Diving With A Cold

[Ingolf]

i know that it is definitly not what should be done.

but i have one of my open water courses tonight, and im still a bit stuffed up. As long as i don't take any decongestants, and im only in about 10 feet of water, do i still have to worry about reverse blocks? I have a feeling that yeah i still have something to worry about, but i can't really miss the class. what should i do?

 

[Rick Murchison]

i know that it is definitly not what should be done.

but i have one of my open water courses tonight, and im still a bit stuffed up. As long as i don't take any decongestants, and im only in about 10 feet of water, do i still have to worry about reverse blocks? I have a feeling that yeah i still have something to worry about, but i can't really miss the class. what should i do?

As an instructor I wouldn't let you in the pool to pass the cold on to my other students.
There are many things in life that "aren't fair" and this is one of 'em. Buy a makeup session.
Rick

 

[Meng_Tze]

i know that it is definitly not what should be done.

but i have one of my open water courses tonight, and im still a bit stuffed up. As long as i don't take any decongestants, and im only in about 10 feet of water, do i still have to worry about reverse blocks? I have a feeling that yeah i still have something to worry about, but i can't really miss the class. what should i do?

I don't know, nor do I want to tell you what to do. But I have dived with colds. Not the most pleasant thing to do and can be painful. If I were in a pool and it is not too deep and as long as I can clear my ears..... a dive to 60ft would be a different matter

 

[Rick Murchison]

Forget whether *you* can dive with a cold without discomfort to *yourself.*
Colds are contageous.
Scuba is a buddy sport.
They don't go together.
(Solo diving's a different matter... as long as you're confident your performance isn't degraded and you can clear, have at it if you're a competent "solo diver." *This is not an endorsement of solo diving*)
Rick

 

[erparamedic]

I second what Rick says. Do a make-up session on another day.

You definitely don't want to make the whole class sick. Make the class sick and they'll be mad at you, and won't want to buddy with you anymore! And further more, you don't want to damage your ears or sinuses by *trying* to dive while you're congested. Damage your ears or sinuses and you'll be out for several classes... not just one.

Play it safe. Stay home tonight.

 

[TSandM]

You don't have anything in your profile to tell us where you are . . . But if you're at home, and doing the class through a shop, they should be able to arrange a make-up session for you, even if it means you perhaps won't finish with your original class. Colds are common, and dive shops/instructors will have run into this before.

There are a lot of reasons not to attend class with an active cold. Your instructors won't be pleased with you if you give it to them! I've never liked being sick, myself, but since I started diving, I've come to view colds as visitations from the devil himself. Also, when you are sick, you don't think very well, which is not a good condition in which to try to learn new things. Finally, you are at risk for significant barotrauma, both to your ears and to your sinuses.

 

[fisherdvm]

I think that many divers know what they can do and can't do. A mild cold or mild allergy will keep some out of the water. But a few, with anomalous gigantuant sinuses and eustachian tube can probably dive without any ear squeeze or sinus squeezes.

It doesn't take much of a cold to plug up my left ear, and so I never dive if my allergy is bad or if I have a mild cold. I am sure that some will say a sudafed will take care of it, but it is not worth the risk.

 

[Rick Murchison]

... mild cold ...

That's akin to a "mild tornado" or a "small hurricane" ain't it? I'm with TS&M... colds are "visitations from the devil himself."
Stay away from me when you have one.
Rick

 

[Ingolf]

well as long as im not sharing air, what does everyone have to worry about?

 

[Rick Murchison]

well as long as im not sharing air, what does everyone have to worry about?

As long as you wear one of these to class

and stay out of my pool, fine.
Rick