Help!!

[chris22]

hi, my name is Chris, and i have just started to get into free diving.
There are no clubs within easy reach of were i live. i've been doing dry statics which is relaxation, and also breath holds. today i went to the pool for the first time, the same again relaxation, and breath holds. Can somebody please tell me if i am heading in the right direction.
Thanks.

 

[spaghetti]

Just be careful: breath hold is not a natural condition for earth creatures like us, and I'm among the ones who believe that freediving may be a dangerous sport (last month a man in my hometown had a blackout making dry statics alone, and his is still in hospital with neurologic damage). You don't have to be afraid of this wonderful sport, but just improve your limits step by step, prudently, and search this forum about techniques and tips.

 

[trux]

...Can somebody please tell me if i am heading in the right direction.

Hi Chris, and welcome in the forum. Relaxation and breath holds are the right direction, but doing it in the pool alone definitely not. It is quite dangerous. Be sure to have a buddy who is aware of the risks and knows what to do in case of a blackout, and who can do it quickly. If you posted your location, maybe someone can advise you a club, or you can find a buddy here. You can also try joining an underwater rugby, UW hockey, spearfishing, fin swimming or even scuba club. Although it is not exactly the same as freediving, you will certainly find people like you there and may find a buddy for individual freediving training.

 

[naiad]

Just be careful: breath hold is not a natural condition for earth creatures like us, and I'm among the ones who believe that freediving may be a dangerous sport (last month a man in my hometown had a blackout making dry statics alone, and his is still in hospital with neurologic damage).

How did this happen? I thought that if someone blacked out doing dry statics, they would start breathing again and nothing would happen? Of course in the water it's a different matter, but dry?

 

[DeepThought]

Chris, do not consider the pool lifeguards as safety, people have died under the "supervision" of lifeguards. You need a partner who knows about freediving. Check the first post of this thread for more info about safety:
[ame="http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?t=64959"]How to start Freediving[/ame]

Spaghetti, documentation of these kind of cases are very important for the freediving community, there are hundreds if not thousends of freedivers training dry statics alone...
Is there a chance you could report for us more about it?
Could it be that this guy had a BO/LMC in his training and yet still continued? Supposedly the chance of spontaniously starting to breath after the second hypoxic episode (in the same session/day) are lower, and that is one of the reasons to stop diving/training after one. Or maybe aggressive hyperventilation? How experienced is he? what sort of training? maybe a medical condition to make him more prone to such a case?

 

[chris22]

Thanks for all your help.
I live in Kent near Dover, if anybody knows of a club near by please contact me.
I have been a scuba-diver for the last 5 years, of which I am a PADI assistant instructor.

 

[spaghetti]

Here I found the reports about the accident (in italian language). The first link reports of TWO static accidents occured in the same day, one of wich deadly. The first accident of the first article happened to a guy from my mother's hometown, but I don't know him personally. I asked one of my ex clubmates and he told he was doing dry, but it's just second hand information.

http://www.apneamagazine.com/articolo.php/1367
http://www.apneamagazine.com/articolo.php/1369
http://www.apneamagazine.com/articolo.php/1372

 

[naiad]

I think the accidents mentioned in the articles happened in the pool. The first one says "Due gravi incidenti in piscina".

Very nasty accidents. Sorry to hear about them.

 

[trux]

Here I found the reports ...

Thanks for the links! Well, they tell the accident happened in a pool - although it does not necessarily mean it could not happen during a dry static attempt, I find it strange. They also speak about "serious chemical pneumonia" in this case. That's even weirder - can a "chemical pneumonia" be caused just by breath holding? Do they mean CO2 poisoning? Or did he breath in chlorine water - that would rather tell that the surveillance was not working, although they tell he was training with an instructor. It would be really extremely interesting if you could find more details about the case from your friend.

 

[spaghetti]

To Naiad, Trux and Deepthought.
Not easy for me to investigate, but by your interest in this case, I feel obliged to answer your questions and I will try.
Fora nything else, I wasn't there, but here it's normal to do dry exercise in a pool, not into the pool but on the pavement around, or standing in water with the head and bust outside: it's common routine also in my club. I'm not a doctor (just an ex-husband of a cardiologist...) but I too found surprising the diagnosis of chemical pneumonia. To clear doubts I'll have to talk with someone who was there. Merry Easter and...dive safe.

 

[naiad]

They also speak about "serious chemical pneumonia" in this case. That's even weirder - can a "chemical pneumonia" be caused just by breath holding? Do they mean CO2 poisoning? Or did he breath in chlorine water - that would rather tell that the surveillance was not working, although they tell he was training with an instructor.

I would guess that it was caused by breathing in chlorine water. I can't think of any way this could happen out of the water, except by inhaling vomit while unconscious. Not something I have ever heard of happening during a blackout. I don't know if there is a chance of breathing in water immediately during a blackout, before the buddy has a chance to rescue the person. Maybe there is.

Fora nything else, I wasn't there, but here it's normal to do dry exercise in a pool, not into the pool but on the pavement around, or standing in water with the head and bust outside: it's common routine also in my club.

If someone is holding their breath while standing in the pool with their face out of the water, this has the same risks as underwater apnea. If the person has a blackout or LMC and falls face down, they will need immediate rescue.

Spaghetti, thanks for replying and explaining more.

Lucia