Equalizing and my sinuses...a question

[RICoder]

I'm heading to the Bahamas in about a week, and my allergies are going nuts. As a result, I can feel that my sinuses are inflamed. Now, I know, the standard answer is "don't use pills to get it down"...but I'm looking for a different answer if there is one.

My feeling is that once I hit the nice air of the island, I should be fine. As such, I took the day I land, and the day after to go gamble away my diving money and hopefully get my head clear. Is there something else I should do or try to help with this? Maybe an antihystemine (sp?) or anti-inflamatory?

This may fall into the "stupid question" category, but I figure its worth it. Thanks.

 

[fmerkel]

Start on some Claritin now and if you can get a Dr. to prescribe it get a steroid nasal inhaler and start it too. The Claritin should work fairly quickly but the inhaler will take several days to get to full effect.

This is assuming you are not coming down with a cold or some other problem.

Fritz

 

[freediver]

I would also go to your local pharmacy and grab you a sinus rinse kit. Very effective.

 

[RICoder]

I'm on Zyrtec anyway, because Claritin gives me bad side effects. I also hear that Nasonex works well, so, I may go get that from my doc. Never tried a sinus flushing kit...sounds fun!

Thanks for the input so far...

 

[Dive-aholic]

An anti-inflammatory, such as ibuprofen, might help as well.

 

[ArcticDiver]

This may be worth exactly what it is costing you. It is just what works for me. However I have no allergies. You may want to crosscheck with your medical provider to see if it is applicable to you.

I come from a very dry climate. So before I go I use one of the saline nose sprays that are available in most pharmacies or on the drug aisle of the local box store. Then I use sudafed as needed. That and I practice clearing my ears using the Nose Trumpet. Works wonders. Sometimes I'll get a bit of mucous discharge for the first couple dives until the sinuses are clear. After that no problem at all.

Before I dove with any of the various allergy medications I would want a very authoritative clearance from a reputable and knowledgeable ENT Doc. Information from an internet site like this, while interesting and informative, is no substitute for competent medical advise from someone who knows your complete history.

Good luck and dive safe.

 

[RICoder]

Again, I say, thank you all. This community is quite valuable, I would think, to all divers.

Artic, I believe you are quite correct. For my part, I was looking for ideas so that I could research them. Certainly, as you said, one shouldn't just take some post on a site as gospel.

My doc is a diver and we talked about this yesterday for quite a while. He checked out my sinuses (having a device jammed up your nose is always fun) and said they were inflamed but not infected. He was concerned about a sinus infection, which he said would definately keep me dry. He suggested the zyrtec, and using Nasonex and some other stuff, I think called Rhino spray, which is pretty much the same thing. He gave me samplers, enough to last 3 weeks, and said to start now, and make sure it was working before I got there. That is what I'm doing, and I can already feel the affect.

I'll post up when I get back and let you all know how it went.

 

[JaimeR]

Be careful with the Zyrtec, it can make you sleepy, I take it at night right before I go to bed. If it's Zyrtec D (decongestant) it can have the opposite effect (I think it has caffeine in it) I took it by mistake the other night, and was up almost all night. I have tried the saline nasal sprays and they work really well. Be ware of the rhinocort nasal spray (RX) it smells like roses (yuck)

Jaime Record

I'm heading to the Bahamas in about a week, and my allergies are going nuts. As a result, I can feel that my sinuses are inflamed. Now, I know, the standard answer is "don't use pills to get it down"...but I'm looking for a different answer if there is one.

My feeling is that once I hit the nice air of the island, I should be fine. As such, I took the day I land, and the day after to go gamble away my diving money and hopefully get my head clear. Is there something else I should do or try to help with this? Maybe an antihystemine (sp?) or anti-inflamatory?

This may fall into the "stupid question" category, but I figure its worth it. Thanks.

 

[Corigan]

I think called Rhino spray

Mostly likely Rhinocort I would think. I take flonase and Rescon (an antihistamine decongestant). I usually only take the rescon but have the flonase as a backup.

Matt