• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

in need of ideas

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

Laimi

New Member
Jul 8, 2021
1
0
1
51
Hi! I am sorry for interfering with divers' topics, but I think I may find help here. I promise I won't bother you eternally. I am not a diver, but maybe someone here can give me an idea. I have a 16 year old who has to take a bunch of exams this year in order to continue to college. He has not been vaccinated because of an inflammatory process he is undergoing. Anyways, the thing is he will have to take 2-3 exams, which are about 3-4 hour long each, with a tight mask on. He is in 12th grade, so postponing the exams for next year is not a solution anymore. If he gets Covid, with the problem he has, he may not make it. If he does not take these exams, he will not graduate. Even if the school allows him to keep postponing, it seems covid will stick around for a loooong time. I am looking for a way to blow air under his covid mask. He does not qualify for medical oxygen and doctors are afraid to give me a prescription. I have tried, but there is too much fraud going on with this. I have looked around and all the portable air purifiers promise to filter air, but when I read the specifications of the filters, it seems to me that far from protecting him, the equipment would be blowing whatever is in the air right to his face. The safest way is using a tank. After failing to get an order for an oxygen tank, I then thought of a scuba tank. I have to be honest. I do not know anything about this. I read somewhere that scuba tanks and oxygen tanks have different valves. My question is if anyone here can think of a way to attach a thin oxygen hose (like the ones with the two cannulas that go in the nostrils) to a scuba tank valve or even a scuba hose? Again, he does not need oxygen specifically. The mix divers use would be fine. It would be only to minimize the vapor, heat, and the uncomfortable sensation that covid masks cause when we use them for so many hours. This way, he can keep his mask on during the length of the exam and be able to concentrate on the exam itself. Thank you beforehand for any ideas you can provide.
 
You should contact the school/college/exam authority and explain your son's situation. A guy at uni with me used to sit his exams in a separate room with just a handful of others. He also got extra time and special super large exam papers as he had extremely poor eye sight.
 
Also, research has shown that the fuller surgical masks, which seal around the sides, offer greater protection than the normal, widely used medical masks.

If your son is on powerful anti- inflammatories they might offer some benefit for covid too. Max RDA vitamin D and zinc might also help his body prepare - but talk to his doctor first ;)

In UK, folk with allergies seem to be given AstraZeneca vaccine rather than Pfizer. We also have Moderna vaccine now. Might be worth discussing available vaccine options with his doctor too - new options becoming available all the time.
 
The intermediate air pressure on a scuba second stage is usually 140 to 160 psi, so unless you have diaphragm set up to the hose going to his mask, it will be difficult to slow down the airflow. It can be done, but will require some work. Some excellent suggestions have been offered here for alternate strategies, good luck!
 
DeeperBlue.com - The Worlds Largest Community Dedicated To Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing

ABOUT US

ISSN 1469-865X | Copyright © 1996 - 2024 deeperblue.net limited.

DeeperBlue.com is the World's Largest Community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving, Ocean Advocacy and Diving Travel.

We've been dedicated to bringing you the freshest news, features and discussions from around the underwater world since 1996.

ADVERT