Any recommendations for Cozumel doctor who understands diving and nasal/sinus blocks?

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Rob9876

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Any recommendations for a Cozumel doctor who understands diving and nasal/sinus blocks?

A week ago my son and I were quarry diving, and he had what seemed to be a nasal/sinus block with pain up his nasal cavity extending to one eye socket. We thumbed the dive, called it a day, and got some medicine to help with sinus congestion (after the dive he said he was a little congested, but didn't think it was bad).

Pain went away and all seemed fine. He was snorkeling in Cozumel today and felt the same type of pain except extending to the top of both eye sockets when he dove down about 10 feet or so. We were scheduled for our 1st dives this trip tomorrow, but of course I have canceled now.

I'm mainly looking for recommendations of Cozumel doctors who understand diving and sinus issues. However, if anyone has experience with this type of thing that would be good to hear. He's been diving for 3 years and this has never happened before.
 
Ive had that happen. Couldnt dive for about 3 weeks. Hurt like hell once i got up to about 33 feet. No problem equalizing going down.
I was thinking of offering the OP an opportunity to save a lot of money because I think that will be exactly what Dr. Piccolo says ..stay out of the water for 3 weeks. However I have no medical credentials and would never discourage anyone from seeking medical care. But it is pretty much what he tells me when I see him with ear problems.
 
Ive had that happen. Couldnt dive for about 3 weeks. Hurt like hell once i got up to about 33 feet. No problem equalizing going down.
A reverse squeeze is the pits. Valsalva works going down but there is no Reverse Valsalva that I know of. In my opinion as a complete layperson of all things medical I can only say that if I am having a problem with equalization on descent I am going to think very seriously about what is going to happen at the other end of the dive.
 
I've dealt with sinus squeeze most of my dive career, 25+ years. Showed up on my OW1 dives and has been a constant companion since.
As stated, if you abuse the sinuses going down, you may pay a heavier price coming up.
Free diving can be much worse since you place pressure on the sinuses at a much more rapid rate with the quick descent. It takes me 5" to get to 30', with a several minute pause at 10-12'.

If it hurts badly, think of it as a 'sprain'. The tissue swells up. Now, the once partially blocked sinus may be completely blocked. Attempting further pressure exchanges with diving is like running on a sprained ankle. Not a great idea.

Unfortunate, but you probably have to lay off and heal up. That can take several weeks depending on the damage.
Then it's critical to find out what the root cause is and address that before doing ANY kind of diving.
In my case, routine nasal rinsing and steroids are critical, along with very slow controlled descents. In addition I've had 2 sinus surgeries when the more conservative interventions started to no longer work. Allergies can be a complicating cause.

Never push past sinus pain. If you barely feel pressure, stop and let it go away. You can't 'clear' a sinus. The small passage must simply have plenty of time to equalize. If you persist, it will take umbrage and smite you, right between the eyes.
 
I have been surprised at some of the advice I have seen about equalization. I remember reading someone's post recommending that divers equalize every 10 feet of descent. What? As I am descending I equalize constantly every second or two. If for some reason I cannot and/or I feel the slightest pressure in one or both ears, I stop descending and maybe ascend a bit until I can.
 
Absolutely agree with @ggunn.
If people.....can.....go 10 feet and equalize they likely don't realize that at least some partial equalization is going on in between. Much more than 4-6 feet, especially in the top depths is risking blowing your eardrums out.
I don't have much problem with ear equalization, but due to the funky sinuses I have to go really slowly. I constantly get thanked by new buddies that feel pressured to descend too fast with other partners. People don't seem to stand up for their ears very well.
 
As I am descending I equalize constantly every second or two.

This was the 'aha' moment I had after a few dozen dives that helped me stop hurting my ears all the time. From the way I was trained I didn't realize you should basically be constantly equalizing on the way down. At first I thought it was something you did when you started to feel pressure, and by then it requires a lot more force. Once I did the 'equalize all the time all the way down' thing I stopped destroying my ears.

I wish my training on that particular topic had been better, it would have saved me some pain.
 
This was the 'aha' moment I had after a few dozen dives that helped me stop hurting my ears all the time. From the way I was trained I didn't realize you should basically be constantly equalizing on the way down. At first I thought it was something you did when you started to feel pressure, and by then it requires a lot more force. Once I did the 'equalize all the time all the way down' thing I stopped destroying my ears.

I wish my training on that particular topic had been better, it would have saved me some pain.
Although I equalize more often during descent and ascent, I am constantly doing it all through the dive.
 
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