We spend so much time discussing fishing reports and gear but not enough about freediving safety so I thought I would open a discussion on black outs and how to deal with them on the water.

I have been taught that you need to watch your dive buddy especially closely as they near the surface and then for the 10-15 seconds after they have come up from their dive. If they black out and are below the surface of the water then it is important to hold their mouth closed and their mask on if possible to prevent inhalation of water while bringing them up. Once you have them on the surface you should bring their face out of the water and tilt their head back so that their breathing is unobstructed. They will frequently begin breathing again on their own after the laryngospasm releases (this is the body's natural contraction of the laryngeal cords which prevents water from flowing into the lungs). It is good to remove the person's mask while on the surface, blow lightly on their face, talk to them, and tap on their cheek, these things will hopefully make the victim breathe. I have heard that a forced breath can sometimes be helpful in waking them up as well, but I have heard some conflicting opinions on this. If the victim is still not breathing you should get them onto a boat/land immediately and start rescue breathing and get help.

This is just what I have been taught, it could be 100% wrong, and I'm willing to listen to what others have to say in order to learn the best technique.

Feel free to comment or raise other questions, we can help each other be safer on the water.

^ thats what i heard.

^ thats what i heard.

The sad part is 90% of the guys that go diving don't follow the first rule which is to watch you as you surface.
Three times I've gone out and had my buddy descend right next to me and start to check under rocks. I'm guilty as well when I was beginning.
I am curious if what you described is the best way to do things, I learned a lot already just reading your post.
Thanks Kris.

I wouldn't have known to cover their mouth under the water.
It's scary to think what would happen to you on a shore dive where it isn't possible to immediately call for help or to get them onto a boat and begin CPR if it's required.

The main you want to remember is to protect the airway. Cup your hand under the chin, not holding it shut(cuz then they cant breathe) just close enough to catch it from going under water. Kris pretty much summed it up pretty good. The forced breath helps the laryngospasm release. If they're still not breathing AR (artificial resperation, not CPR) is necessary. This can be done by having them on there back while you support their neck and swim back to the boat. ( my partner for my FIT class was 6'4 240lbs....I'm 5'7 170, we had to swim 50m like this, sounds like fun eh???)