First Dive Disaster!!!

[Bob]

Hey Bill,
I'm not "Hot"...
I'm sitting down...
I'm drinking water...
I DID misunderstand...
Sorry about the misunderstanding.
:tree:Bob

 

[Rick Murchison]

Originally posted by Uncle Pug


I eschew drugs of any kind & certainly do not consider them tools...
Especially for diving!

Remedies... ok maybe...

Agree completely and wholeheartedly.
Rick

 

[BillP]

Originally posted by Uncle Pug

I really don't like blanket recommendations to use medication
(which is what the original post seemed to me to contain)
Just my pet peeve....

Thanks for the clarification, Uncle Pug. When I read NightRaven77's orignal post I saw a tale about a specific diver's problem and I only saw where NightRaven77 mentioned that after a medical exam, his buddy's physician recommended to him that he alone take Sudafed. I guess that I missed the part where NightRaven77 made a blanket recommendation to all divers that they take Sudafed when they dive. In fact, in re-reading the post, I still miss that part. Can you point it out to me?

However, in reading your post it seemed very clear to me when you said, "Sudafed is a poor idea" that you were trying to negate NightRaven77's buddy's physician's advice. I inferred that if you would tell someone to ignore their physician's advice to take Sudafed in his particular circumstance that you meant that no diver should take Sudafed and dive. Perhaps I inferred something that you didn't mean to imply? Sorry if I misunderstood. But then in your latest response, you still seem to be saying something along those lines. Hmmmm....

Originally posted by Uncle Pug
But not substitutes for proper technique and good judgement.... If you can't equalize with healthy ears/sinus.... learn how.... try different techniques...
[/B]

I agree that medications shouldn't be a substitute for proper technique and good judgement, but they can often be a useful adjunct when used properly. Different people have different anatomy and physiology. Not everyone can equalize as easily as others regardless of practice or technique. Those divers sometimes benefit from a decongestant and dive quite successfully. Many other divers dive quite successfully on other medications for other medical problems too.

If you don't need or choose not to use all the tools that are available to you in your personal diving, that's cool. But IMO, for a diver to make blanket statements against the use of decongestants (or all medications in general) and diving are unwarranted- especially when the preponderance of evidence and medical opinion (including DAN) contradicts their view. Feel free to eschew drugs of any kind in your personal diving if you so choose, but please resist the urge to tell others that you think that they should follow your lead without giving some good reasons why. Otherwise, very often you'll likely be wrong.

More of my 2¢,

Bill

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by BillP
I guess that I missed the part where NightRaven77 made a blanket recommendation to all divers that they take Sudafed when they dive. In fact, in re-reading the post, I still miss that part. Can you point it out to me?

Sure Bill,
In the post the (assumed) ER doc made the recommendation... but without reference to any underlying chronic condition that precluded diving w/o using sudafed.... that seemed to me to be a *blanket* statement thrown out to *cover* what may or may not be an on going problem.

However, in reading your post it seemed very clear to me when you said, "Sudafed is a poor idea" that you were trying to negate NightRaven77's buddy's physician's advice.

Re-read it Bill....
"Sudafed is a poor idea IMO... " was the actual quote...
It is my opinion that, as presented in the thread (no fault of NightRaven77) it is poor advice....

I inferred that if you would tell someone to ignore their physician's advice to take Sudafed in his particular circumstance that you meant that no diver should take Sudafed and dive. Perhaps I inferred something that you didn't mean to imply? Sorry if I misunderstood.

Bill, I didn't tell someone to ignore their physician's advice...
I stated that IMO sudafed was not a good idea...
There is a difference.... not the least of which is that the patient is not on the board reading this!!!

And I do believe that no diver should take sudafed or any other medication as a first resort prophylactic treatment for a condition that could be better handled another way...
But that is just my opinion....
And who is going to listen to me anyway

I agree that medications shouldn't be a substitute for proper technique and good judgement, but they can often be a useful adjunct when used properly. Different people have different anatomy and physiology. Not everyone can equalize as easily as others regardless of practice or technique. Those divers sometimes benefit from a decongestant and dive quite successfully. Many other divers dive quite successfully on other medications for other medical problems too.

OK...

Feel free to eschew drugs of any kind in your personal diving if you so choose, but please resist the urge to tell others that you think that they should follow your lead without giving some good reasons why. Otherwise, very often you'll likely be wrong.
[/B]

Actually I didn't tell anyone to follow my lead...
I don't think I have done that on any other threads either...
I just expressed my opinion on the use of medications in place of proper technique and good judgement...
Medications are not the first stop on the road to correcting problems...
At least IMO...

 

[BillP]

Well Uncle Pug, I'm glad you clarified that. I had gotten a very different impression from your first short post. Now that you've fleshed out your thoughts and added the appropriate explanations and qualifications and noted the assumptions that you had made, your recommendation makes much more sense than it did originally.

Thanks.

Bill

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by BillP
Well Uncle Pug, I'm glad you clarified that.

brevity and succintness are not always the same thing

I'm workin' on it....

 

[Ber Rabbit]

A little side note. IF you are going to mix medications, Sudafed and Dramamine, for example. Make sure you do it on land first to check for any effect the two together might have on you. I found that I cannot mix the two drugs above and have abstained from Sudafed completely because of side effects that are detrimental to my land activities.
Ber

 

[dc4bs]

I recently resorted to a decongestant to complete a course (started getting sick during the trip). I had flown down to Florida to take the course and would have had to delay completion indefinately if I didn't finish during the trip.

The instructors wife (a doctor) was abord and after discussing it with her, she reccomended the same thing he used when he had conjestion trouble.

It worked just fine but as soon as I was done with the required dives for the course I stopped diving for the rest of the trip.

Normaly I have no problem with equalizing and if I had not needed (well, really, really wanted) to complete the required course dives I would have stopped diving a day sooner.

By personal preference, I don't take anything before a dive. If I'm not clear, I don't dive as a general rule.

 

[Uncle Pug]

That we might have lost NightRaven77 somewhere along the line and since this was his/her first post that would be a shame...

So if you are out there NightRaven77...
Stay with us and perhaps even give us an update on your friend.

 

[devjr]

How does one get a couple ounces of blood in the mask from a bruised eardrum?

Not a trick question.