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>A local dive boat captain and avid deep diver (Eric Takajian, for you NY/NE
>people on the list) told me something yesterday that I thought I'd pass on
>for info/comment.  He has heard that decongestants (such as Sudafed) can 
>increase susceptibility to O2 toxicity.  He was recently diving on the Andrea
>Doria and felt some toxicity symptoms on the hang, which went away when he 
>switched from O2 to air.  He had been taking lots of Sudafed in the preceding
>idays because of seasonal allegies, and suspected this might be related.  When
>he mentioned this to Billy Deans, Deans told him that he had in fact heard that
>decongestants can increase susceptibility to O2 tox.

>Anybody else heard this?  It might be worth thinking twice before popping those
>diver's candies before a deep dive.


	Ive heard that you can die from taking sudafed on deeper dives. 
	Basically because it is a stimulant and when under pressure the
	reaction will be accelerated.  (Theres a good chance Im incorrect
	but isnt Hyperbaric medicine based on the acceleration of processes
	under pressure?)  I used to use Sudafed all the time, even
	as deep as 140' but when I heard you could have a serious reaction
	to it at depth I stopped. ... One note about the guy diving the
	Dorea, isnt it true that anyone diving the Dorea on air runs the
	risk of O2 toxicity?  If this guy dove the Dorea on air then 
	decompressed on 02 and or a Nitrox mix what did his O2 toxicity
	clock look like when he was at his hang?  When I took my Nitrox
	class I had two guys in there with me who dove the Dorea a number of
	times on air. They were getting ready to take the trimix course.  
	During our lecture of O2 toxicity we examined their standard profile
	for a dive on the Dorea on air. EVERY dive they were at risk of 
	O2 toxicity. They exceeeded there clock. They were just plain lucky.

	If this was an air dive, to wonder if Sudafed is making him susceptible
	to O2 tox when he is already doing a dive that makes him susceptible
	to O2 tox , just doesnt sit well with me. It almost sounds as if his
	luck almost ran out. 

	Chris


	Im into diver education not burning neoprene.
		(Educate rather than flame)

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