wnissen
Contributor
I got idiopathic vertigo (previously diagnosed as BPPV) on Dive #3, and I do dive. The only reason I do is that there were multiple aggravating factors. I had gotten heat exhaustion the day before while wearing a 7mm wetsuit in 100+F / 38C weather. I was still dehydrated. And I was unable to equalize and carelessly gave myself a bit of barotrauma on the descent. I took a layoff of several months, after seeing a DAN-recommended ENT.
When I dive I avoid alcohol and anything rough on the stomach for 24 hours before, drink 1 L of electrolyte before each dive, take things really slow ascending and descending, and I do take both scopolamine and meclizine beforehand. While I can still get seasick, even in a lake, there’s no vertigo. Is my baseline risk of incident somewhat higher than someone who never had vertigo? Probably. Just a civilian’s opinion.
When I dive I avoid alcohol and anything rough on the stomach for 24 hours before, drink 1 L of electrolyte before each dive, take things really slow ascending and descending, and I do take both scopolamine and meclizine beforehand. While I can still get seasick, even in a lake, there’s no vertigo. Is my baseline risk of incident somewhat higher than someone who never had vertigo? Probably. Just a civilian’s opinion.
