On Mon, 16 Sep 2002 21:45:51 +1000, David Strike <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>One of the outstanding presenters at this - and previous - OzTek's is Dr
>Simon Mitchell.  < sheep skins and vitae <G> snipped >

>For a former Naval Officer, he's not a bad bloke! :-)
>
>His presentation on, "Risk Factors for DCI: Fact or Fiction?" was
>eye-opening in that he dispelled - or at least caused a lot of us to
>question - those things that many of us have previously held as
>sacrosanct as far as DCI's concerned.  :-)

That's perhaps why the Irish Jesuit Priest who taught me English in
high school <G> said there's a Latin saying to the effect that "I
never trust a man of one book."  :-)


>I guess - in order to précis what he spoke about - that in almost all of
>what we accept as 'fact' where DCI is concerned, the scientific jury is
>still out! :-)

That sounds familiar ... like "reverse profile"?   :-))
>
>He discussed the fact that some people are almost "unbendable" :  That
>things like being cold before a dive actually reduces the incidence of DCI;
>and that being cold during the dive increases the risk!!! That being
>over-hydrated before a dive can increase the risk; and that being
>underhydrated can also increase the risk:

The keywords there are "over" and "under".  Eating is a good thing, but
over-eating ... damn, I have to stop that!  ;-)

>That age has little, if any
>bearing, on a person's susceptibility to DCI, (although he has stated
>previously that an older person may take longer to treat for DCI should
>one occur!);  And that being overweight also seems to be open to
>question as far as vulnerability to DCI's concerned.

So, that means I'll live forever?  :-)  Smoking for 30+ years didn't
kill me.  Deep-air diving while old and overweight didn't give me
any DCI.  The only DCI my diving gave was to Cochran's computers. :-))


>Although, obviously, in an hour long overview, a lot of detail was lacking,
>each 'headlined' assertion was supported by reference to the relevant
>research texts.  And while much of what we think that we know about the
>causes and prevention of DCI seem to be still in the 'opinion' - rather than
>the incontrovertible scientific fact - stage, the precautions that we
>presently take to prevent its onset are better than no precautions at all!

THAT's what it boils down to, a PERSONAL assessment of "risk", which
not only depend on known and unknown scientific facts, but on personal
risk-averse and risk-prefer preferences and criteria.

>(That's my summation of what he was saying - which may well be wrong!)
>:-))))

An excellent presentation, and an excellent summary.

-- Bob.