The Importance of Regulator Clearing
Getting to the wreck of the Caribsea off the coast of North Carolina can take up to an hour and a half. While traveling to the dive site, I regrettably ate a prepackaged lunch with an indecipherable expiration date I had purchased the night before.
After arriving on site and receiving the dive briefing, my buddy and I reviewed our dive plan while suiting up. We entered the water and spotted the silhouette of the wreck in the distance at the end of the anchor line. A multitude of sand tiger sharks and various other marine life engulfed it in a whirlwind of activity. We were both nervous and excited about the staggering number of sharks, but we carried out our plan of filming the sharks and searching for shark teeth.
Roughly 10 minutes into the dive and at a depth of 90 feet (27 meters), I was suddenly overcome by an intensely upset stomach, and my mouth began to water as if I needed to vomit. My dive buddy was within arm’s reach, and I quickly got his attention to signal that something was wrong and that I needed him to remain close. He signaled that he understood and stayed nearby, preparing to assist with sharing air or any other needed help.
I then involuntarily regurgitated the predive snack, expelling my lunch into the water around us through the primary regulator, which was still in my mouth. Fish immediately swarmed us to consume the freshly deposited food debris now suspended in the water column.
The flurry of activity around us was overwhelming and added to the apprehension rapidly building in my mind. The brief relief I felt from throwing up was quickly replaced by the immediate need to breathe in again. I also wasn’t sure if I was going to throw up more than once in rapid succession.
With my primary regulator fouled, I resisted the urge to immediately switch to my secondary regulator. I knew if I removed my primary and involuntarily threw up again in the middle of the transition, I would have nothing but seawater to suck in between episodes. I was also concerned that a second bout of vomiting would foul the secondary regulator, and I would not have a clean regulator available to breathe through.
Conscious of the potential danger of inhaling vomit or seawater, I forced myself to remain calm and fought to ignore the demand from my body to take a huge breath. I was able to gently breathe around the chunks of debris that had filled the housing of my primary regulator, and with my first exhalation I displaced most of the debris trapped in the housing.
When I felt confident that all involuntary reflexes had subsided, I switched to my secondary regulator. I performed the regulator-clearing skill on my primary several times to ensure there was no more trapped debris, that it wasn’t free-flowing, and that I could breathe through it without issue. My buddy gave me the time and space I needed to tackle the problem without panicking. When I was ready, we proceeded to the ascent line and decided to finish the dive near the line before heading to the surface.
Vomiting can cause involuntary inhalation and can be a singular event or have multiple subsequent occurrences in quick succession. Keeping your primary regulator in your mouth after vomiting at depth prevents you from unintentionally inhaling water, which may happen while transitioning to another regulator. Wait for the vomiting to be completely over before taking action, and switch to your secondary regulator only after all involuntary reflexes have subsided.
Diving with a buddy is one of the best practices you can implement for your safety. My buddy remained nearby and was ready to share air if I had failed to clear my primary regulator or had fouled my secondary regulator. Had the situation escalated to needing to call the dive, he would have been available to help get me to the surface.
Staying focused on the problem and remaining calm in this unexpected situation allowed me to breathe slowly and deliberately, minimizing my risk of inhaling vomit or water. My instructors’ lessons on controlling panic and finding solutions to problems at depth helped keep me calm and kept the situation from escalating.
Relying on fundamental dive skills such as regulator clearing and managing a free-flowing second stage proved crucial for my safety. Regulator clearing is an essential skill that all divers should practice. Sadly, multiple published cases of dive fatalities describe a diver failing to clear a flooded regulator and then aspirating water, triggering panic and causing a flight to the surface.
Take time to focus on the basics of diving.Beginner open-water certification courses can be brief and may not provide enough time for new divers to truly get comfortable underwater. You need to practice the basic skills you learn from your open-water course to successfully implement them when needed.
© Penyelam Siaga – Q4 2024