5
Had a dive supervisor tell me to take shallower breaths to save air, but it backfired
Last month off Port Fourchon, my supervisor kept yelling at me to slow my breathing on a mixed-gas job, so I tried really shallow breaths. Ended up with a CO2 headache that killed my next two dives. Has anyone else had a supervisor push advice that just didn't work for you?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
barbarah1913d ago
Oh man, I feel you on that. I had a similar thing happen on a dive a few years back. My instructor was all about shallow breathing to stretch the tank, and I tried it until I got a splitting headache and felt dizzy. What worked for me was switching to a slow, steady rhythm, like breathing in for 4 seconds and out for 6. It kept my CO2 down and actually saved more gas than trying to be super shallow. Have you tried something like that, or did that supervisor want you to do it a different way?
7
clark.alex13d ago
Tried the slow rhythm thing before. That supervisor wanted me on barely any movement at all, like half inch chest rises. Felt like I was suffocating. The headache hit halfway through the first dive and just got worse. Some people really don't get how CO2 builds up when you cheat your breathing.
1