38 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

Is diving while congested a serious thing or just an annoyance? I had a sinus infection while on my last dive trip that lasted most of the trip. I took some drugs to open up my head but as the congestion cleared and broke up but while still under the drugs, I would experience severe sinus pressure reminscent of an ice pick being jammed into my head forcing me to stop from descending or ascending. And at times I had reverse squeezes where I could not ascend. I was able to go slow enough and do reverse clears to aid in making my dives but now I'm wondering if I have subjected myself to serious risks beyond the annoyance of the squeezes and the pressure? In other words...when this happens are we increasing our chances of serious harm or even dcs or just taking the risk of feeling pain from the sinus pressure or reverse squeeze?

[shadragon]

Is diving while congested a serious thing or just an annoyance?

When I did the Red Sea I lost two days sitting on the beach because of sinus issues. Hated every minute of it, but knew it was necessary. The reverse squeeze is the one to fear. Not being able to ascend from depth and air consumption limiting your time to deal with it... Scary.

[WreckWench]

Is diving while congested a serious thing or just an annoyance?

When I did the Red Sea I lost two days sitting on the beach because of sinus issues. Hated every minute of it, but knew it was necessary. The reverse squeeze is the one to fear. Not being able to ascend from depth and air consumption limiting your time to deal with it... Scary.

There is a very effective technique to clear a reverse squeeze that should be taught in all open water classes. Hold your nose, blow until you have cleared your lungs and then swallow. It works like a charm and took care of my reverse squeezes when I had them.

While they are not something to be anticipated...they should not be feared if you know what to do to clear them.

[finGrabber]

Is diving while congested a serious thing or just an annoyance?

When I did the Red Sea I lost two days sitting on the beach because of sinus issues. Hated every minute of it, but knew it was necessary. The reverse squeeze is the one to fear. Not being able to ascend from depth and air consumption limiting your time to deal with it... Scary.

There is a very effective technique to clear a reverse squeeze that should be taught in all open water classes. Hold your nose, blow until you have cleared your lungs and then swallow. It works like a charm and took care of my reverse squeezes when I had them.

While they are not something to be anticipated...they should not be feared if you know what to do to clear them.

I had several reverse squeezes when I had my braces...I had to descend about 5 feet and then come backup again to clear though I also had difficulty keeping my ears equalized on most dives. I suppose it depends on why you get a reverse squeeze too

[shadragon]

While they are not something to be anticipated...they should not be feared if you know what to do to clear them.

That is a good technique to know. I have been in a position where a regular squeeze would not clear regardless of what I did and I could not get past 5-6'. In that case I could pop back to the surface. Reverse squeeze is a different ball game.

[Dennis]

Several years ago, I went diving with just slight congestion. I normally never have to hold my nose to equalize my ears, but this time, I did. I'll never dive with congestion again. I developed one of the worse ear infections I have ever had. The Dr. told me I had forced all of the gunk in my sinuses into my inner ear. Not a good thing.

[secretsea18]

Kamala,
I am an ENT, as you know and I treat babies (chronologic age, so no wisecracks), so I know some stuff about those holes in our face.

First the danger with diving with congested nose/sinus is what you experienced, sinus squeeze. The sinuses (and nose too) are bone with a thin membrane lining them, so I doubt that you would be in danger of DCS, as there is nearly no tissue for Nitrogen to build up in. The problem is perpetuation of the original condition by causing MORE inflammation and more membrane swelling in the nose and sinus area. If you are congested you probably should take a day or two off, however... And here I am going to tell you what I do, (not what maybe YOU should do --- OK my a*s is covered) "when I am stuffy, I take TWO red sudafed every 4-6 hours if I am diving." Taking less Sudafed (like only one red pill) is not going to help, and still would expose you to the medication side affects, so if you are going to take the red pills, take 2. This may or may not be an option you can take depending upon any health problems, so ASK YOUR DOCTOR IF IT IS OK for you.

Now for risks of squeeze in the sinuses above and beyond your painful face, you could have reverse squeeze and actually rupture thin areas in the bone that is between the sinus (ethmoid) and orbit area or brain (but that is really extremely rare). This could force air into the orbit with orbital swelling and risk to the vision (expected to be temporary, but you never know) or also push bacteria into the orbit area along with the air. This is serious and would cause an infection of the orbit. I operate on these infections (not caused by diving) often enough to advise against getting this problem.

Of course the other problem with the stuffy nose issue, is the associated ear problems and risk of poor equalization with stuffy nose. Again 2 sudafed red pills are helpful there, too, (so ASK YOUR DOCTOR IF YOU CAN TAKE THEM). Bacteria can go up the Eustachian tube into the MIDDLE EAR (not inner ear -- that is the balance area and cochlea) and cause a MIDDLE ear infection, like what small children get.

Sometimes it is just too hard to take a diving day off when paying so much $$$ and traveling so far when the stuffy nose hits, but it can be the best thing, as it gives the nose a rest. There are some other things to do to help as well, such as saline irrigations and treatment of the actual cause of the congestion (if it is not from just a cold).
Sometimes you will find that you are allergic to something in the exotic location. Happened to me. Pulled into Banda, Indonesia on the liveaboard, and instantly got runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes for the 2 1/2 days there. Within an hour of leaving Banda, out to sea... all better. But I was miserable for those two days, as I didn't have any allergy meds with me. Now I take them along too.

Otherwise sorry to hear that you had trouble with this on your PI trip. Get better soon.

OK, my 2 cents worth....... but really worth ????

Edited by secretsea18, 03 October 2007 - 12:40 PM.

[Latitude Adjustment]

While on a liveaboard I started to get a runny nose but could still clear so I went down. At depth the sinus began to drain heavily and I had trouble keeping my throat clear, that got scary and I'll never push it again.

[Scubatooth]

Robin

that wasnt .02 worth that was worth a office visit or two.

thanks for the info, you pretty much confirmed what i knew. I try not to push my ears and sinuses as i have a bad history with sinus and ear infections, knock on wood no surgery required, but i was really worried how bad i was going to be from this trip and its no where what i thought it would be. Im now just dealing with chest and other issues now.

then also theres a combo of meds that i have taken in the past and did on the PI trip and it was Phenavent (augmentin?) and levbid (i think thats the spelling its a two color pill half white, half green) but basically it was a one two punch that opened me up quick without wacking me out like the red pills do. SS18 could you look what the real names of those meds are so that i can put them in my personal notes.

Also i will say that the saline trick really does work, i used it when i got home from the PI trip i did it and cleared salined my sinuses and within a hour i could really breath.

also as a side note about sudafed style drugs is there is some data that says that taking sudafed and diving on high P02 mixes can predispose and make you more likely to have a cns or dcs hit.

Tooth

[WreckWench]

Robin aka SecretSea18 ...you are an !!!

Your info was worth THOUSANDS OF .02PSI's!!!

I NEVER take drugs so I kept ONLY taking one red pill and surprisingly it did not work. However when I finally did take 2 red pills...I had relief.

Since I leave for a trip tomorrow I will be taking this advice to heart should I have another case of it. And yes...saline is magical for ALL AGES!!!

Bill had a similar issue with his sinuses from the dry air on the plane and had he commented about 4 hour earlier that he needed saline...he may have avoided getting sick. He was shocked to learn that not only did I use saline but I had a bottle of it with me on the plane.

We drained that bottle on the trip...he used it 3x a day while I only used it 1-2x. He recovered 100% halfway thru but I continued to suffer.

Lesson learned.... 2 pills per dose and do the saline 3x a day if suffering ANY NASAL ISSUES!

[Walter]

If you remember, I had similar problems when we were in Bonaire in '04. I tried Sudafed with absolutely no results. I'll never forget my 26 minute extremely painful descent to the Hooker. After that dive, I used Afrin and had no further problems.

[DandyDon]

You shouldn't have dived with the sinus infection, but I understand - you're the leader and the show must go on. I've done it and worse just because I wanted to do the dives, altho I sit out most of a Blackbeards once from a flu relapse.

Good trick on the Reverse Squeeze. I didn't know that one.

I NEVER take drugs so I kept ONLY taking one red pill and surprisingly it did not work. However when I finally did take 2 red pills...I had relief.

You take antihistamines for motion illness every dive day don't you? And the Reds were generic Sudafed, I suppose: pseudoephedrine Hcl I take both on a daily basis for allergies. Sometimes I need twice as much. My usual does is 60 mg of the PSE, altho I really need the Triprolidine HCL antihistamine with it for best results.

So how much PSE in each Red? I think normal is 30 mg which is a light dose. I always take 60 mg if not 120.

Edited by DandyDon, 03 October 2007 - 01:23 PM.

[WreckWench]

You take antihistamines for motion illness every dive day don't you? And the Reds were generic Sudafed, I suppose: pseudoephedrine Hcl I take both on a daily basis for allergies. Sometimes I need twice as much. My usual does is 60 mg of the PSE, altho I really need the Triprolidine HCL antihistamine with it for best results.

So how much PSE in each Red? I think normal is 30 mg which is a light dose. I always take 60 mg if not 120.

Not sure the dosage on the reds...and actually I have been off the meclizine for the most part unless the weather is calling for choppy weather. The meds I use for motion sickness help relieve nausea, vomiting and dizzyness.