Dizzy

[GyroHip]

Hi,

I am have been diving now for more than two years without any incident, but after the last two dives I have been feeling very light headed and dizzy. It's gone the next moring but still I would like to find the cause.

The two dives where a week apart and quite different in nature. The first was a deep dive to 35m/105ft. The second was a shallow dive to max 6m/18ft.

They day before the deep dive I surfed alot and thought that that might have been the reason, but the day before the second dive I have done no other real physical activities.

Any insight would be greatly apreciated.

Thanks

 

[Dr Deco]

Hi Dizzy:

I do not have any answer to this, but it is very doubtful it has anything to do with decompression -- unless they were long and you omitted some stops.

I would look for non-diving causes in that case.

Dr D.

 

[Saturation]

Depending on what 'dizzy' means the most common organs causing vertigo or a sensation of movement after a dive are:

ears
sinuses
eyes

 

[Skeeta]

Hi, I am in New Zealand. Just got back into diving a couple of years ago. I get dizzy, when down and really dizzy when I hit the surface. When back on the boat feel sick in stomack and then vomit sometimes. Have been careful to asend slowly. Even happened on last dive when I was at about 25ft on the bottom. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers.

 

[mislav]

Skeeta:

1st: Check for bad air - If you fill your tank on the same location, make sure it's not something that's in the tank that causes this.

2nd: Is your suit too tight around the neck? It can make you feel dizzy, I'm not sure if it can make you feel sick and vomit, though.

3rd: Sea sickness - Your body feels the waves wallowing under water even if you aren't aware of that. It gets worse in shallow water.

Get a sea sickness pill before your next dive if you suspect number three.

 

[Bob3]

I'd have to guess (and that's all it is) that Saturation has nailed it, you should look to your ears, & maybe sinuses. Time for a visit to your favorite ENT though trying some decongestants (not antihistamines) such as Sudafed or its generic equivalent.
Have you by chance been experiencing clearing problems?

 

[BlueDevil]

Some years ago I was treated for vestibular decompression illness as a result of experiencing intermittent dizziness after a deep deco dive. I now suspect that I was probably not bent at all. I later had several episodes of identical dizziness at times when I had not been diving for weeks. I happened to be at my osteopath one day having some work done on my lower back and mentioned that I had been getting dizziness. She said that it could be coming from my neck and after she worked on my neck I had full resolution of the dizziness for about two weeks. The dizziness returned so I went back for another treatment and it again fully resolved. I should point out that I had no noticable neck pain or stiffness at the time.

I have now had this dizziness occur a number of times. Initially I do some neck stretches over a few days and if it doesn't resolve I go back to the osteopath. I feel that one of the issues with diving is that we often spend significant time during the dive with our necks in an awkward position. Swimming horizontally whilst looking forward often means arching the neck back uncomfortably. Also when surfacing we tend to be arching our necks back as we look towards the surface, hence a possible reason why it may come on with ascent.

It is possible that your dizziness has absolutely nothing to do with your neck, but on the other hand in my case I am quite convinced it does. It certainly couldn't hurt to get an assessment dome by a physiotherapist or osteopath. I was talking with a diving Dr recently and he was telling me he knows a doctor who specialises in dizziness disorders. Apparently he refers a large proportion of his patients to a physiotherapist for assessment of their neck as a potential cause of their dizziness.

 

[z3r0c00l]

What kind of physical condition are you in? I have known people who get dizzy, winded, and even vomit as a result of moderate physical activity. Do these things ever happen to you guys doing anything else?