Diving with a cough

[craig chamberlain]

Hello everybody

i was just thinking about diving with colds and coughs and wanted some opinions and clarification.
so, obviously diving with a cold should be avoided due to equalisation problems and reverse squeezes. now diving with a preductive cough (from the lungs bringing up phlegm) should also be avoided due to lung related injuries with air being trapped in the aveloi. now with a dry cough (no preductive from the throat not lungs) would we be ok to dive? i am asking this because surely the physics and phsiology would be the same in the lungs as if diving without a cough? what would be a problem here? appart from loosing a reg i could see no problem myself.

any clarification or oppinions welcome.
Craig Chamberlain

 

[Badge353]

My opinion if you don't feel well then why risk it? There is always tomorrow to dive.

 

[CT-Rich]

the air in a tank is extremely dry. Breathing it is probalby going to make your throat even more irritated. All things be equal, dry air + dry cough = unnecessary troubles.

 

[maniago]

apart from loosing a reg i could see no problem myself.

Seems like that would be a problem in itself. That said, when I usually cough, a quick inhalation follows. No reg seems bad to me. However, if you can keep your reg in your mouth while you cough (I know I can and I do - I'll cough occasionally just as a matter of course) then what's the problem? If you can run a mile without a coughing fit, then let your best judgement be your guide - as always!

Now getting hiccups underwater - there's a fun one!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I have had the occasion of coughing under water many times. One should always leave the regulator in place when coughing. If your cough involves expectorating congestion or mucus from throat or lungs, I suggest you not dive. Without being vivid, you could "aspirate your expectoration" and choke or gag. Also, a persistent "dry cough" suggests, as noted above, that diving should be left to another day. Not only are you likely to exacerbate the condition by breathing bottled air, you won't enjoy the dive much. But an occasional dry cough, lets say every few minutes, is not itself a problem for me.
DivemasterDennis

 

[TSandM]

The problem with cough is that it's difficult for the layman to know whether it comes from, or involves any component of bronchospasm. Bronchospasm goes along with mucous plugging (which you have already described) in creating a risk of lung expansion injury.

That said, a very mild, dry cough with clear-cut upper airway irritation is probably not going to cause harm while diving. One has to use a degree of common sense. The safest thing is not to dive with a cough, but if you are one of those people with chronic post-nasal drip from allergies who ALWAYS has a little bit of an irritated cough, this strategy wouldn't make sense at all.

Getting a physician's opinion would always be wise. And acute illness is probably always a good reason to stay home.

 

[KD8NPB]

Having a coughing attack underwater is no fun. I speak from experience. Also, you scare the crap out of the group.

 

[milbournosphere]

Having tried it, I'd advise against it. I did a shore dive with a mild head cold and the kick out winded me so much that my SAC rate was horrible and I generally was not able to relax enough to enjoy the dive. If I had to do that day again I would have stayed home.

 

[freewillie]

The real question is what is causing the cough. And no, the physiology is NOT the same as diving without a cough.

In general a cough is the result of an irritation of the lungs. If you are irritating the deep lung tissue, ie alveoli, then you have some sort of mucus and or phlegm deep in your lungs. This would be a pneuomonia in most cases.

You can have physical irritation of the lungs, such as an aspiration. When you aspirate you inhale material into the lungs. This can be seawater if diving, or stomach acid if vomiting.

For the most part by and large most outpatient coughs are due to either acute respiratory infections such as colds and you shouldn't be diving anyways or bronchospasm which is essentially asthma.

There are many different forms of asthma and it will depend on the severity and how often you have symptoms, such as cough, as to whether or not it is advisable to dive. If you have a post infection bronchitis with asthma you really shouldn't be diving until the cough goes away. If your cough lingers after a cold then you should see your doctor for a number of different reasons, and you really shouldn't be diving until then.