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Rich, On Mon, 1 Jul 1996, Richard Pyle wrote: > That's the risk we take everytime we go diving - that we may be bitten on > the ass. Unless you were the test subject of some lenghty decompression > study, or you have done a lot of dives and have paid close attention to > subtle symptoms, then you can't extrapolate existing models or deco > schemes to your own diving practices with 100% certainty. Mike is right > about the opinions of the guys who know. It's enlightening that, as with > many aspects of science, the more a researcher actually knows about > what's going on, the more he or she tends to say, "We don't really know > what's going on." The risk of getting bent is well known to all divers; you above all know this. Risks associated with oxygen toxicity are much less known by sport divers and have not been inetegrated into their risk assessment. O2 toxicity from "doing it wrong" is an additional risk to DCS not a substitute > I'm always interested to read more studies, but the more I read, the > clearer it becomes that chaotic processes are involved, which means that > the more extreme the exposure, the less predictable the probability of > DCI; both within and between individuals. I think we can do better than > we do now, especially if we understand more about bubble physics. But I > have to tell you that I am dubious that the answers we really need are > actually "out there". I agree with you in general, but the specifics of O2 toxicity are reasonably well known. What is not as well known is the degree to which using a SCR rebreather or other delivery device puts you at risk. Just as you would not take a regulator of the shelf from some unknown manufacturer and dive it without backup, it's prudent to take the same precautions when diving a new life-support system like a rebreather. As I noted - there's a lot out there both theoretical and experiental (from people like you) from which we can all learn. Your article about your DCS experience should be required reading - it personalizes the problem and trancends the "book" knowledge without actually exposing those learning from you, to the actual experience. It seems reasonable we coudl all use the same learning curve about rebreather physiology. It may well not be new - there's a saying in medicine: If you want to know about a "new" rare disease, check the early German literature. Safer diving through wiser physiology. aka Know yourself Peter
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