Panicked, afraid it will happen again

[Primary]

"Wet" air of course is not a good thing and agree that it should be avoided no matter what, but there are acceptable variances in the moisture content and some can be much drier than others.

Moisture in the air is a classic sign that a shop is not changing the compressor filters in a timely manner. If it's noticeable in any way, it's not good for you and it's not good for your tanks, especially steel tanks.

Regarding panic and the feeling of not being able to get enough air, many times it's related to CO2 buildup during physical exertion. Not sure if that may have been a factor for the OP.

As others have said, the solution is to stop, breathe and allow the CO2 to flush out of your system but it takes a good deal of self control to overcome the flight instinct. I find focusing on something very small (my SPG or a tiny section of the reef) for a minute helps to center me, and takes my mind off "the vastness of the ocean" which can feed the uneasiness.

I'd suggest building up to doing deeper dives slowly. Enjoy shallow less stressful dives for a while; they last longer too

 

[chillyinCanada]

I believe this happened to my wife, it's been difficult to figure out exactly what happened, so we've been at a loss as to figure out how to proceed.

On a trip to Cozumel a year and half ago she had 3-4 instances of losing her cool, but it all was really about not understanding what happened the first time. Keep in mind we easily have 600-800 dives over almost 20 years. DM's forgot to change her tank, and since she never finishes a tank, it lasted for about 20 minutes when she finally looked at her gauge (terrible habit for her, because it's never an issue), and only had about 300# left. Fortunately, we were only in about 50' of water, but typical Cozumel current. She got my attention, and I tried to give her my spare reg - something she probably hadn't done in 10 years... But when she took the reg, she indicated she couldn't get a breath, so she took back her reg and started for the surface. The whole time I could see pulses of "exhaled?" air, so I didn't understand what was happening. We met at the surface and she said she couldn't breath, that her throat had closed on her. So we examined our gear, thought maybe she accidentally inhaled some seawater, etc. But we kept diving. Once more on the trip she bolted for the surface believing she couldn't breath, and on a few other dives she struggled not to panic and bolt - even though she was able to breath, she kept feeling her throat close. It didn't help that we did Devil's throat a few days later and she had ear issues, and on the dive right after my HP hose to the gas gauge popped (something I knew needed to be replaced but pushed - bad idea). She's been fearless since I've known her, but I do tend to push things more than she's often comfortable with.

All told, we think her anxiety levels rose along with some underlying health issues related to Lyme (whole 'nother topic...) - like dry mouth. Since then we've only been to Bonnaire, so we could control the dives, avoid heavy currents, etc. She did OK, but did have to turn around early a few times, and we didn't go past 50' (most the time). It's hard to know how to proceed, but we think that it will need to be baby steps in order for her to regain confidence and subdue the lizard brain, we both love diving so much it's hard to fathom not being able to go anymore. After that trip I did by the Bio-filter for her, but we haven't had a chance to use it. Would love to hear thoughts.

I wonder if your wife is experiencing something called laryngospasm.

 

[Angelo Farina]

I wonder if your wife is experiencing something called laryngospasm.

Or it could be the neonatal epiglottis closure reflex, which can be triggered by water on some sensor points around nostrils. This reflex can be easily triggered when mask is suddenly removed or flooded...
Some people experience it also out of water, just spraying some water on their face.
I remember of one fellow motorbiker suffering of this when we got a shower of rain while speeding down a mountain. He was not able to breath and we had to stop...
He did wear a simple jet helmet, leaving his face unprotected.

 

[MAGELLAN]

I wonder if your wife is experiencing something called laryngospasm.

Yes, we have also considered this, but as with most medical stuff, it's hard to diagnose with 100% certainty, and if I recall there really isn't any specific treatment, just something that can be triggered by.. Who knows? So, again that takes us back to mental preparedness and reasonable precautions, but no real cure.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Yes, we have also considered this, but as with most medical stuff, it's hard to diagnose with 100% certainty, and if I recall there really isn't any specific treatment, just something that can be triggered by.. Who knows? So, again that takes us back to mental preparedness and reasonable precautions, but no real cure.

Laryngospasm is a strong muscular contraption which closes the larynx. In my experience, it is very rare, and usually associated with other problems. For example, I did see it happening during an anaphylactic shock caused by an allergic reaction to bee puncture. USually is treated by intubation, or, in worst cases, by tracheotomy.
"normal" people instead suffer of the much simpler neonatal epiglottis reflex, of which I did already provide an explanation. It is nothing pathological, it is a natural reflex in place in all small children for preventing drowning.
And it is plain simple to diagnose. While taking a shower, spray water directly on face with the flexible hose of your shower. This is usually quite effective triggering the reflex, and making it difficult or impossible to breath...
Once confirmed that the problem is the epiglottis reflex, there are a number of exercises for training your body to counterfeit the reflex and leave the epiglottis open (or reopen after closure). Most of these exercises can be done at home , in the shower or in the bath tube.
Once the reflex is reasonably under control (it usually takes 2 or 3 months of daily exercises), it is advisable to check the effect in a swimming pool, while breathing from a scuba system, and having the mask suddenly removed by someone else.
This reflex is quite common, in my experience more than 15% of the students of a diving course suffer of this, and particularly those coming from practising water sports since small age.
Most of them can learn to keep the reflex under control, while a small percentage of them can not, and hence are unsuitable for scuba diving.

 

[Khrissi]

I am AOW certified and have logged about 60 dives. A few months ago I was descending on my first dive of the day . Just as I got to the bottom at about 70 feet, my mouth got extremely dry. I tried to swallow and couldn't. I felt like I was choking that is when things started moving really fast. I pulled the reg from my mouth and headed for the surface . Feeling like I was not moving fast I inflated my BC. I think I screamed all the way. I am fully aware I did everything wrong.
Since then I have made several dives that i was very nervous during. One i needed to abort on the surface because i could not slow down my breathing.
Cancelled a trip today because I was up all night with anxiety.
Has anyone else had something scare you and been able to work through it?
What once felt peaceful and comfortable now feels very different.

I have had this dry-mouth thing a lot. And sorry to hear you had a bad panic ( i have on my OW ) try gargling with glycerin and mouthwash mix. The mouthwash opens yr sinusess a bit an the glycerin lubes yr throat. Glycerin on its own is a bit too thick. K

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Okay, I'm going to go out on a limb here, and suggest another possible cause--carbon monoxide contamination of her air. The symptoms are varied, and increase with depth. The reason is that with 60 dives already, I think the stress and anxiety probably resulted from some underlying symptoms, and CO poisoning, even at low levels, can cause weird effects. Read COUSTEAU's The Silent World, when they were diving a cave and got CO poisoning. His description of varied symptoms were very interesting. On that dive, the world almost lost both JYC and Frédérick Dumas.

SeaRat

 

[ps444mike]

ok I didn't read all the replies.. but I get dry mouth.. (unless using the rebreather) but try sucking on a hard piece of candy.. I have seen a few old timers doing it.. I tried it an it works..

 

[BenjaminF]

Possibly a bad CO2 hit?

 

[MAGELLAN]

Laryngospasm is a strong muscular contraption which closes the larynx. In my experience, it is very rare, and usually associated with other problems. For example, I did see it happening during an anaphylactic shock caused by an allergic reaction to bee puncture. USually is treated by intubation, or, in worst cases, by tracheotomy.
"normal" people instead suffer of the much simpler neonatal epiglottis reflex, of which I did already provide an explanation. It is nothing pathological, it is a natural reflex in place in all small children for preventing drowning.
And it is plain simple to diagnose. While taking a shower, spray water directly on face with the flexible hose of your shower. This is usually quite effective triggering the reflex, and making it difficult or impossible to breath...
Once confirmed that the problem is the epiglottis reflex, there are a number of exercises for training your body to counterfeit the reflex and leave the epiglottis open (or reopen after closure). Most of these exercises can be done at home , in the shower or in the bath tube.
Once the reflex is reasonably under control (it usually takes 2 or 3 months of daily exercises), it is advisable to check the effect in a swimming pool, while breathing from a scuba system, and having the mask suddenly removed by someone else.
This reflex is quite common, in my experience more than 15% of the students of a diving course suffer of this, and particularly those coming from practising water sports since small age.
Most of them can learn to keep the reflex under control, while a small percentage of them can not, and hence are unsuitable for scuba diving.

Angelo,
Thanks so much for the response. We'll give this a try.