Diving while on Antibiotics?

[417Diver]

I have had a horrible sinus infection since saturday. I have been on Clarithromycin (biaxin) since monday. I will be taking the antibiotics through the weekend. Will I be ok to dive while on them if my symptoms are gone? I read that Amoxicillin is fine to dive while on it but not sure about this one.

Dont have an account on DAN so I have not contacted them. I was hoping to get an answer from someone who has dove while on anitbiotics.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi 417Diver,

Possible side effects of Biaxin (clarithromycin) of concern to SCUBA include diarrhea, headache, nausea & vomiting. While uncommon, photosensitivity reaction can occur, so it's prudent to take full UV protection. Divers taking this drug will want to make sure they stay well hydrated.

The potential dangers of diving with an active, serious sinus infection are obvious. However, if the condition is responding well to treatment and the diver can breath and equalize normally and without discomfort, and has the stamina and feels up to SCUBA, diving should be possible given clearance from the treating physician.

BTW, one can inquire of DAN and get a response even if not a member, although it is of course a good thing to be a member and support its worthwhile activities on behalf of SCUBA.

Regards,

DocVikingo

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such.

 

[417Diver]

Doc thanks for the useful info. I will see how I feel come friday before making any decisions.

 

[FIXXERVI6]

I'm not a doctor by any stretch, but I take antibiotics like candy - I really don't want to but this putrid texas air gives me sinus infections on a frequent basis (don't even get me started on all of the drugs i take due to this including injections and crap I shoot up my nose) and I dive on everything I take, even long dives, deep dives, trimix dives whatever.

The only thing I have taken that I notice affects me underwater is sudafed. For shallow dives its no big deal but if I start pushing a high narcotic value I notice it amplifies the narcosis big time. It took me a long time to figure it out as I know how narcosis can vary from day to day in a diver based on a great number of factors, but I'm 100% convinced that sudafed + high nitrogen = worse narcosis than normal just due to the fact that 100% of the time I mix the two i get strong narcosis effects.

Any time I do deep or decompression with high PPO2 I avoid sudafed, otherwise everything else has been fine for me in terms of side effects under high pressure, and I'm still here to talk about it.

 

[417Diver]

Thanks for the personal experience!