Allergy causes?

[cantdoit]

Last night I had my 1st diving lesson. It seems like I was allegic to something mask related. My face got very blotchy, puffy and tender. It stayed like this almost 24 hours. I started putting cortizone cream on it this afternoon and it still feels tender but the harsh redness is gone. My eyes are still quite irritated and very teary. I don't have any other allergies.

Toward the end of the lesson I got to a point that I just couldn't continue. Swallowing lots of water and mask leaking. I left the class early. Looking back I'm wondering it my face swelled up enough to make the mask not fit right. I'd like to find the cause and deal with it. I don't want to give up on the whole dive idea.
Factors that I think may be likely.

Sea Drops used for de-fogging. My #1 suspect
Something that the mask was cleaned with. It was a loaner mask.
Clorine - the dive shop guy said it was a lithium(?) type of clorine.
The mask itself, silicone?

I spoke with the dive shop today and he didn't think there was anything in the seadrops - but it has a chemical formula so I'm suspicious of that.

My next class is tomorrow night and I still don't know if I'll continue. The mask off drills are next and my eyes are still really hurting - I wear contacts too.

Do you have any insights or suggestions? Alternative defogger?

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

Last night I had my 1st diving lesson. It seems like I was allegic to something mask related. My face got very blotchy, puffy and tender. It stayed like this almost 24 hours. I started putting cortizone cream on it this afternoon and it still feels tender but the harsh redness is gone. My eyes are still quite irritated and very teary. I don't have any other allergies.

Toward the end of the lesson I got to a point that I just couldn't continue. Swallowing lots of water and mask leaking. I left the class early. Looking back I'm wondering it my face swelled up enough to make the mask not fit right. I'd like to find the cause and deal with it. I don't want to give up on the whole dive idea.
Factors that I think may be likely.

Sea Drops used for de-fogging. My #1 suspect
Something that the mask was cleaned with. It was a loaner mask.
Clorine - the dive shop guy said it was a lithium(?) type of clorine.
The mask itself, silicone?

I spoke with the dive shop today and he didn't think there was anything in the seadrops - but it has a chemical formula so I'm suspicious of that.

My next class is tomorrow night and I still don't know if I'll continue. The mask off drills are next and my eyes are still really hurting - I wear contacts too.

Do you have any insights or suggestions? Alternative defogger?

Any of those things you listed may be a problem except, perhaps silicone...are you SURE it's silicone?

Are you wearing a wet suit or a hood? Just because you didn't touch your face with the wet suit doesn't mean you can't get a reaction on the face. Also, if you are in a pool used a lot for scuba training, there may be latex or neoprene residue in the water. If you are sensitive to anything, minicule amounts can trigger a reaction.

While it might seem silly, you might want to put on your equipment (well not the tanks) in the bath tub or shower and see if it occurs again. If not, it is likely that the allerlgen is in the pool water. Then you might want to change locations.

Get your own equipment. Clean the new mask (if it is silicone) with toothpaste to remove the silicone residue on the inside of the faceplace...this stuff causes the mask to fog uncontrollably. Rub it in with your fingers for several minutes, rinse, repeat.

You can defog you mask with spit, toothpaste or baby shampoo...apply, rub around and rinse out just like Sea Drops.

If it turns out you are allergic to latex or neoprene, it can become very serious...even life threatening in rare cases.

Keep us up to date.

Larry Stein