At the moment, it is completely unclear what happened to the Titan submarine and its crew, which went missing in the Atlantic Ocean. But if it’s still intact, the existing oxygen supply puts limits on survival on board. Lung specialist Rainer Schädlich says: “The process takes a long time because the oxygen is slowly used up and extra CO₂ is produced by breathing. There are nicer deaths.”
Typically, air contains about 21 percent oxygen (O₂) by volume. If the proportion of carbon dioxide increases, that of O₂ decreases. “If the oxygen content falls below 15% by volume, physical and mental performance decreases more and more,” says Schädlich, a specialist in internal medicine, pulmonary and bronchial medicine, allergology and environmental medicine in Straelen.
Although diving and submarines have carbon dioxide filters to capture the gas, explains Professor Stefan Kluge, director of the intensive care clinic at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf. But: “If the capacity of the carbon dioxide filter is exhausted, the carbon dioxide will increase.”
Long list of symptoms
With increasing oxygen deficiency, headache, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, but also shortness of breath, confusion, dizziness and drowsiness to apathy occur. “The symptoms of oxygen deprivation, especially shortness of breath, can be very unpleasant. In that respect I would not speak of a mild death.”
Temperature also plays a crucial role
How quickly the oxygen is consumed depends strongly on the breathing and activity of those on board, says the Hamburg intensive care physician. If you do or sleep as little as possible, the consumption is much lower than with hectic activity or panic. With the submarine there is also the fact that it can be deep in the freezing cold. If it is also cold in the “Titan”, the passengers on board could have an increased oxygen consumption due to muscle tremors.
Brains are the fastest damaged
According to Kluge, the organ most quickly damaged by a lack of oxygen is the brain. Even if a rescue takes place in a state of unconsciousness, there is a risk of irreversible damage. “Timely administration of oxygen can prevent serious damage in individual cases.” Oxygen is essential for energy production in the cells, called cellular respiration, Schädlich explains. “Without an adequate supply of oxygen, the cells become damaged.”
Different stages in the agony
From a historical perspective, Schäddlich doesn’t see much reason for hope for the men on the “Titan”: “In the history of sunken submarines, more men have died than survived,” he said. Their death struggle has several phases: “In the beginning they are still frantically trying to solve the mechanical problems. A quieter phase of tense silence and reflection follows.” Then the first symptoms would appear, later unconsciousness and death.
Source: Krone
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