First time & Asthmatic diver, questions

[mayur]

Hello Folks

I'm a first time diver & asthmatic. I decided to sign up for certification (SSI at the shop close by). I went thru my first 2 sessions. Class room & 1st pool dive. Being my first time underwater with a breathing apparetus, I had some form of panic and discomfort. So, I have a few questions and want some direction.

Being asthmatic for the last almost 30 of my 35 years of my life, I've always had the fear of going breathless and being uncomfortable. I am not an extreme case of asthma, do not need to regularly take medication. The doctor categorizes me as mild to intermediate. I am fairly fit, but not much physical activity (I bike about 4 miles a day, 3-4 times a week).

I did fine with initial breathing when kneeling at the 4-7' mark in the pool. I had to make a few improvements to my breathing since I was getting water in my mask. This was due to a little loose mask, and breathing out from the nose from time to time (not used to mouth breathing) . I was able to do the various steps correctly and comfortably. Draining the mask of water, throwing the second stage out of my mouth and finding it correctly (while exhaling), assisting a diver who is out of air, breathing thru the secondary second stage etc.

Then came the time to swim down to the 10' of the pool. I started to swim downwards, but trying to equalize, and breathe made me panic and uncomfortable. I guess I was trying to do too much? Although I wasnt in a bad situation where i froze or took off my mask / regulator. Signaled to the instructor that something is not right. He took me slowly to the surface and told me to wait in the shallow end of the pool. After taking a breath outside of water, I put on my regulator and sat down in the 4' side of the pool while everyone else was in the 10'. I did not get out of the water and could breathe via the second stage.

So, I wanted to ask you experienced folks a few things:

1. My mouth felt dry. I was warned by the shop owner that usually asthmatics don't feel too comfortable with breathing dry air. My mouth started to feel dry after a while. What do you do? How do you battle this?
2. I had a tiny level of water in my mask (barely touching bottom of my nose) and would every now and then get water in the nose with a breadth. I guess I'm breathing wrong?
3. Being asthmatic, I do have a habit of taking a deep breath every few mins. This happens naturally. Is that usually ok?
4. I had a fear of going down too fast, and not having enough breath when seeing the bottom of the pool. What would be a good way to approach this? Stay a little more calm?

I decided to take make up session going over the same pool stage before my next step of the pool session. Since this will be just the instructor, one more student and me, it should help me a little I feel.

Any direction, help, and suggestions would be helpful. I have a trip coming up to Kauai at the end of August and I want to be able to do this then.

 

[lindenbruce]

1- Dry mouth is common regardless of any medical condition. I have always had issues with dry mouth. The air from your tank is really dry anyway.

2- Breathing completely in and out through your mouth is not natural and is something a lot of people have issue with when learning scuba. We are natural nose breathers and it is an instinct you have to work on and only practice and time will help. I exhale a small amount of air through my nose on a regular basis during a dive to help keep my mask clear of water as a matter of habit.

3- I don't know. Have you discussed this with your physician. It maybe more of an anxiety issue but talk to your doctor. It is not normal as far as I know. Practice ideal breathing techniques and see if that helps. That is using your diaphragm and begin to fill your lungs from the bottom like you are imitating a Buddha Belly, then fill the top of your lungs by expanding the top of your chest, pause then begin emptying your lungs from the top of your chest and as the top empties out then slowly such in your stomach and empty the bottom of your lungs, pause and begin again.

4- Average descent rates are 60' a minute. Going from 4' to 10' should only take a few seconds. So that is not a fast descent. Just relax and as you ready yourself to descend, give your ears a little equalization so you don't have multiple things going on at once possibly contributing to anxiety then begin your descent.

Overall, these are new skills and as such it will take time and practice to become comfortable. You are placing your body into an environment it was not designed to be in. Be patient and take your time. B.

 

[TSandM]

If your doctor passed you as suitable for diving, you should have no asthma symptoms at all the majority of the time, and you should put your asthma out of your mind when you are thinking about diving. (If this isn't true, you really ought to have pulmonary function testing done before you dive.)

Many asthmatics find the dry air from the tank to be quite pleasant, as it has been filtered of all pollens or other allergens. It takes a while, breathing compressed gas, before you really get a dry mouth, so if yours was feeling that dry so early in the session, I suspect it may have been as much from nerves as from the tank.

As far as the fear of the deep end goes, you will notice no difference at all in breathing at four feet or at fifteen. This is the wonder of the regulator -- it delivers the air at the pressure you need, at the rate you ask it to, no matter how deep you go. If you can consider this rationally, and override the part of you that is worried, you will be able to experience this for yourself, and begin to believe it. If you CAN'T override your anxiety, then you are going to have problems with a dive class. I do think your strategy of repeating the session is a good one -- you need to get a lot more comfortable with what you are doing, before you go on.

Oh, and nobody can clear a mask of every drop of water. There will always be a little left in the nose pocket, and you get used to it. Pool water is much more annoying than ocean water, because of the chlorine. If the nose pocket water is running INTO your nose, I suspect you are in an upright position, and tilting your head back. This will make the water run down the base of your nose into your throat. If you are in a horizontal, diving position, the water will just slosh around in the nose pocket and be aggravating, but nothing else.

 

[spectrum]

I hearing to buckets of stuff here....

1) Pretty much all you describe is typical new diver stuff. You need to build skill and confidence. Drymouth is common and if you are huffing down the air as most new divers do you are stripping mousture from your airway something wicked. Slower breathng and a metalic second stage (promotes condensation) will both help. Also if you feel it start think of food to crank up saliva production. When it's getting there remove your regulator, swish and swallow. Above all make sure you are well hydrated predive, this can head off many maladys.

Water in the mask is a common adaptation. With time you'll hardly notice it and clear it without a second thought.

2) Your asthma history has you overthinking stuff. I assume you are ccleared to dive. If alergies are your trigger then diving will be a delightful respite. If it's triggered by aexertion or cold your future as a diver should be revaluated. Within youtr scope the depth hould have little to no effect on the work of beathing once you are down to 4 feet, that's the whole magic of a sciba regulator.

Pete

 

[mayur]

Thank you all.

Yes, my physician has cleared me for diving. I wouldn't have gone without his approval. Good to know that most of my "issues" are things that new divers go thru.

I will try to remain calm and see how it goes. I have my follow up session tomorrow before continuing the class.

Looking forward to getting it done, and then diving in Kauai one month from now

 

[flots am]

Being asthmatic for the last almost 30 of my 35 years of my life, I've always had the fear of going breathless and being uncomfortable. I am not an extreme case of asthma, do not need to regularly take medication. The doctor categorizes me as mild to intermediate. I am fairly fit, but not much physical activity (I bike about 4 miles a day, 3-4 times a week).

If your asthma is caused by airborne contaminants (pollen, ozone, etc.) you should do better on SCUBA because the air you're breathing should be cleaner than anything you would find outdoors or in a building. If you have exercise induced asthma, you should probably call Diver's Alert Network for a referral to a doctor who is familiar with SCUBA diving and asthma.

In fact, if you have any concerns about your asthma, even after being cleared by your doctor, you should give DAN a call for a referral to another doc. It would suck to have an asthma attack underwater because your doctor signed off without really understanding the issues.

I did fine with initial breathing when kneeling at the 4-7' mark in the pool. I had to make a few improvements to my breathing since I was getting water in my mask. This was due to a little loose mask, and . . .

This is all just "learning to dive". Make sure your instructor gives you as much pool time as necessary, so you can become comfortable underwater and proficient with all the skills. He's not actually allowed to take you on your Open Water dives until you can actually perform all the skills, but some places have been known to rush students.

Then came the time to swim down to the 10' of the pool. I started to swim downwards, but trying to equalize, and breathe made me panic and uncomfortable.

See above. The class is moving too fast. You just need more pool time and practice.

1. My mouth felt dry. I was warned by the shop owner that usually asthmatics don't feel too comfortable with breathing dry air. My mouth started to feel dry after a while. What do you do? How do you battle this?

My best guess is that you were dehydrated and/or anxious and breathing a lot. The air in the SCUBA tank is very dry. If you're breathing a lot, your throat will get more dried out. As you get more comfortable in the water, your breathing will relax and slow down and your throat should feel better. Making sure you're well hydrated should also help.

2. I had a tiny level of water in my mask (barely touching bottom of my nose) and would every now and then get water in the nose with a breadth. I guess I'm breathing wrong?

Don't breathe in through your nose and it won't be a problem.

Masks never stay completely dry. A scuba dive generally consists of a small amount of water in the mask that becomes larger, until it's annoying, gets cleared, then starts all over again.

3. Being asthmatic, I do have a habit of taking a deep breath every few mins. This happens naturally. Is that usually ok?

Breathe all you want. It's always OK to breathe. "Not breathing" underwater is dangerous.

4. I had a fear of going down too fast, and not having enough breath when seeing the bottom of the pool. What would be a good way to approach this? Stay a little more calm?

As long as your tank isn't empty, you'll always have "enough breath" when on SCUBA. Learning to trust your training and equipment should help,

Also, if you're actually descending too fast, you may be oveweighted. It should be very difficult to "descend too fast" in the pool. Are you wearing a weight belt? How much weight is on it?

I decided to take make up session going over the same pool stage before my next step of the pool session. Since this will be just the instructor, one more student and me, it should help me a little I feel.

That should help quite a bit. Ask if you can attend all off the pool sessions they offer.

I have a trip coming up to Kauai at the end of August and I want to be able to do this then

It should be possible, however you'll be ready when "you're ready" Nobody can really tell you that you'll be fine in "X" sessions.

flots

 

[mayur]

Thank you for all the advice.

I went for a make up class yesterday (repeat of 1st pool session). This time it was the instructor, 1 other student and myself. So the session itself took shorter.

I was much more comfortable, keeping in mind all the things said above. That it is all in the head and usual for a new person. I did pretty well. Felt very comfortable.

Only thing that bothered me was equalizing the ears. I will have to work on that. My next pool session is today where we will do ascends, descends and buoyancy control. Looking forward to it!

 

[myxilplix]

Signed up just to post in the thread

I took up diving earlier this year and have been pretty much a lifelong asthmatic (mild-moderate). I specifically sought out a dive doctor to do a full medical before starting my OW course and the very first thing he did was a salinity reaction test. He said if I reacted to that, there would be no point in continuing the rest of the medical (we dive salt water in this region). So I had to do a spirometry test whilst breathing air that had saline introduced to it via a nebuliser. Thankfully I did not have a reaction and went on to clear the rest of the medical.

I was also advised to watch out for any reaction to the dry air from the tanks (apparently it is too dry for some people and triggers throat irritation/coughing which *might* trigger asthma) but it turns out I love sucking down air from the tanks.

 

[toddthecat]

I have never used this but it seems to generally have positive reviews. If you get into diving and buy your own gear, you can always get the Apollo Bio-Filter. It jacks up the humidity of the air after it leaves the tank and is on its way to your regulator. Surely someone here has used one and can attest to whether or not it is a) effective and b) worth the cost. I just take my reg out and get some water in my mouth if I get uncomfortable. Cheaper than the bio-filter...

Apollo Bio-Filter Regulator Moisture System

 

[rick00001967]

i too am asthmatic. i do not take any regular meds either. but i have carried an emergency inhaler since i was a little kid.

i agree with most of the above advise given. i especially like to hear that someone here actually went to a dr. that knows what they are doing when it comes to diving. please remember that a general physician will most likely know zero about scuba diving. so just because your gp says you are good to go, that may not be the case. you did say you are not severe but you did not say what usually triggers your attacks or how often you need an inhaler.

my advise to you is to put you asthma out of your mind when training, as was already suggested. i don't know your age but i assume you know by now when you are on your way to having breathing trouble. so pay attention to how you are feeling and avoid the water if you feel an attack may be coming. if you are feeling fine before diving, there is no reason to assume you should have any issues while using scuba at depth. of course if youhave any trouble at all during a dive, abort. do a safe and proper ascent and end the dive.

i can tell you that i have been diving for about 20 years or so and have never had any issues with my asthma while diving. i do try to stay in decent shape and i am sure this helps.

i will also warn you about one other thing.......but let me first say....."I WOULD NEVER ADVISE ANYONE TO LIE ON A MEDICAL RELEASE FORM"....but just so you are aware, most dive ops will ask you to fill out a medical form prior to diving with them. on that form will be a question about whether you have any lung diseases, including asthma. the dive op will have the right, and may in some cases be required, to refuse to let you dive with them. even if you have a valid open water certification along with a clearance from your medical doctor. i am only telling you this so you are aware of the situation you could be faced with. how you handle it is up to you.