Tips for Better Oxygen Administration By Lana Sorrell, EMT, and Nick Bird, M.D., MMM ( Part 8 ) Oxygen Toxicity From time to time DAN receives calls from concerned dive buddies who are hesitant to administer oxygen to a diver who might have experienced CNS oxygen toxicity at depth. However, once a diver is on the surface, there is no reason to withhold oxygen. Even if the symptoms noted at depth were actually the result of CNS toxicity, administering oxygen is still recommended, and it will not harm the diver. Some people mistakenly believe that if a diver is breathing oxygen from a cylinder at surface pressure, air breaks should be used to prevent CNS oxygen toxicity. As well intentioned as that may be, no air breaks are necessary; oxygen should be provided without interruption. Air breaks are employed during some hyperbaric-chamber treatments to minimize the risk of CNS toxicity. However, such breaks are not necessary for divers treated at the surface because CNS toxicity is not a concern when the maximum PO2 is 1 ATA. to be continued... Article From DAN Website
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 01:48:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015