Safe Diving Practices O
Odd numbers
It is very strongly recommended that diving in 'odd numbers' be avoided, as the 'odd man out', to some extent, is without a buddy. Threesomes are not uncommon in incident reports.
(See Buddy diving).
Oxygen
The administration of 100% pure oxygen following a decompression accident is recognised as an effective FIRST AID TREATMENT and may result in much less serious injuries. It SHOULD NEVER be regarded as a substitute for recompression, which is the only effective treatment in such cases. Members who have taken part in appropriate training courses and who have appropriate equipment, are recommended to use oxygen to treat divers showing symptoms of decompression illness, while they are waiting for recompression treatment.
If a technical diver is suffering from DCI treat them exactly the same, as you would do for an air diver. Administer oxygen and get the diver to a recompression chamber for treatment.
Always consider the role of the rebreather in first aid following a DCI incident within the diving party. A rebreather allows prolonged oxygen enriched air to be made available to the conscious casualty. However, the use of the rebreather should be considered a back-up measure. The first preference would be dedicated oxygen administration equipment using an oronasal mask); then the rebreather (high oxygen content but via a mouthpiece) and finally using nitrox (lower oxygen content and via a mouthpiece).
The only time oxygen should not be given is when the casualty is actually showing signs or symptoms of oxygen toxicity.
Oxygen partial pressure (Technical diving)
When mixed gases and nitrox are being used the partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) should not exceed 1.4 bar for each mix used for either travel (descent and ascent) or bottom phases.
For divers holding recognised qualifications, the pO2 for a depth less than or equal to 6m during the decompression phase must not exceed 1.6 bar. All divers who do not hold a suitable qualification should not exceed a pO2 of 1.4 bar for any chosen gas mix.
Page last modified: 18th Dec 2006 - 11:37:02