I've checked about drugs and diving with my personal physician, (just a
internist)  and in particular SudaFed.  Basically, I was told to stay
away from it.  As he said that, he also mentioned that ANY stimulant has
the potential to convulse at High Oxygen concentrations.  

Bad news for me since I love my morning coffee.


******************************************************************
David Norton 

OW: PADI Divemaster 96197
Tech: IANTD Adv. Nitrox 387
a-davnor@mi*.co*  - Consumer Travel Products - Database Test
Disclaimer:  Opinions stated don't necessarily represent the positions
of any business or organization, I'm affiliated with.
******************************************************************


>----------
>From: 	Robert Wolov[SMTP:wolov@hi*.co*]
>Sent: 	Thursday, February 29, 1996 12:43 AM
>To: 	IANTD 
>Cc: 	cavers@ge*.co*; techdiver@terra.net
>Subject: 	Re: DAN Article
>
>>If you check on sudafed it states that sudafed has a SIDE (not 
>>overdose) effect of seizures, apprehension, aniziety etc. sounds like 
>>other things we talk about .
>>
>>We have circumstantical evidence that it has been involved in a couple 
>>of fatalities. We published this about three years ago. In addition we 
>>had numerous reports from folks who had problems while using sudafed. 
>>Both Patti and I have had a bad experience on dives wgen using sudafed. 
>>Jim Lockwod had a rather bad situtation on deco on a dive using 
>>sudafed. He almost toxed in a rather safe zone. With his background it 
>>had to be the sudafed.
>>
>>I find it hard to beleive that anyone would choose to use sudafed when 
>>this published side effect Look it up in your PDR.
>
>I'm in complete agreement. My last comments were really directed to the
>
>problems using the drug *as intended*. The side effects are a whole
>other 
>area and can be just as problematic (at depth maybe deadly!).
>
>In the pharmacology of drugs they speak of idiosyncratic effects and 
>synergistic effects. The idiosyncratic effects are those things that
>seem 
>to effect that one poor SOB in thousands or even millions. Something 
>about their genetic make-up or phase of the moon or something. They're
>so 
>numerically rare it's tough to plan or anticipate for them (or even be 
>sure they result from the drug itself or something else).
>
>But, the synergistic effects...those are the ones that get ya! Those
>are 
>the ones where 2+2=5 and the whole is *greater* than the sum of it's 
>parts. For alot of folks, an antihistamine *on dry land can make them a
>
>little groggy (says so on the label...don't run heavy machinery and the
>
>usual legaleez to cover their six). 
>
>Now just looking at one effect that involves divers... Say you're a
>diver 
>at depth. And say you're usually pretty resistant to the narcosis
>effects 
>of N2, but you now have an antihistamine onboard. Might the two 
>potentiate each other? I don't think this is rocket science. I doubt
>that 
>two bad things that can adversly effect and dull the central nervous
>when 
>taken together comes out as a *good* thing.
>
>Now if I have a cold and I take an antihistamine and I get a little 
>groggy I'll just take a nap. If I'm a techdiver at 300 feet in a cave 
>with a crisis on my hands could I afford those fractions of a second or
>
>even whole seconds it'll cost me?...
>
>The real problem here is something we call in aerospace medicine "get 
>home-itis"...when an aviator is so motivated to complete the mission
>that 
>he'll ignore or down rate some risk factor with himself or his aircraft
>
>in order to justify flying when he shouldn't.
>
>It's easy for me as a novice recreational diver to say "Hey, my ears
>are 
>clogged or I have a cold or I just am too tired to go diving" But many
>of 
>you folks are professionals in the literal sense of the word. You do
>this 
>for a living! It ain't so easy for you to walk away from a dive! There 
>are schedules to keep, on projects that cost real money to you and to 
>your clients. You are highly motivated to dive. And that's one reason 
>that *smart* people do dumb things.(you read the statistics and ask
>"now 
>what was that guy thinking?" That's how!) It's probably not just the
>pros 
>either. If a tourist has plunked down a grand or so on a dive vacation 
>and they're a little stuffy that day...
>
>Hey, we're all human. Show me anyone who hasn't rationalized doing 
>something "less than prudent". We used to joke on the boat that an 
>aircraft that was "down" for night carrier quals always seemed to be 
>working just fine when it came time to fly it off to go home at the end
>
>of a cruise!  ;-)
>
>Take care.
>
>Robb Wolov
>--
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>Send subscription/archive requests to `techdiver-request@terra.net'.
>

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