Nitrox Diving: The Benefits and Precautions

Posted: Dec 12 in Dive Blog tagged Nitrox, Specialty Diving by Jan

After receiving your scuba certification in Illinois, you’ll have the opportunity to start expanding on your skills by learning more advanced scuba techniques. For many, this means taking specialty diver classes that help you master new skills, and no skill can help you get more out of every scuba experience than nitrox diving.

What makes nitrox diving so special? By changing the balance of nitrogen and oxygen in the air we breathe while diving, we can increase the time we’re able to safely stay at depth and even make it possible to do more dives in one day than with regular air.

Using nitrox requires special training and is not recommended for beginners. If you’re interested in taking advantage of the benefits of nitrox diving, be sure to take our enriched air specialty dive class!

What is Nitrox?

Air is a mixture of nitrogen (around 79 percent) and oxygen (around 21 percent). When we breathe, our bodies use the oxygen, but the nitrogen remains unused and is instead absorbed into the body’s tissues. As we dive deeper, we need our regulators to deliver more air to cope with the rise in pressure, but this also increases the nitrogen we absorb and can lead to problems like nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness.

Nitrox bumps up the level of oxygen in air, typically to 32 percent (EANx32) or 36 percent (EANx36). This makes it possible to absorb far lower levels of nitrogen while diving and can make it possible to spend more time at depth without risking problematic nitrogen levels. The lower nitrogen levels can also make it possible to handle more dives each day.

Nitrox Diving: Precautions

Nitrox diving requires special training because increased oxygen levels can cause oxygen toxicity at depth. Though this usually is not a problem with air as oxygen toxicity does not occur until you reach a depth of 200 feet or more, with EANx32 toxicity can develop below 130 feet. Knowing the depth limits of specific gas mixtures is an important part of enriched air diver training.

Nitrox diving isn’t dangerous if you have the right training, but there are other ways to make it even safer:

• Use a dive computer. Using a nitrox-enabled dive computer can make it much easier to plan your dive. Be sure you’re an absolute expert with your dive computer and understand its alerts on maximum oxygen exposure and operating depth.
• Bring a buddy with nitrox training. Make sure you and your buddy are trained in nitrox use and have compatible blends.

With a class and the knowhow to handle enriched air, nitrox diving can help you get more out of every dive. Have you tried nitrox diving after getting your scuba certification in Illinois? Share your tips and experiences in the comments below!