How to identify pre blackout and safely avoid them

[charlie.]

they could be a sign of blood shift not sure though

 

[ruby]

I observed very clear signal during turns in dynamics. Normal turn would be something like: extend right arm,wait for the wall,know when its time to flip, then flip and gently push off with legs ( or monofin). But when instead of that pool wall is suddenly and surprisingly appearing and squizing my fingers ( of both hands ), it's definitely time to take a breath.I experienced this in both ways.When it happened - and I ignored (it's visible on the video how fingers are smashed ,then failed surface protocol because I was removing my goggles 3 times . And I see it also when it doesnt happen.Yesterday I pushed my DYN PB by 20m,turns were all smooth and I surfaced very fresh and ready for more.It is important to add that I don't do any warm up,breathup or other modifications of breath. Just starring at my feet ( /monofin) for few minutes,take deep breath, 10seconds packing and gf course buddy is a must - only then this sport is fun

 

[REVAN]

Three out of four my blackouts occurred without a slightest warning. In one case there where obvious signs of hypoxia, nevertheless, I still blacked out because my mind was too dazed to be able to realize these signs as a warning. From my experience it seems that a no-warning blackout is more likely to occur after hyperventilation. Nevertheless, even if you feel that BO is coming it may not help you because you may not be able to think clearly enough to make the right decision on time.

That's the key. Often you know it's time to stop, I've even heard the voice in my head that its is time to come up, but at that point it can be too late and you just keep doing what you were doing (in my case a dynamic). The mind can shut down. You think your brain is processing information but it's really just stuck in an infinite loop. Hypoxia is strange because it affects the very thing we rely on to make decisions, so you cannot rely on it to keep you alive. You have got to have another plan.