Newbie 0 #1 June 18, 2004 what altitude do you need to be at and for how long, before you start to get mild hypoxia? Maybe i was paranoid, but i could swear i was feeling quite relaxed when we were up around 14k for a while last weekend; it was a sort of general lightheadedness, nothing to worry me about, but i definitely noticed something. I'm not suffering from anything that i know of right now (cold etc) that might be affecting it. Is this normal? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vt1977 0 #2 June 18, 2004 Do you smoke? Vicki Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darkwing 5 #3 June 18, 2004 There is no useful rule here, it varies a lot from person to person, and even varies for a single individual. Certainly being a smoker is a significant negative factor though. I am pretty attuned to my own symptoms, and will d a go- around at altitute (14,000) here at sea level, but at a higher DZ, Lost Prairie for example, I would ride the plane down probably. -- Jeff My Skydiving History Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slotperfect 7 #4 June 18, 2004 A quick search for "hypoxia" resulted in THIS great thread.Arrive Safely John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Newbie 0 #5 June 18, 2004 QuoteDo you smoke? Vicki man i'm an idiot! After having given up a few months ago, i forgot that i had 1 or 2 roll ups that day. No wonder! Anyway thanks for clearing up the mystery for me, i was wondering why i was feeling it on particular that day and not previously.... "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #6 June 18, 2004 Most people get hypoxic if they spend more than a couple of minutes at 14,000' MSL. The problem is that hypoxia is so subtle, that most people stubbornly resist admitting that they are hypoxic. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
larsrulz 0 #7 June 18, 2004 I would argue the biggest problem is that hypoxia symptoms are so variable. One never knows the onset of hypoxia until one experiences it in a controlled environment such as an altitude chamber. I can go clear to 25,000' and not get any signs of light headedness, which so many people say is the sign of hypoxia. Personally, I just randomly can't keep my head looking forward (i.e. like head bobbing when people can't stay awake, but I'm fully awake and aware of what is happening), which normally starts above 15,000', but gets really bad above 20K'. One guy I knew noticed no symptoms himself during the training, but everyone else could see and he noticed afterwards that he was dripping sweat like we were in a sauna! Others mumble, etc. etc. Hence, I think that the confusion about the onset of hypoxia is the biggest problem. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrogNog 1 #8 June 18, 2004 QuoteQuoteDo you smoke? Vicki man i'm an idiot! After having given up a few months ago, i forgot that i had 1 or 2 roll ups that day. No wonder! Anyway thanks for clearing up the mystery for me, i was wondering why i was feeling it on particular that day and not previously.... Hemoglobin likes carbon monoxide more than it likes oxygen. Meanies! -=-=-=-=- Pull. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beerlight 0 #9 June 19, 2004 Do you smoke? Vicki ------------------------------------------------------------ man i'm an idiot! After having given up a few months ago, i forgot that i had 1 or 2 roll ups that day. No wonder! Anyway thanks for clearing up the mystery for me, i was wondering why i was feeling it on particular that day and not previously.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hemoglobin likes carbon monoxide more than it likes oxygen. Meanies! *** Ding, ding...we have a winner.... Blood "hemoglobin" will upload carbon monoxide 250 times more readily than oxygen molecules. In other words, it'll TAKE on CO before it'll take on O2. Smoking a couple cigs before takeoff can significantly raise your physiological altitude, possibly to around 8,000 feet or higher. Add the 14,000 foot jump run altitude to that, and you are effectively at a physiological altitude in the 20's (hypoxia country) Every person will have their very own unique hypoxia symptoms. Where one person will feel lightheaded, another can feel nausea. Where one will feel tingling, another might feel like they've drank a 6-pack! So, be aware, hypoxia is an insidious, I'll sneak up on you, and beat you senseless kinda thing. Oh, and when in doubt of your mental faculties before a jump (another symptom of hypoxia..."mental confusion") don't jump. Buck BTW, there 4 types of hypoxia....... I was hypoxic just last night after drinking some beer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nathaniel 0 #10 June 19, 2004 What all these guys are saying about CO as well as this: COhb has a half-life of around 5 hours in your blood in normal air. I believe the work that resulted in this figure is Archives of Environmental Health. 1970 Aug;21(2):165-71. Absorption and elimination of carbon monoxide by inactive young men. Peterson JE, Stewart RD. tho it doesn't seem to be available for free online. more references on the subject than I have time to wade through. IOW, it takes many hours for the effects of CO to go away after you're exposed. nathanielMy advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
