientific reason why it should happen, but you are not the first to have said they feel better, less tired etc. when diving Nitrox. It may be a psychological effect, but if you feel better then enjoy that feeling.
Last edited by shinek; 03-02-2009 at 06:57 PM.
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Even if it's just a psychological effect, I still seem to feel better and I know my SAC rate dropped because when I download my computer and if I enter the psi it calculates it. Plus right now it's not costing my anything extra to dive it so I might as well go for it. I'll see if I notice a difference after more than just a few dives.
So if there is NO scientific evidence that increasing O2 has no positive effect, why do we give it for DCS, on all first aid arrivals, as a matter of course in the ER, Child Birth, and another hundred circumstances! There is a ton of evidence that O2 is beneficial. I don't understand how people grow up in this country and the world without learning anything! More O2 means more Red Blood Cell up take and better exchange of waste. That alone will make you feel better let alone the replacement of Nitrogen. So someone needs to tell all those NFL players to put down the O2, seems there is no reason to be sucking it up on the side lines!
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Papa this IS something that we can agree on. Even breathing 100% when not diving feels really good so adding a little on a dive shouldn't hurt as long as proper procedures are followed.
I must be the odd man out, as breathing pure oxygen does absolutely nothing for me. I always chuckled and rolled my eyes with an "un-huh" when I see these so called "oxygen bars" on TV.
IF you experienced fatigue solely as a result of insufficient oxygen, then a higher 02 mix would certainly help. An example might be athletes performing in high altitude. I have flown sailplanes several times to 16,000 feet above mean sea level altitude without supplemental oxygen. One time I was just perfectly fine, the other time I felt quite drowsy and sleepy....time to open up the spoilers and drop down to safe altitudes.
Oxygen is used in hyperbaric treatment to accelerate the removal of nitrogen by eliminating the uptake of additional nitrogen.
But with my luck, this is probably about the point some rocket scientist on gas physiology is about to hand me my rear end on a platter, lol.
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Publisher, you're not the only one, I've tried breathing pure O2 and have never felt any effects, benefical or otherwise.
I don't dispute the value of oxygen in driving out nitrogen in the case of decompression sickness. Similarly, in high altitude situations, it makes sense as you may not otherwise be getting the amount of oxygen that you need.
However, the air we breath contains about 21% oxygen on the way in and about 16-17% on the way out. If we don't take up any more oxygen than that, why bother, under normal circumstances, to put any more oxygen in the mixture. There may be some value during extreme physical activity as you are using up more O2 and so the ability to replace it more quickly may be of value. I don't know, but that makes some sense.
When it comes to diving, at least as far as I understand it, the benefit of higher oxygen levels in the gas you breath is that it reduces the amount of nitrogen.
I will, of course, bow to those who have more medical/physiological knowledge than me and would welcome more information on the science behind this "feel good" phenomenon.
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That's a really good point that I've never really thought about and I might have to do some research to try and find a reason behind it.Originally Posted by shinek
The reasoning is to reduce the amount of nitrogen in our mix which equates to less nitrogen entering our bodies, at least that's the way I've always understood it.
I can't say I've felt better after a dive or two using nitrox but after doing a full day of diving (4-6 dives) I've felt less tired using nitrox than I did doing the same dives using air. I've also had the same results when doing multiday diving doing several dives a day
Scubasmurf reminds me of something I missed...if a diver feels poorly from subclinical DCS, then nitrox may eliminate that subclinical feeling, which cannot be discounted.
And as Hbh noted, even if it is just the placebo effect, who cares?! If a sugar pills make you think you are cured and your brain tells you body to fix it/heal it/feel better, isn't the result more important then scientific validity?
Papa, I think they give mother during childbirth pure 02 to increase 02 levels in both the mother and the baby. Women during childbirth may be holding their breath during pushing, which may cause elevated c02 and lowered 02 levels. Additionally, umbilical cords can get wrapped around necks, and starting out with an elevated 02 level can reduce the chances of brain damage from 02 starvation during delivery.
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