CO2 Blackout

Some of you may have read this before, and the conditions and techniques vary a little in the UK from thoes used in the states, but here we go:-

It was winters day, quite heavy rain, that had been going on for a few hours, I decided to dive keld head because its a good training ground and next to the road, most places being inaccesable by this time due to water.

The water level and flow where high and vis about one yard, water temp about four degrees centigrade.

After the usual kitting up, testing gear etc, i set off on what should have been a relatively easy hour long solo dive.

I negotiated the entrance series with no difficulty, I was using two side mounts(60cuf) with two possidon cyklon 300s. Everything was fine until about 500 yards or so in, swiming against the current, i became out of breath, so I hit the bottom of the passage, on top of the line, and tried to relax to bring the breathing rate down.

It didn't work, it just got out of control. At this point, in open water, I would have bolted for the surface!! as I could feel myself passing out.

For all my training, nothing had prepared me for this situation, unconscious, alone and in a cave.

I acted on instinct and a sort of remote control, turning myself to face the exit, I positioned myself on the line, wrapped it around my left wrist and burried my face and regulator into my other arm which i had bent around the front of my face, in some hope that it would stop the regulator falling out of my mouth.

My breathing rythem by this time was lost, impending doom surrounded me coupled with extreme loneliness as the fuzzyness engulfed me.

If youv'e ever had nitrous oxide at the dentist you will know the feeling, it wasn't narcosis because its only shallow.

The fuzzyness rapidly grew and turned into a black silence.

I dont know how long it was, but on returning to the land of the living I experienced an excruciatingly painful pumping of Adrenalin down my spine, coupled with an equaly painful headache, but I was back and my breathing rate was down.

I made a swift exit.

On arriving at a public house that night, to sample some beer, and defragment my brain after the days event, I became unwell, with a very bad case of influenza, which several times in the next few days made me, nearly faint.

could this have been an underlying cause of what happened??

SAFE DIVING