Nitrogen narcosis is usually called diving under the influence. And it is not far from the real situation. This state is familiar to most people who dived deeper than 25 meters.
It is not difficult to recognize nitrogen narcosis all you need to know are the symptoms:
As a rule, all this is explained by an instructor during diving training. But some divers describe the state completely different: panic and anxiety. The true mechanism for developing such a state still causes a lot of disputes, there is no clear view on this topic. The single thing on which many specialists agree is that the developing symptoms resemble the first stage of the general anesthesia.
The exact reason for narcosis because of nitrogen is still unknown. The carried out research just revealed that other inert gases when breathed in under low pressure have a narcotic effect. But nitrogen turned out to be the most efficient.
There is a theory that nitrogen narcosis occurs as a result of gas molecules dissolving in the fat component of neural tissue. Under its influence synapses of neurons are blocked and become impervious to chemical and electrical signals. In other words, a diver’s brain slows the reaction on the surrounding situation. The chance of developing a narcotic intoxication is intensified with the increasing depth.
Scuba Diving deeper than 24 meters there is a chance of developing a nitrogen narcosis – this statement needs to be accepted and remembered. It is very important to acknowledge the beginning and quickly act on preventing the negative consequences. It is necessary to change the depth, following all the rules of surfacing, until your state normalizes. After that it is recommended to finish the dive or to continue in shallow waters.
To overcome nitrogen narcosis one needs to:
Important advice is to overcome the new depth limits gradually. You need to get used to every level, estimate how your body reacts to the increased depth.
Israeli diving center in Eilat sticks to the international standards in its work; every diver requires a partner. And not just for company. Quite often a person doesn’t realize that he is in a state of nitrogen narcosis and it is extremely dangerous. Every 2-3 minutes a partner needs to keep communication. Any delay or skipping of agreement may be the result of a narcotic state.
There is a notion of adaptation to narcosis, which is lessening of nitrogen influence on a body. Many divers with wide underwater experience talked about this adaptation. And the reason for this is still unknown.