Trip Report Cozumel October 2024 - Presidente / Aldora - Minor Incident

[bradStyle]

Question - I often get headaches after diving, sometimes with the starburst in the eye thing that is associated with migraines, though I'm not a migraine sufferer. Is this also hypercapnia? I tend to shallow breath and usually have plenty of air left by the time we ascend. The deep breath - forced exhale technique would be such an easy fix!

It could very well be. Try to not shallow breathe and see where that gets you. The occasional forced exhale followed by full regular breaths might just do the trick. It's been a game changer for me. If I get to the headachy state before noticing I'm going that way, it usually takes about 2-3 minutes for this technique to turn things around, I don't feel any *immediate* relief, but in a few minutes it's totally gone.

Hey, and if it works for you, please let me know. I wish I'd had someone explain this to me. I only learned about hypercapnia properly in a tech diving course, and discovered this method on my own. I *hate* having headaches but had accepted that it was part and parcel of my diving. I'm so relieved to finally understand what was causing them and that it's an easy fix. I suspect many other divers might benefit from understanding this better. Headaches are no fun.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Hey BradStyle RIGHT ON!

Early on in my diving career I was sitting at the surface interval and Memo Mendoza saw me rubbing my head, I told him I always had headaches after diving and he suggested emptying my lungs on most every breath. Went back in the water and in doing so the headache was gone. By not completely emptying my lungs on each breath my internal BC was mostly full. From then on I was way positive and next dive I dropped 8 lbs and greatly reduced my air consumption. Most important dive trick ever!

Dave Dillehay

 

[Mike_4635]

Another cause of headaches while diving is dehydration. The air in the tank is dry, so if you have not been drinking enough water you can get a headache. Similar to getting a headache from drinking.

 

[Mike_4635]

Another common cause of headaches while diving is mask squeeze.

 

[ggunn]

Another common cause of headaches while diving is mask squeeze.

I know that this isn't exactly the squeeze to which you are referring, but something that I think many divers do not realize is that the tightness of the mask strap is not what is supposed to keep a mask from leaking.

 

[pjbonacum]

I would dive with Aldora. I can't recommend the Presidents dive shop based on my experience with them. The DM was unprofessional and in my opinion, borderline unsafe. The shop lost my flashlight and refused to pay for it. I had to talk to the manager to get it paid for. I had 6 amazing private dives with Aldora in April and 25 quality dives in November.

We stay at the Presidente whenever travelling to Cozumel for diving and we book a ground level walk-out room close to the main restaurant and the Presidente dock. We only use Scuba Tony as our dive operator due to the concierge service they provide. They operate out of the Marina that is basically right next to the Presidente and they only run six-pack boats. Divemasters are very competent and they quickly determine which divers are experienced and those that are not as competent.