Bruising under eyes

[Skookumchuck]

At the end of a dive on the weekend my son had what appeared to be tiny ruptured blood vessels under his eyes. He's a newly certified diver and our profile was very conservative. He said that he had a severe mask squeeze on decent and I suspect that was the cause, but never having seen this before I thought I'd ask an experts opinion.
Thanks in advance, Andrew.

 

[warmwaterturner]

I am not expert but I had this happen once early on in my diving career. In my case that is exactly what it was. The blood vessels under the eyes are very delicate and will do this with very little pressure - at least in my case.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Andrew,

What is described indeed very likely is petechial hemorrhaging as a result of mask squeeze.

Mask squeeze can make it appear as if you've blinded yourself and permanently ruined one's good looks--check out my man Lester --> Mask Squeeze. However, it generally resolves without any lasting effects.

Here's what DAN says about it:

Mask Squeeze
DAN Divers Alert Network

In conclusion, always remember to equalize the mask space by exhaling into it through the nose during descent.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[Dr Deco]

Mask squeeze was my first conjecture.

 

[tracydr]

I used to get it when I started. It's from mask squeeze. He's probably cranking his mask on way too tight and not venting slightly through his nose when he feels pressure.