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The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#51

Post by jaggederest »

sithadmin wrote: post #49
alentred wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I understand, historically, alcoholic beverages were primarily invented and used as a water disinfectant. Rum was used in British navy to disinfect fresh water in barrels. Wine was used to dilute it in water till the 20th century. Fun fact, in ancient Greece people who drank pure wine (not diluting it in water) were considered alcoholics and could be publicly denounced. Beer was used as a typical beverage a…

I'm not sure I buy your claim that rum was ever used to 'disinfect' fresh water on British Navy ships. The 'grog' mix they used was not of sufficient ABV to disinfect the water, as it was handed out at a 4:1 ratio of water:rum. It was moreso about making the daily rum ration difficult to hoard, and much more efficient to transport than beer or wine.

Grog was at least 10% alcohol, plus lime juice. Navy rum was 65% or 130 proof. That's more than enough to inhibit most waterborne diseases such as cholera (inhibited in wine at 6.25% abv, though wine has tannins and phenols).

Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#52

Post by dsr_ »

slau wrote: post #5

Just completed my deep (40m/120ft) diver certification. A significant amount of the course was focused on nitrogen narcosis, and how to handle/detect it. Apparently, some divers will start feeling the narcotic effect between 20-30m. Beyond 30m, a significant amount of divers can feel the effects. Beyond 40m is the realm of tech diving, with trimix (helium/nitrogen/oxygen) or even heliox (helium/oxygen). I know nothin…

"Except for helium, no other gas exists which does not have some form narcotic effect at higher pressures."

I assume the narcotic effect of fluorine, chlorine and bromine are basically unstudied...

Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#53

Post by eastbound »

pdc56 wrote: post #40
sideshowb wrote: post #38

Anecdotally, as a mountaineer, I love the effect of a little less atmospheric pressure. Not loads less, above 3000m it starts getting inconvenient. But 1000-2000m my mind feels more clear and focused than at sea level. I wonder if this is related?

I've found this too, but assumed it was placebo. I lived at 6500' for a while - that was too high. The sweet spot for me is a particular mountain I go to which starts at 1200m and goes to 2000 (although I don't spend time at the peak - it's a ski field). Thanks for your anecdote, now I feel I can take my observations more seriously

It could also be the sheer concentration of CO2. I work in a forest: 400ppm in the office every morning. Back at home, in the city, 5km away: 580ppm minimum all day long. Maybe cities make people stupid :D

Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#55

Post by thehappypm »

pdc56 wrote: post #40
sideshowb wrote: post #38

Anecdotally, as a mountaineer, I love the effect of a little less atmospheric pressure. Not loads less, above 3000m it starts getting inconvenient. But 1000-2000m my mind feels more clear and focused than at sea level. I wonder if this is related?

I've found this too, but assumed it was placebo. I lived at 6500' for a while - that was too high. The sweet spot for me is a particular mountain I go to which starts at 1200m and goes to 2000 (although I don't spend time at the peak - it's a ski field). Thanks for your anecdote, now I feel I can take my observations more seriously

Mount Washington?

Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#56

Post by hn8305823 »

jerf wrote: post #50
slau wrote: post #5

Just completed my deep (40m/120ft) diver certification. A significant amount of the course was focused on nitrogen narcosis, and how to handle/detect it. Apparently, some divers will start feeling the narcotic effect between 20-30m. Beyond 30m, a significant amount of divers can feel the effects. Beyond 40m is the realm of tech diving, with trimix (helium/nitrogen/oxygen) or even heliox (helium/oxygen). I know nothin…

"We’re basically continuously narked, we’re just so used to it we don’t even know." Just because one direction on the gradient means that we respond in a way that looks like a narcotic does not mean that the other direction will respond in the opposite manner. I'm sure the nootropics folks would have discovered being super not high by now if it were as easy as breathing a mixture that doesn't have nitrogen in it.

> I'm sure the nootropics folks would have discovered being super not high by now if it were as easy as breathing a mixture that doesn't have nitrogen in it.

Maybe this is what Oxygen Bars are actually about but nobody knows it yet.

Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#59

Post by sideshowb »

eastbound wrote: post #53
pdc56 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found this too, but assumed it was placebo. I lived at 6500' for a while - that was too high. The sweet spot for me is a particular mountain I go to which starts at 1200m and goes to 2000 (although I don't spend time at the peak - it's a ski field). Thanks for your anecdote, now I feel I can take my observations more seriously

It could also be the sheer concentration of CO2. I work in a forest: 400ppm in the office every morning. Back at home, in the city, 5km away: 580ppm minimum all day long. Maybe cities make people stupid :D

Probably not in my case, haven't measured co2 but I am lucky to live in a small village.

Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#60

Post by karagenit »

hn8305823 wrote: post #56
jerf wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We’re basically continuously narked, we’re just so used to it we don’t even know." Just because one direction on the gradient means that we respond in a way that looks like a narcotic does not mean that the other direction will respond in the opposite manner. I'm sure the nootropics folks would have discovered being super not high by now if it were as easy as breathing a mixture that doesn't have nitrogen in it.

> I'm sure the nootropics folks would have discovered being super not high by now if it were as easy as breathing a mixture that doesn't have nitrogen in it. Maybe this is what Oxygen Bars are actually about but nobody knows it yet.

O2 actually has a stronger narcotic effect than N2, so probably it would have the opposite effect if any.
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