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Congestion And Disappointment
- Thread starter mattdust
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Our LDS owner & lead instructor refuses to get in the water a month ahead of a major trip he is leading, for the same reasons.Hang in there mattdust. It's always a drag when our bodies deny us the opportunity to enjoy something.
I'm often freaked I'm going to catch something before a dive trip. The closer the trip gets the more weird I become.I wash my hands obsessively. I won't go places where there are many people nor to visit people that have school-aged children in their homes, you know like my nieces and nephewsI use antibacterial wipes on the plane to wipe down my area. Yes, more and more strange but at my age, I rarely care what people thing of me if I'm doing something goofy. It's my trip! My dive trip! Ya know what I mean? I've got to be healthy.
But sometimes it doesn't matter how ridiculously I prepare. I caught a common variety head cold from someone on the staff of the liveaboard at Maldives. The other susceptible guests didn't come down with it until the trip was ending. Boo boo for me but lucky for them.. i figure I should have keehauled Zina <-the dive leader that started the whole cold thing on the boat . . .but sigh, he's a nice guy and he didn't mean to infect me.
StefinSB
Contributor
We just came back from our yearly trip to Anilao and my wife had a bad cold for the first 5 days and couldn't dive. Sucks but happens and as you can see you are not alone with that.
fmerkel
Contributor
There are 2 parts to equalization; ears and sinuses. A cold or allergies can affect either or both. In addition a person can have other issue that may affect either of these 2 components.
You CAN utilize technique and practice to equalize ears.
There is almost NOTHING (other than medications) that you can do to equalize sinuses.
A Dr. can examine you until the cows come home but he has no practical way to determine how actually congested your sinus and ear passages are. It really doesn't matter if he gives you the OK, or 'bans' you from diving. Only YOU, ultimately, can decide whether you ought to stay out of the water or not. Dr's are not magic and entirely too much faith is put in their pronouncements in matters like this. This includes DAN Docs. You call them, tell them you are congested, and unless they are an idiot they are going to tell you to stay out of the water. How are they going to determine over the phone what your functional level of congestion is? Can't be done in any reasonable way. IMO, unless you are honestly ILL (more than a cold), seeing a physician for a cold is a waste of time and resources on all accounts.
One of the problems of pushing it with congestion on board is reverse block. You further irritate touch mucus membranes on the way down, they swell up trapping compressed gas and likely in-compressible mucus and serous exudation (blood and plasma leak), and when the gas tries to expand on the way up your head explodes. Well, not really but if feels like it and it certainly can do some nasty damage. Not fun, been there.
Fritz
Respiratory Therapist x 35 years, diving x20 with sinus issues the WHOLE time.
Sinus surgery x 2. Can't dive without nasal steroids and slow (very slow) careful descents.
You CAN utilize technique and practice to equalize ears.
There is almost NOTHING (other than medications) that you can do to equalize sinuses.
A Dr. can examine you until the cows come home but he has no practical way to determine how actually congested your sinus and ear passages are. It really doesn't matter if he gives you the OK, or 'bans' you from diving. Only YOU, ultimately, can decide whether you ought to stay out of the water or not. Dr's are not magic and entirely too much faith is put in their pronouncements in matters like this. This includes DAN Docs. You call them, tell them you are congested, and unless they are an idiot they are going to tell you to stay out of the water. How are they going to determine over the phone what your functional level of congestion is? Can't be done in any reasonable way. IMO, unless you are honestly ILL (more than a cold), seeing a physician for a cold is a waste of time and resources on all accounts.
One of the problems of pushing it with congestion on board is reverse block. You further irritate touch mucus membranes on the way down, they swell up trapping compressed gas and likely in-compressible mucus and serous exudation (blood and plasma leak), and when the gas tries to expand on the way up your head explodes. Well, not really but if feels like it and it certainly can do some nasty damage. Not fun, been there.
Fritz
Respiratory Therapist x 35 years, diving x20 with sinus issues the WHOLE time.
Sinus surgery x 2. Can't dive without nasal steroids and slow (very slow) careful descents.
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fmerkel
Contributor
If you JUST have a KNOWN cold, otherwise are OK, what's the point? They can't do anything but guess. Believe me, when it's cold season a family physician's patient load for the day is like 60-80% people with colds, who have had dozens and dozens of colds, and want the Doc to do something about it, in spite of the fact they can't. They can't do squat, so generally prescribe Sudafed/Afrin or the like, which you can get yourself over the counter, just to make the 'customer' happy. Most of those people never bother to read up on what those medications actually do (other than the superficial advertising pap), and it's unlikely the physician is going to take 10-20" of their time to educate you on the physiology of a cold and the physiological effects of medication. Ignorance is not bliss, it's ignorance.
(Note - antibiotics are useless for a viral cold. A physician that prescribes them or a patient that request them is doing no one a favor. We are just ending up with increasing antibiotic resistant organisms that are going to do everyone serious harm in the future....already are in fact).
Now, it you have chronic or ongoing clearing issues (like I had to start) you are very well advised to see a dive knowledgeable ENT to best figure out how to deal with those issues. Most actually can be patched up with some education, medication, and resolve. A DAN referral may be useful here if your own community can't point out someone.
But, that is a whole different story. We are talking about someone that had a cold and it messed up their dive vacation. Unfortunate? Absolutely. Worth seeing a physician? Well, if you actually think they can do something, have at it. I'm telling you they can't.
There is a big difference between medical responsibility and legal responsibility. Much of this "see the doctor" stuff is unloading legal responsibility without enhancing medical improvement of the situation.
(Note - antibiotics are useless for a viral cold. A physician that prescribes them or a patient that request them is doing no one a favor. We are just ending up with increasing antibiotic resistant organisms that are going to do everyone serious harm in the future....already are in fact).
Now, it you have chronic or ongoing clearing issues (like I had to start) you are very well advised to see a dive knowledgeable ENT to best figure out how to deal with those issues. Most actually can be patched up with some education, medication, and resolve. A DAN referral may be useful here if your own community can't point out someone.
But, that is a whole different story. We are talking about someone that had a cold and it messed up their dive vacation. Unfortunate? Absolutely. Worth seeing a physician? Well, if you actually think they can do something, have at it. I'm telling you they can't.
There is a big difference between medical responsibility and legal responsibility. Much of this "see the doctor" stuff is unloading legal responsibility without enhancing medical improvement of the situation.
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No Dr. here either of course. My personal experience was that of horrific sinus problems a few years either side of your present age. Don't know how it would've affected diving as that began age 51. By then my once every 8 months or so massive colds had become less severe. And over my diving of 11 years I have noticed that back when I started I had to wait 2 weeks or so to dive. Last few years I've had no problems at all after only one week. Everyone differs regarding colds, sinus problems, etc. A few years ago I did learn that it can be quite dangerous to dive if you have any chest congestion--again, from a Course Director, not a Doctor. I believe she said it has to do with lung, not sinus problems. Sometimes after a cold I try descending in a pool if one's available, so I don't get everything geared up for a dive. Good luck.
Oh for what it's worth, I had probably the most severe allergies at your age (and until about 35, when they began to wane)--Hay fever season wiped me out--I had to get needles, take Prednisone, and have sinuses drained. Now at almost 62, it could be the middle of July and I could stick my nose in a dog's fur and nothing at all. I think we all at least somewhat change over time with all these things.
Oh for what it's worth, I had probably the most severe allergies at your age (and until about 35, when they began to wane)--Hay fever season wiped me out--I had to get needles, take Prednisone, and have sinuses drained. Now at almost 62, it could be the middle of July and I could stick my nose in a dog's fur and nothing at all. I think we all at least somewhat change over time with all these things.
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Phil111
Contributor
Cleaning Nasal Passages With Salt Water
Just keep trying but don't force the issue. If its getting better already, it should clear up but forcing the issue for one days diving isn't worth serious injury. Spend some time in the pool(middle of the key) and get your head under water a bit. Just remember you're too young for the rum drinks.
You can go snorkeling where the shore dives are(far side of the key). Or try a shore dive where you can sit on the bottom in 5-6' of water and give the salt water some time to work on those passages.Also try to avoid all the "i saw this and I saw that" stories from all the other divers.
Just keep trying but don't force the issue. If its getting better already, it should clear up but forcing the issue for one days diving isn't worth serious injury. Spend some time in the pool(middle of the key) and get your head under water a bit. Just remember you're too young for the rum drinks.
You can go snorkeling where the shore dives are(far side of the key). Or try a shore dive where you can sit on the bottom in 5-6' of water and give the salt water some time to work on those passages.Also try to avoid all the "i saw this and I saw that" stories from all the other divers.
Ting Tong
Contributor
Hi
I was taught never to take something to enable the dive to take place.The reason being is what would have happened if the Sudafed was effective allowing you to get to your target depth and then wore off as you are about to ascend?
You did the right thing turning the dive when you did. No point pushing the envelope at this early stage of your diving career.
Hey mattdust and I feel your pain. As a frequent cold and allergy sufferer I know what you are going through but if you are improving and having no sinus pain except diving it is unlikely that an antibiotic will help. If you find the symptoms start to worsen again or develop persistant pain or pressure then you may have a secondary infections and then an antibiotic would be indicated. But there may be other options like an oral steroid and/or a nasal spray decongestant such as Afrin. For oral or nasal decongestants, use a 12 hour formula if available. I would at least let the doc there know that your dive didn't work and what else you might try.
I am guessing the doc watched your eardrums as you equalized and saw movement. There was every reason to think if you could do it then you could while diving as well. Gentle equalization is fine but as the doc and netdoc said, avoid force equalization. The added risk to equalizing with an infection is introducing the infection from the sinuses into the middle ear causing a middle ear infection. Fortunately this rarely happens but it is possible. At this point I would say the risk is minimal and clearly the doctor that saw you thought gentle equalization was safe as well. So yes, I would follw Chilly's advice and see how your ears and sinuses respond.
I am guessing the doc watched your eardrums as you equalized and saw movement. There was every reason to think if you could do it then you could while diving as well. Gentle equalization is fine but as the doc and netdoc said, avoid force equalization. The added risk to equalizing with an infection is introducing the infection from the sinuses into the middle ear causing a middle ear infection. Fortunately this rarely happens but it is possible. At this point I would say the risk is minimal and clearly the doctor that saw you thought gentle equalization was safe as well. So yes, I would follw Chilly's advice and see how your ears and sinuses respond.
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