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Gerard, Thank you for the info. A friend of mine knows someone with ties to DAN. He tells me that the information is normally passed along to DAN and when they get the information it will come back to me through that channel. To date I have not been able to get my hands on the final postmortem. The side effects you note are the same as listed in the PDR. However, the PDR also lists "fainting" as one of the less common or "rare" side effects. Keeping in mind that Nitrogen is a narcotic with its own sedating properties, the sedating effects of Dramamine could be expected to be enhanced while diving. As you imply, the medical profession does not have much data on the effects of hyperbaric exposure while taking Dramamine or many other drugs. The statistical information you provided is very interesting. Even though 7% is a small percentage, it is a completely preventable contribution to the number of deaths. Everyone would do well to think about that statistic before their next dive. At 10:27 AM 8/14/98 , Gerard Stainsby wrote: >Bill Bott wrote: > >> .... It seems that >> Richard is prone to seasickness. It was not uncommon for him to use >> Dramamine!!! A freaking sedative!!! The damn fool apparently took >> Dramamine before the dive. That explains why he just appeared to fall >> asleep. He DID just fall asleep. > >Dramamine: dimenhydrinate 50mg >Primary action: Histamine H1 receptor antagonist (antihistamine) > >1. Especially if the drug's been taken within a few hours of >death, blood levels should be high enough that it should be >readily detectable to routine postmortem toxicological screening >(which commonly includes other related antihistamines). > >Bill: do any of your sources have information on the results >of such a screen? > >2. I have no info on research on this drug's side effects under >hyperbaric conditions (END 136 ft), but its sedative action >limits many people taking it even under normobaric conditions. >It is _not_ recommended to drive, operate machinery etc under >the influence of this drug. The sedative action of this class >of drug is profoundly enhanced when combined with other sedative >factors. > >I know of no other drugs, commonly taken for sea-sickness, which >may be safe under demanding conditions. (Although I do have >some pharmacological tricks up my drysuit sleeve, I cannot >guarantee their safety, and would not take them myself on a >challenging dive.) Doubtless readers have their own opinions >on the subject, ranging from particular recipes to strict >non-use of drugs. > >I note that in 7% of deaths examined by the NUADC drugs were >considered contributory to the deaths, but the reference I have >doesn't specify the type of drug (or the type of diving.) >In a test to 5.4 ATA, Walsh & Burch found that Dramamine impaired >cognitive function to a widely varying level (in hyperbaric air) >depending on individual susceptibility, but there was no specific >mention of unconsciousness. > >regards, >gerards > >refs: > >1 Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics > 7th edn., MacMillan Publishing. (I've got the 8th edn on CDROM. >Must fire it up one day...) > >2 Edmonds, Lowry & Pennefather: Diving and Subaquatic Medicine > 3rd edn., Butterworth Heinemann. > >3. Walsh & Burch (1979) The acute effects of commonly used drugs >on human performance in hyperbaric air. Undersea Biomedical Research >6 (suppl), 49. (Article not sighted, cited in #2) >-- >Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. >Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'. > Bill (aquadart) Bott -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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