Can You Get a Nitrogen Narcosis Hangover? #askmark #scuba
Alexander Sasse
@alex_an_der_ps439
Hi Mark,
I have a question:
We get always told, that nitrogen narcosis a similar effect like alcohol have and I wondered if you are (theoretical) deep in the water long enough, could you get something like a hangover?
#askmark
#scuba #scubadiving #scubadiver
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A hangover is dehydration of the brain due to the alcohol. This doesn’t happen with nitrogen gas. If you have hangover like symptoms, you’ve likely got a sunstroke or haven’t been hydrating enough between dives. Make sure you have enough fluid intake, especially in hot climates.
For a hangover dehydration is not the only (even not the primary) cause of bad feeling, usually it’s increased levels of acetaldehyde, which is a toxic byproduct of ethanol metabolism. Other important causes are hormonal alterations of the cytokine pathways and decrease of the availability of glucose. You cannot avoid them, it’s just the way how a human body reacts to alcohol consumption.
Dehydration, metabolic acidosis, disturbed prostaglandin synthesis, increased cardiac output, vasodilation, sleep deprivation and insufficient eating are common complications associated with alcohol, which a responsible drinker can avoid. Obviously a truly responsible person shouldn’t drink alcohol at all, or at least limit it’s consumption to amounts which don’t have any noticeable effect in their body.
#AskMark – Mark is it ok to have a octo that is a different manufacturer than what your first stage and primary second stage are. Thanks
Officially, it’s important to keep the same brand as only select combinations of 1st and 2nd stages are tested and certified. Mixing brands and models can void warranties and increase chances of malfunctions.
Mechanically, most 2nd stages all function in a similar way. While they may be set up with different ISPs a technician can usually adjust them to work.
That being said, it’s far better to invest in a matching 2nd stage. You’ll come across several inconveniences such as some service centres that won’t reassemble a mix-matched regulator set.
@Scuba Diver Magazine Thanks Mark for the quick answer.
Thanks Mark! Always enjoy your vids…
#askmark hi mark thay say narcosis feels like alcohol wouldn’t it feel more nitrousoxide?
They’re fairly synonymous. Nitrous Oxide would be a good comparison. Each diver feels different effects of Nitrogen Narcosis. Most report a relaxation and confusion which are similar to the effects of N2O. But some divers experience a more negative, fearful response.
Hi mark. I bought a brand new Apeks mtx rc 8 months ago and it’s still in the box, I haven’t use it all however I am planning to travel and perhaps do little bit of diving. I was wondering if I have to get it service before I can use them? #askmark
Many Apeks Service Centres offer an inspection service that may be better suited to this instance. They check the regulator for function and give it a quick once over. If the regulator requires any work they’ll let you know.
Regulators don’t do well in storage. The box is a good place to store it but, some of the soft sealing parts will still degrade over time. I’d pop it into my local Apeks Dealer, ask them to pop it on a test bench and check it over. Chances are it will be fine but a fresh seat is always worth it.
When I do my OW Checkout Dives in Aug, I’ll ask my Instructor. Just to see his reaction
#askmark Hi Mark,
Thank you for the informative content. I recently decided to get into diving more seriously but I am having a problem under water. Not being able to breathe from my nose gives me the feeling that I can’t fill my lungs and always feel a little out of breath. Would an IDM/FFM be a possible solution for this problem? Been trying to find a good answer but have a feeling I am missing something. Is it “just” a few procedures that change or is there more to it?
Regards
Martin
Yeah, there are a lot of benefits to Full Face Masks; breathing is more natural in a FFM and most divers get used to them very quickly. Depending on the mask design you’ll be able to breathe through your nose and mouth during the dive.
As far as differences to a half mask 2nd stage setup, The first difference is equalising. If you need to pinch your nose you’ll find either a bar or a pair of knobs inside the mask that when you push the top of the mask to your forehead, block your nose so you can equalise.
Bailout is a bit more involved. If something on your regulator fails and you need to switch breathing supplies, there are two tabs at the bottom of the mask that you pull to quickly take the mask off. You need to secure a breathing device and a backup half mask to be able to see again.
Otherwise you may notice a change in your buoyancy and breathing characteristics when you look up or down
#askmark terrific job as always Mark! My Q: I used a back inflate BCD, the Scubapro Hydros Pro, what benefit I’d have in switching to a backplate and wing if I want to stick to a recreational diving ?
If you only plan on diving single cylinders then it mainly comes down to replacement parts, personalisation and stability.
The Hydros Pro is one of the best BCDs for replacement parts. But a BP/W setup is very easy to repair and replace worn and damaged parts without needing to replace the entire BCD.
They also give you complete customisability of parts and where they’re located. If you want to add or remove D-Rings, change the style of D-Ring then you can pick and choose where it goes.
Another factor is the stability and rigidity. This is another area where the Hydro Pro excels. But compared to most recreational BCDs you’ll notice some movement between you and the cylinder. With a BP/W they tend to be more rigid so the BP/W and cylinder move with you more naturally.
If you already own a BCD, especially a Hydros Pro, I wouldn’t worry too much about changing to a BP/W unless you find your current BCD restrictive. The main benefit of BP/Ws is the flexibility so that you can fit a wider range of cylinder setups and wing sizes.
@Scuba Diver Magazine thank you Mark !
There is a theory that individuals who are genetically predisposed to alcoholism, might be more susceptible to nitrogen(gas) narcosis. It is only a theory yet I have known a couple of divers who had past history of alcoholism, and ere easily narced at relatively shallow depths (33m), and one went catatonic at 40m. AgIn only a theory and I posed this to a couple of diving doctors (not dive medicine doctors), who agreed it was an interesting idea, but were unaware of any research in the matter.
#askmark hello mark, i was wondering if you have any experience with breathing industrial O2 instead of medical grade O2? Is the gas really just the same and the only difference is the cylinder valve and the amount of sampling done by the manufacturer?
No, I was always trained to avoid lower grades of O2 due to potential contaminants. My dive centre uses a PP blending method so pure O2 is easy to get hold of.
It’s different here to the US but, my understanding is one of the biggest differences is the filling process and whether they produce a vacuum in the cylinder first to reduce the chance of contaminant build up.
It’s an interesting topic and I’ll do some reading into it
#askmark
Found your Chanel yesterday whilst trying to decide on gear options now watched like 30 vids in one day.
I’m wondering what your recommendations are for like a starter pack of all gear.
I’m mainly looking to get myself a hood, gloves, boots, fins and a bcd for around £800-1000 mainly for British diving but would be cool to hear what recommendations for a full set of new gear for maybe £2000-£2500 not 100% sure which bcd type but leaning more towards a wing bcd.
Love the videos keep up the good work ❤
For Hood Glove Boots, Bare, Fourth Element, Scubapro, Waterproof and Mares are all good brands. I tend to stick to 5mm hoods here in the UK. It’s all you really need and thicker hoods can really dull your hearing. Bare have some nice and stretchy material and their Omnired lining is good at retaining heat.
For Fins, the Apeks RK3 are a popular fin right now, you’ll see them everywhere. As are the Mares Avanti Quattro+ Fins.
BCDs are a broad subject. You can jump to something like the Mares XR Single Backmount set or a XDEEP Zen and jump straight onto BP/W BCDs. Recreational BCDs are all good but a BP/W can future-proof your BCD and give you options later in your diving career.
If you’re in the UK Scubapro has a free octo offer on right now and they make amazing regulators so you can get a great deal right now. Depending on how much you feel the cold you should be able to dive here in the warmer months in just a 5mm wetsuit but, a safer choice would be a 7mm or even a drysuit. (Scubapro also have a drysuit offer right now FYI). I really liked the Apeks Thermiq wetsuit
#askmark does it matter where you get your open water cert from? Currently doing it through ssi but wondering if theres any benifet from padi or other organizations. Can you go from other organaizations to other organazations? For example if i get my open water from ssi can i then get my advanced open water from padi?
There are cross-over courses and most certs from other agencies are recognised and credited if you want to change training agencies. They tend to have crossover charts on their website to know what your current cert is equivalent to in their training tree.
There are some benefits to experiencing different training agencies, you can learn how some agencies do things in a different way and you can dive a safer “hybrid” style. Some agencies are better recognised in remote places so it can be useful to have a few different cert cards with you. But SSI is one of the big ones and I’d be surprised if a dive centre doesn’t know about SSI…