The majority of the deco in Plura takes place 950m in to the system as teh first part of the cave is shaloow. Any kind of habitat is impossible to use. As you understand this cave presents some speciall problems not normaly encountered. For this cave i will probably just have to accept the risk as i have already done on previus dives. In OW there are ways however to reduce the risks. Skipped deco is something that we can consider as a last case but to get in to the water again might sometimes bee dificult due to hypotermia dependent on time needed to get to the surface. There is a device that is widely available to permit > core rewarming on site, which is powered by a rechargeable battery and which will accept the flow > from your oxygen kit, heat and humidify it to saturation before delivering it to the patient. In > my experience this has been very effective in preventing the advancement of hypothermia while > transporting a patient. This is interesting as we have experienced loss of heat when braethin 02 on the surface. Thanks a lot for your information. > With direct reference to your post, Ingemar, I don't know how far from the cave entrance > your decompression stops begin, so the following text may be inapplicable. If, as you suggested, a > habitat is required for this contingency, I think a dry habitat would be best, not only > logistically, but for the fact that core rewarming (discussed below) as well as other medical > treatments can be administered during the decompression. Cave diving certainly does pose some > unique problems. I have assembled some thoughts on the suit flood problem, although they are > probably more applicable to divers who can get to the surface reasonable quickly... > > As with any system component failure, the loss of suit integrity is something that will > almost certainly occur at some point in time. Many methods of decreasing the probability of a suit > failure are in widespread use; however, most off these produce characteristics that are detrimental > to the normal operation of the diver, such as excessive drag, non-ideal buoyancy or increased > system complexity. The probability of a suit failure is best reduced by selection of a suit > appropriate to the environment (and consistent with all other suit selection criteria), with good > puncture and abrasion resistance, and possibly reinforcing panels in areas where abrasion is > anticipated. Having said that, management of a flooded suit is something we should all be prepared > for, specifically in cold water environments where heat loss can become critical in a short period > of time. Suit undergarments should be fabricated from non-absorbent material. In the case of a > slow or minor leak, such an undergarment will still retain much of its insulating value. The > undergarment should also be properly fitted. This will not only facilitate full mobility of the > diver, but in the case of a complete suit flood will limit the amount of water circulation proximal > to the diver's skin. A diver with a significant decompression obligation who encounters a flooded > suit will immediately begin to exhibit physiological changes due to the onset of hypothermic > conditions, which will reduce the effectiveness of the decompression. In cold water where the > advance of hypothermia is quite rapid, the diver is best to follow a bailout involving the use of > %100 oxygen to get out of the water (before the onset of any critical symptoms) and seek medical > attention. Obviously, a portable surface recompression chamber would be an invaluable asset in > this case. Alternately, when an additional suit and set of undergarments is available, the diver > may opt to interrupt the decompression to don the second suit and return to the water to deco, or > to attempt in-water recompression. For the details of both of these practices as I would employ > them I refer you to one of my old posts with the subject :Interrupted Deco. I wish to make clear, > however, that this should only be attempted if the diver is not exhibiting any apparent symptoms of > hypothermia (probably rare given the scenario). As regards the treatment of the hypothermic diver > at the surface, care should be taken not to apply heat to the extremities, as this could result in > a shunt (due to enlargement of previously restricted blood vessels) of cold blood to the core, > which can induce or speed up core cooling. There is a device that is widely available to permit > core rewarming on site, which is powered by a rechargeable battery and which will accept the flow > from your oxygen kit, heat and humidify it to saturation before delivering it to the patient. In > my experience this has been very effective in preventing the advancement of hypothermia while > transporting a patient. > > -Sean > > -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
Navigate by Author:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Subject Search Index]
[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]
[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]