Carbon monoxide poisoning is a rare cause of problems when diving, it does occur when there is contaminated air in recreational diving tanks. CO poisoningis the leading cause of poisoning deaths in the U.S.(about 8600 deathsper year) and is easily missed unless health care providers are especiallyvigilant. The most commonly observed result related to CO...

Helium During the 1930’s the U.S. Navy tested other gases as a substitute for nitrogen. Their scientists conducted experiments using rare gases such as helium, neon, and argon. After numerous trials, helium was selected as the most suitable gas to dilute oxygen for deep diving. Helium is the second lightest element known to man; in...

Warning! ENTONOX NOT to be used in divers suspected of a decompression accident!! Here is a recent correspondence that I feel should be passed on: Question: This topic came up during a discussion on paramedic ‘routine’ treatments where it was said by the paramedics that Entonox was a routine treatment for accident victims and that...

Taravana, What is it? Taravana, a condition first observed by E.R. Cross in 1958, and reported in 1958- is a diving syndrome seen in working Tuamotu Island natives diving the Takatopo Lagoon. The word apparently means ‘to fall crazily’ and is thought to represent decompression illness in these divers. P. Paulev, a Danish naval officer...

SHALLOW WATER BLACKOUT (Latent hypoxia) Shallow water blackout (SWB) is the sudden loss of consciousness caused by oxygen starvation following a breath holding dive. This was first described by S. Miles as “latent hypoxia”, shallow water blackout is the term he ascribed to unexplained loss of consciousness in divers using closed-circuit oxygen breathing apparatus at...