Diving with allergies

[DiverEMT]

I 'suffer' from allergies as well and I have asthma. Both are under control with my medications. The best thing I did was tell my Doctor that I SCUBA dive and she helped make sure I could get the most out of my diving season. I use Flonase and 99
% of the time I am symptom free. I also take Claranex, but only when I need it, which isn't very often. The best thing to do, at least in my opinion, is talk to your doctor (or your girlfried to talk to her doctor) and come up with a plan to take care of her allergies. She won't just benefit from being able to dive, but all aspects of her life will be a little bit better without allergy symptoms.
Good Luck!
Alanna

 

[DiverEMT]

PS Dr. Mike has some really good information and advice!
:dazzler1:
Alanna

 

[suthnbelle]

I have year round allergies as well and take Allegra D and Flonase. I wish they'd make a bigger bottle of the Flonase because it just doesn't last that long. So...my problem is this, because of allergies if I don't stay on top of the meds I'll end up getting a sinus infection which will turn into an ear infection. Even when my sinuses are clear my ears always feel stuffy and make a clicking sound a lot of times when I swallow. I'm forever clearing my ears by pinching my nose and blowing out. I just don't understand why my ears never feel 100% open and clear. I used to go to a chiropractor and that helped with the sinuses/ears but gets expensive.

Also, I don't have a lot of problems equalizing. I've learned to start above the water and continue doing it slowly on the way down. Seems to work. I've only had one bad experience where my right ear just wouldn't clear at 40' so I had to call the dive.

 

[Hoosier]

Asthma is a tricky one unlike allergy. Many physiologies have been conducting the study about the Asthma and scuba diving. You should be careful than any other divers because this study is on going, so there is no exact guideline about how long and deep you can dive with the medication. I also know one professor who is doing the research about this subject by getting PADI research funds.

I 'suffer' from allergies as well and I have asthma. Both are under control with my medications. The best thing I did was tell my Doctor that I SCUBA dive and she helped make sure I could get the most out of my diving season. I use Flonase and 99

% of the time I am symptom free. I also take Claranex, but only when I need it, which isn't very often. The best thing to do, at least in my opinion, is talk to your doctor (or your girlfried to talk to her doctor) and come up with a plan to take care of her allergies. She won't just benefit from being able to dive, but all aspects of her life will be a little bit better without allergy symptoms.
Good Luck!
Alanna

 

[divergalinla]

I have fairly severe year round allergies, and take Zyrtec and Rhinocort Aqua (spray) daily. I have never experienced any problems with diving because of this. Of course, I don't dive when I have sinus infections or colds. I am unable to take any of the "D" meds, because they prevent me from sleeping. Tell your girlfriend not to worry - just use common sense about when to dive, and enjoy the scenery when she does!

 

[doctormike]

Thanks, DiverEMT...! And thanks for your service to your community...

 

[Wijbrandus]

I'm another of the perpetually clogged. Fortunately, it doesn't affect my ears, just my sinuses. My particular nemesis is dust. Since I live in Colorado (very dry and dusty), and repair computers (very dusty), I'm pretty much hosed. Can't find any more dust than you do inside a computer in Colorado.

For some reason, when I'm out on the water, the problem goes away. I think the relaxing salt air clears me out.

I do know some people who use sudafed before every dive, but the medicine has caused them some problems. It's not something I'd recommend.

 

[doctormike]

Asthma is a tricky one unlike allergy. Many physiologies have been conducting the study about the Asthma and scuba diving. You should be careful than any other divers because this study is on going, so there is no exact guideline about how long and deep you can dive with the medication. I also know one professor who is doing the research about this subject by getting PADI research funds.

Yes, this is a good point. Althought allergies and athma are frequently present in the same patient, they are very different as far as their effect on diving. And there are very different degrees of asthma. Here is my understanding of the problem (I'm not a pulmonologist, so I'm a bit outside of my area of training here..)

Asthma is now called "reactive airway disease" because it represents constriction of the air passages (bronchospasm) in the lungs in reaction to a triggering event. Constriction causes wheezing and respiratory distress. Common triggering events are exposure to dirty air, cold air, dry air, or exercise. To some extent, we all have reactive airways- anyone will wheeze given a strong enough trigger. We call people athmatics when they are sensitive enough so that triggering events happen commonly and cause significant respiratory symptoms.

Interestingly, one of the reasons people with nasal problems (like allergies) can have problems with asthma is that the nose cleans, warms and humidifies the air we breathe. When it is blocked, you breathe less through your nose and lose this function, making the inhaled air more of a trigger. Therefore, aggressive management of allergies or sinusitis can improve athma symptoms.

When you dive, you are also breathing relatively cold, dry air (some regulators help this a little), and exercising as well. So if you already have a tendancy to wheeze (that is, if you are an asthmatic), diving can make it worse. And obviously, one of the worse places to have an astmatic attack is underwater! Such an attack can be fatal even in an emergency room, let alone while diving...

One more theoretical concern is pulmonary barotrauma. We all know that it is important to keep an open larynx while diving (more particularly, while changing depth, especially while ascending!). That is, you never hold your breath because trapped air in the lungs can cause a rupture of the lung tissue as it expands. A similar problem could happen with obstruction of the small airways due to a combination of bronchospasm and mucus plugging. Unlike the whole lung barotrauma that would happen from holding your breath (blocking the entire airway), this might just effect a small portion of one lung. Again, not clear how real this risk is, and the research is still ongoing.

All that having been said, not everyone with asthma is automatically excluded from diving. It is a question of degrees, and you would need to make this decision with your doctor.

Mike

PS if you are REALLY interested, here are a couple of article abstracts:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12617690

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=7944003

 

[Giggi]

As long as we're on the subject of allergies and diving, and I apologize ahead of time if this sounds like a stupid question, but would food allergies affect diving in any way.

Mainly what I am talking about is seafood allergies. I suppose as long as I don't eat while diving, I may not be affected, but I was wondering whether allergies to food are affected by exposure to the substance topically. (I was thinking of the example of people who are allergic to peanuts being in the same room as an open container of peanuts and going into anaphylactic shock.)

Has anyone heard of people with seafood allergies diving? If so, do you know of anyone who has had an allergic reaction subsequent to diving that may have been triggered by exposure to fish?

 

[doctormike]

As long as we're on the subject of allergies and diving, and I apologize ahead of time if this sounds like a stupid question, but would food allergies affect diving in any way.

Has anyone heard of people with seafood allergies diving? If so, do you know of anyone who has had an allergic reaction subsequent to diving that may have been triggered by exposure to fish?

Another good question. The allergic reaction that gives you ear and sinus problems are different from anaphylactic reactions. There are actually several types of allergic responses, but an anaphylactic response is potentially life theratening (causing airway obstruction and instability of the blood pressure). A small amount of some allergens (such as peanuts or latex) can cause significant symptoms, just from being in the environment. This is not the same as the chronic nasal congestion seen more commonly with inhalational allergies (such as dust, mold, pet dander, etc..).

I believe that in order to trigger the shellfish allergy, you would actually need to eat the offending animal, not just be diving near it.