First Dive Disaster!!!

[NightRaven77]

My buddy and I were going through our very first OW dive in San Diego when his ears would'nt equalize.He went down about 33ft before the instructor noticed his nose area of the mask begin to fill up full of blood.....we took him to the hospitol afterwards and the doc told him that in time he will still be able to dive but to just take some Sudafed before he dove....he ended up with a semi-ruptured eardrums in both ears and it is a wonder he didnt blow them out completely........

in the pool work we did when we were taking the classes he seemed fine.....any ideas on what happened?

thanks for any insight!

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by NightRaven77
in the pool work we did when we were taking the classes he seemed fine.....any ideas on what happened?

Big mistake...
The problem was that...
He continued down without equalizing...
As to why he couldn't equalize I could only guess...
But if you can't equalize you don't continue your descent...

Sudafed is a poor idea IMO...
What happens when he is at depth and it wears off...
And then he gets a reverse block on the way up...

Sorry to hear about your friend and sincerely hope that his condition resolves itself favorably...

 

[Rick Murchison]

Please tell your friend to never get embarrassed over not being able to clear - it just isn't worth the damage. I see lots of new divers push it, thinking that they are the only ones to ever have a problem. Well, it just isn't so. Most of the divers I know, including me, have trouble equalizing from time to time and have to slow their descent or even abort a dive because they just can't clear. And it always happens at the most inopportune time. Just bite the bullet & stop, go back up a foot or two and get cleared - and if you can't clear, abort.
Permanent tinnitus is easy to get but not worth it.
Rick

 

[Arduous]

Uncle Pug is right on. We all learned that you equalize early and often during descent. If you begin to feel pain or discomfort, you are already too late in your equalizing. It’s time to stop and ascend a few feet to equalize. (Maybe all the way to the surface if necessary) If equalizing does not take place, then it’s time to abort the dive. I usually pinch my nose on the surface and add a little pressure to my ears just before submerging, just to give myself a head start on equalizing.

Dive Safe ……………….. Arduous

 

[The Chairman]

and there is a chance that the instructor is actually to blame. First descents into 30+ ft water should be on a down line, or over a gradual bottom decline. The instructor should be in your and your buddy's face, making sure that you are OK, including equalizing properly. The rule about not being able to clear (ascend some and try again, if that doesn't work; ABORT the dive) should be drilled into your heads. For some tips on equalizing see;

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5757

Glad to hear that your bud will be OK... tell him that we hope to see him a few fathoms down sometime soon!

 

[scuba-sass]

I had a similar situation, with a better outcome, on my first OWC dive.

I've come to realize that we didn't have the best of all instructors for our class and pool work. During our check-out dives, my partner and I and a 12 yr old were teamed with the LDS's senior instructor - Steve, who is fantastic. Our first dive was in a lake, with silty bottom, and giant rocks on the descent slope. We swam out a ways, and started to descend. Steve had stressed that we should try very hard to hold still when near the bottom, or we would completely lose visibility. At about 15 feet, I'm having trouble equalizing, and trying to kneel and stay still on these silt-covered boulders. I was starting to stress a little, and hadn't thought to add a little air to my BC. Here is where I blame our class/pool instructor, because this is not something he covered well, or had us practice a whole lot. Steve saw my difficulties, and hauled me up a few feet by my tank. I cleared and continued my descent with no problems. Another person, who was teamed with our class/pool instructor, came away from that dive with a bloody nose. :-(

Clear early and often!

Happy Diving,
Scuba-sass

 

[BillP]

Originally posted by Uncle Pug


Sudafed is a poor idea IMO...
What happens when he is at depth and it wears off...
And then he gets a reverse block on the way up...

(sigh...)

Hey Uncle Pug:

What happens when you make a 130' dive starting with only 250 psi in your tank and you run out of air on the way up? Or you plan an hour at 130' with a full AL 80 and come up short of air during deco? Obviously you should never dive with air in your tank, right?

Sorry to pick on you, but you've hit on a pet peeve of mine. Don't blame a drug for a problem if you are using it improperly. If you take a 4 hour Sudafed, do an hour dive 3.5 hours later, the drug is "worn off" at the end of the dive, and you get a reverse block, it is not the drug's fault. It is the diver's fault for timing the use of the drug improperly.

And if you take a 12 or 24 hour Sudafed, do an hour dive 2 hours later, and get a squeeze on the dive, that is not the drug's fault either. The Sudafed didn't "wear off" during the dive- the diver was just too congested to dive in the first place or he just didn't equalize properly. Once again the diver's fault for using poor judgement, not the drug's.

Decongestants in diving are a tool. Just like any other tool you might use when you dive, they can cause problems if used improperly. And like any other tool, if you don't know how to use it safely, then don't use it at all. But to blame a tool for improper use is just plain wrong IMO and blanket condemnation of its use is unwarranted. Tools can be very helpful when used correctly.

Sudafed and novice divers? See below for an example.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entr...eve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1610044&dopt=Abstract

Just my 2¢,

Bill

 

[scuba-sass]

BillP - thanks for the cool link!

I'm a new diver, and I have taken sudafed prior to my dives. I have found it helpful, but wondered if there was any reason NOT to take it. The only side effect I ever experience is sleeplessness if I take it at night, when I'm not REALLY congested.

Thanks!
Scuba-sass

 

[Bob]

NightRaven,
Occasionally my left ear just won't clear. I do as Rick says, I abort the dive. There's always another day and another dive. Don't place your hearing in jeopardy. As for Sudafed, I don't take any medication before I dive or to be able to dive. My personal rule is if I have to take something to clear my sinus, then I'm to sick to dive. I will not plan my dives around when my medication wears off. For me, it's too much chance. Glad to here you Bud will be alright. Dive Safely.:tree:Bob

 

[BillP]

Originally posted by scuba-sass
I wondered if there was any reason NOT to take it. (Sudafed)

Hi scuba-sass:

There are plenty of reasons why a diver might not want to take Sudafed and dive. Possible side effects like the sleeplessness you mentioned is one reason. Bob's personal "rule" above that if you have to take a decongestant to equalize you might very well be too congested to dive is another sound reason. There are theoretical concerns about increased risks of oxygen toxicity when taking Sudafed on some deep or nitrox dives. Etc.

But I have yet to find a good enough reason to say that no diver should ever take Sudafed and dive. The evidence to the contrary is quite strong, IMHO. Such knee-jerk rejection of Sudafed is unwarranted.

A search on "pseudoephedrine" (the active ingredient in "Sudafed") on the board revealed a lot of info:

http://www.scubaboard.com/search.ph...id=19600&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

HTH,

Bill