Posted by mike, who in the past, has done DF stroke things on April 22, 2001 at 21:26:58:
In Reply to: Re: CO2 Retention?? posted by Steve on April 22, 2001 at 15:45:52:
which kinda made me wonder why i ever bothered to clear my sinuses for all the pain they caused.
oh well, pain is effective at stopping bad habits before they start.
CO2 buildup in some folks, will cause those nasty headaches (which should feel like they originate right in the middle of the forehead, just above and behind the eyes), and also, since it is CO2 buildup in the bloodstream that triggers the brain to tell the lungs to breathe (sort of), excess CO2 may tend to make a diver feel somewhat shorter of breath, and breath more heavily accordingly. This is at shallow depths or near the surface. I don't know what CO2 retention on deep dives feels like, because i've always thought that life (mine, anyhow) is good and should be prolonged, so i never worked hard at depth or skip-breathed at depth.
There are supposedly, a very few individuals who get CO2 headaches from nitrox as well, due ostensibly to increased CO2 from the elevated O2 levels, but i'm not sure of the veracity of that.
headaches and perceived shortness of breath aside, JW is right when he mentions acidosis, which can lead to a whole host of other nasties. Blood pH is nothing to fool with.