SWB Shallow Water Blackout

[cmburch]

SWB Shallow Water Blackout Video

YouTube - Freediver Blackout

[cmburch]

A shallow water blackout is a loss of consciousness caused by cerebral hypoxia towards the end of a breath-hold dive in water typically shallower than five metres (16 feet), when the swimmer does not necessarily experience an urgent need to breathe and has no other obvious medical condition that might have caused it.[1][2][3] Victims are often established practitioners of breath-hold diving, are fit, strong swimmers, and have not experienced problems before.
Many drowning and near drowning events occur among swimmers who black out underwater while free-diving or doing breath-hold pool laps. Blacking out, or browning out, near the end of a breath-hold dive is common. Although the mechanism is well understood, it is not common knowledge among breath-hold divers.
Shallow water blackout is related to, but differs from deep water blackout in its characteristics, mechanism and prevention; deep water blackout is precipitated by depressurisation on ascent from depth.[3][4] Blackout may also be referred to as a syncope or fainting.

This was copied from:
Shallow water blackout - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[tndiverdude]

Is this normal or is it the training that makes teh diver push past safety?

[cmburch]

Originally Posted by tndiverdude

Is this normal or is it the training that makes teh diver push past safety?

From WIKI
Victims are often established practitioners of breath-hold diving, are fit, strong swimmers, and have not experienced problems before.

I do not know how to answer your question. It is not normal for the specific experienced freediver. SWB's do occur. The freedivers are not necessarily going past their normal safety limit. DeeperBlue.com and SpearBoard.com have experts on SWB. I am just posting possibly useful information as I come across it.

[cmburch]

Link to Freediver's Vest for SWB.
Shallow water blackout

[drako]

ALWAYS dive with a watcher