Bloody Mucous After Dives

[dberry]

More than once recently I've gotten back on the boat with clotted blood mixed with phlegm in my nose. Not a free-flowing nose bleed, but definitely more than just a little speck in the mucous. As in a big dark red blob (clot) that grosses out the crew and fellow divers. Once someone thought I had whacked my head because a string of red had ended up on my forehead after removing my mask. (sorry for the graphic detail). I try to equalize early and often, and only rarely feel any discomfort descending. There are no other obvious symptoms of barotrauma during or after the dive. It doesn't seem the bleeding continues after the dive - after blowing my nose once or twice post-dive there are no further signs of blood or clots.

I suppose it might be sinus related more than ear canal, but I don't feel sinus pain during or after diving. Maybe just a weak blood vessel up there? It's happened often enough recently that I'm planning to see an ENT. On a week-long liveaboard in December it was an issue for the first 2-3 days (3-4 dives / day), but then stopped for the rest of the trip. But it happened again on a 2-tank trip last week.

Is this something the SB diving medical experts have seen before? Any thoughts?

 

[Littlerayray]

I get the same thing you described in the spring when my allergies act up it doesn't hurt and I keep diving as long as there is no pain the blood is from your sinuses forcing themselves to clear
I find I can breath a whole lot better after this happens

 

[fmerkel]

I keep diving as long as there is no pain the blood is from your sinuses forcing themselves to clear
I find I can breath a whole lot better after this happens

Really bad idea. You are doing damage and this damage will ultimately catch up with you. I suggest you both read my post #40 in this thread. Congestion And Disappointment

Might be worth reading the whole thread. Time to see an ENT and figure out what the root problem is and deal with it. I think some medications will be required to dive without pain and bleeding.

Ear pain is very difficult to ignore. Sinus pain, not so much unless it gets pretty bad. Pressure and pain are there, you just need to pay closer attention.

 

[Littlerayray]

I have read tour post. But I don't have pain when descending or ascending I don't even notice it and a pile of mucous as well as some blood in my mask which I don't even notice until I'm on the surface and people say ray wipe your face
My instructor who has been diving since the late 50's early 60's and is also my Dive buddy as well as my DM who has seen most everything and done most everything says it's perfectly normal and not to worry my ENT has also told me if theirs no pain then don't worry

 

[fmerkel]

My instructor who has been diving since the late 50's early 60's and is also my Dive buddy as well as my DM who has seen most everything and done most everything says it's perfectly normal and not to worry my ENT has also told me if theirs no pain then don't worry

Your nose but I call BS. People that don't have the problem don't understand the problem. I've been diving WITH the problem for 20 years and I'm in the most active dive club in the NW (we do ~200-250 dives/year). I see a LOT of divers and bloody noses are not common.

Yes, some people get bloody noses far more easily than others. But, a bloody nose indicates trauma. You don't bleed without trauma....period. So, you can ignore it, or you can try to figure out what the issue is and deal with it. Your nose, your choice but I think it's poor form and worse advice to be telling someone else with the problem that it simply is not a problem.

 

[Littlerayray]

Well that's your opinion and your entitled to it as far as I'm concerned I will take the advice of someone I know and have known for several years as well as the words from my ENT specialist over someone I do not know over the Internet I also find that after I bleed my sinuses are clearer and I can breath easier since diving I haven't had sinusitis because the pressure has forced out the infection before it gets bad

 

[fmerkel]

So, you first post seemed to say ignore it. Now you seem to be saying see an ENT, like we both did?

 

[gopbroek]

I have light to very large amounts of blood in my mucous after virtually every dive I have ever done. There has never been any actual pain associated with it but sometimes it gets pretty gross. If I have recently had allergy problems before traveling down to CZM to dive, the amounts will be greater, but it does not seem to be affected by whether my ears are clearing easily or slowly. I probably should go and have it checked out but since Obama care has priced me out of seeing any specialists, I hesitate.

 

[dberry]

OP here... Littlerayray's description matches mine: I'm totally unaware of it until I'm back at the surface, and usually it's someone else who sees it first (unless I "hock a lugey" - a big red one.) I'll consult my ENT, since bleeding does equal some level of trauma. I certainly don't think large bloody clots after diving is completely normal, but the total absence of sinus pain is what surprises me (and makes me wonder if it's even sinus related.) I have developed mild allergies later in life and a chronic drip is something I live with in spring and autumn. FWIW, I did experience sinus pain once on an air flight with a head cold, and it's not something you forget. I don't feel anything at all like that when diving. No sense of sinus pressure on descent or ascent.

I have an Rx for Flonase (nasal steroids) with the vague understanding that shrinking the tissues can help, although I'm not sure if this really effects the more distant sinuses. How long in advance of a dive trip is one supposed to start using the spray for any effect, and how often?

 

[Littlerayray]

So, you first post seemed to say ignore it. Now you seem to be saying see an ENT, like we both did?

kinda when I was seeing my ENT for my sinusitis I asked about the bleeding while diving and he said not to worry as long as it isn't painful and persistently bleeding