Another sinus squeeze question....

[GregA2k6]

Hello all,

I had some sinus pain during my checkout dives. (I had a bit of stuffiness going into them) The pain was in my forehead during 2 descents but cleared once I was descending and equalizing. (the pain just suddenly disappeared) Should I have aborted the dive? I dove later with no sinus pain at all.....is this dangerous? I've heard tons about the dangers of not being to equalize your ears but very little about sinus pain....did I push it by continuing when I felt some sinus pain? I imagine the problem would be developing a reverse block on ascent. I had no problem ascending during the dives.

Thanks for any help!

Greg

 

[occrider]

Sinus squeeze is difficult to predict/diagnose/prevent. If it's related to simple stuffiness, you can probably dive easy with some preparation with sudafed or nasal decongestants (this is mild stuffiness mind you, not a cold or anything more severe). I have dove with similar conditions that you describe (I have chronic sinusitis) and so far I've only experienced mild discomfort at most. That being said, I will opt for surgery once I can afford it to eliminate any kind of risk associated with the matter. So my suggestion to you is to go to a qualified ENT to properly diagnose your condition if you have one.

 

[Halthron]

I have sinus problems as well with the exact same symptoms if I don't prevent it beforehand. Starting at about 6 feet, I have an intense pain in my forehead. If I persist and gradually go down, it takes 5-6 minutes to get to 25 feet. A minute or two later, once past 35-40, I'm fine for the dive but once I get back into the shallow range the problem reappears.

I don't dive when I'm congested but to ward off the bits of moisture up there, ,I take a 12-hour sudafed. Then, before each dive, I use a nasal spray like Afrin. It's over-the-counter in the US, not sure about Canada.

 

[rongoodman]

I had similar problems on my first OW dives, which I was able to work around by descending slowly and taking decongestants. I just finished AOW and took no meds, and had no problem at all with them. Is this just a fluke, or is it possible some internal adjustement took place to alleviate the problem?

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Halthron,

Afrin is available OTC in Canada under that same brand name.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[Cacia]

I was wondering about Afrin...I get a painful eyeball pain sometimes that is a sinus...hopefully. reverse block "eye" pain almost made me pass out about three weeks ago. I hung on my marker during my stop like I was dying...I could not drop back down due to air left and the need to decompress. One of my most painful times..ever.

I was worried about rebound, but I guess I have nothing to lose really.
might have to add that to be bag.

Seems to only get me on the second dive.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Catherine,

You raise an important point about rebound congestion, known in the med biz as rhinitis medicamentosa. It results from abnormal swelling and enlargement of the lining of the nasal cavity secondary to the extended use (on the order of 3-5 days) of Afrin (oxymetazoline) and certain other decongestant nasal sprays (e.g., ephedrine, phenylephrine). This swelling blocks the nasal airway and causes discomfort.

Then the sufferer is caught in a vicious cycle---->the spray must used to reduce the rebound congestion--->the congestion is temporarily relieved---->once the effect of the last dose of the spray wears off, the nasal mucosa swell again---->another dose of spray is required to provide relief. Worse, response to the spray rapidly decreases and more frequent doses are needed to provide adequate decongestion.

This can be very bad business and a difficult cycle to break.

Use such nasal spays only as directed and if you think you've developed rebound decongestion, see an ENT pronto.

Also, be aware there are more effective and safer nasal sprays available by prescription.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[ArcticDiver]

It isn't mentioned very often; but before anyone uses any drug(prescribed or OTC) they should read and understand the insert instructions. If the language is too strange have your pharmacist or provider interpret for you.

For example: The perpetual Sudafed and Diving question is answered by reading the instructions. Some folks can use it and some can't.