Forehead (freeze?)

[Jeff_O]

Fit is also exceptionally important. Due to flushing, my Fathom 5mm NEO hood is just as warm as my Waterproof 10/5mm H1. Neither compares to my 11mm Fathom, though, which combines the best of both worlds and was pretty pleasant in 37F/3C recently.

What I thought was 1/4 inch was 5mm. 1/4 inch is a little more 6.25mm. But the real rub is that where they sewed a area by the forehead to the hood with thinner like 2mm. Since I like the hood an only forehead is cold in really cold water in river (not Pacific), I think I can glue some extra material to that area to at least equate to what the rest of the hood is 5mm. I have some Burton mitts for skiing and they have 2 mitts plus a 5 finger glove all in one that come apart. I shall see about using those glove along with the glove that came with the DUI Orange Dry Gloves liner. If they can fit in the dry gloves this way I will see if just the finger tip slight cold annoyance is gone.

 

[davehicks]

Hello.

I've been looking over the threads trying to find a possible explanation for what I've experienced a couple times but I can't seem to find anything that truly fits.

I live in Michigan and therefore, pretty much every time I go down, I'm hitting 50 degree (F) or worse water. A couple times I have experienced a very intense piercing/stabbing pain on my forehead. NOT behind it in my sinuses but on the surface. I figured it was just the cold on my skin and it would subside but it didn't until I ascended to warmer water and then "poof" it was gone, no after effects.

Can anyone tell me if this is just, for some reason, my exposed skin on my forehead has an issue or is it something else? Also, does anyone know how I could avoid it?

Thanks!

Try pouring some cold water over your face and maybe soak your hood before getting in the water.

We had a presentation from DAN on hyper & hypothermia and this was a suggestion they made to help acclimate to a big temperature change before you splash.

 

[TMHeimer]

Try pouring some cold water over your face and maybe soak your hood before getting in the water.

We had a presentation from DAN on hyper & hypothermia and this was a suggestion they made to help acclimate to a big temperature change before you splash.

This may be prudent advice from DAN but....When I'm diving wet with water temps. about 40F and air temps. maybe 35 (if that), I'm not pouring cold water over my head beforehand. Well, unless they mean like 20 minutes before the dive in my house...

 

[davehicks]

This may be prudent advice from DAN but....When I'm diving wet with water temps. about 40F and air temps. maybe 35 (if that), I'm not pouring cold water over my head beforehand. Well, unless they mean like 20 minutes before the dive in my house...

I don't do it either. However if you are having splitting headaches upon entry, it might be worth a try.

 

[steinbil]

Try pouring some cold water over your face and maybe soak your hood before getting in the water.

We had a presentation from DAN on hyper & hypothermia and this was a suggestion they made to help acclimate to a big temperature change before you splash.

We regularly dive in 37-40 degrees Fahrenheit here in Norway, and while we have thick hoods, I also like to acclimate by holding my face in the water without a mask for 3, then 5, then 10 and finally 15 seconds, before I put on my mask and descend. That way I also feel more prepared in case I need to take off my mask (or if it comes off) during the dive.

Yes, the no mask drills we did on my Fundies class here in February were painful...

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Thanks everyone! I do wear a nice 7/5 bibbed hood that keeps the rest of my head nice and warm. I figured it was just and exposed skin issue. It's comforting to get pretty good confirmation of that. "Subcooled" Thanks for the tip! I tried venting warm air out of my mask on my last dive. It felt great until I had to breath in and then instant cold again. I'll definitely try my glove next time. I'll also work on getting my hood to cover the troublesome area!

Thanks again!!

Okay, I’ve experienced that here in Oregon’s cold waters. I have dived in waters just above freezing here, and found out a few things about hoods. The first is that most hoods do not protect low enough on the forehead. Probably this has to do with feedback they’ve had about interfering with the mask seal. Well, the easy way of alleviating this is to add some foam neoprene to the top of the hood. It used to be that we bought sheet 1/8 inch, 3/16th inch, or even 1/4 inch foam neoprene, and cut it out ourselves. But any source (like old, used-up wetsuit material) will do. Simply cut out enough to bring the hood down over the mask’s upper seal. To apply it, use neoprene cement, and coat both surfaces with the cement, and let it fully dry. Then apply another coat, wait until it is tacky, and put the two edges together, pushing against each other as a seal is made. Let it dry for 24 hours. Then try it out. Be sure to have the hood’s upper neoprene outside of the mask’s seal, and you’ll enjoy the dive a lot more.

SeaRat

 

[TMHeimer]

We regularly dive in 37-40 degrees Fahrenheit here in Norway, and while we have thick hoods, I also like to acclimate by holding my face in the water without a mask for 3, then 5, then 10 and finally 15 seconds, before I put on my mask and descend. That way I also feel more prepared in case I need to take off my mask (or if it comes off) during the dive.

Yes, the no mask drills we did on my Fundies class here in February were painful...

Makes sense if you're in a drysuit for sure. Diving wet in those same temperatures, I want all of me as warm as possible before entering the water. I find my hands and feet feel the cold most, never really my forehead.

 

[Jeff_O]

With the hood I have, and mentioned the about inch or two by the forehead is much thinner than rest of hood. I think it is so it might be easier to keep it sealing out water. Yea, I know it is a wet suit hood, but I saw the inside surface, is that slick neoprene without the fabric weave. All of my diving since 1980 cert, I never had this problem. Though I only have been checking out a river since I live near it and meanwhile ocean has not calmed down enough. Probably have not been in this river so much as recently in winter, so now I come across what is news to me. Lots of rain and 50 ft wave up by light house by Mendocino town, had reached over cliff and smashed up stuff in visitor center. More recently saw surfers down in Southern CA had 30ft waves some tried surfing on. I will windsurf but in bays an harbor, but ocean I leave it to experts. When you see a 12 ft mast disappear from view on a windsurfer going into a trough of wave sets, I say let them do that, not me.

 

[snowman40]

I regularly (well, a few times a year, but most years) dive in temps in the 40F range (5-8C).

I've experienced the 'ice-cream' headache issue a few times.

I've found wearing two thin hoods, rather than 1 thick one helps, and making sure my forehead is fully covered before descending.

Putting my face in the water before descending seems to help a bit too.

M

 

[Jeff_O]

I tried putting my dry gloved hands over my forehead, but it did not help. I mentioned in an earlier post I never had this happen in 52 years of diving. Oops, actually 42 years but who is counting. Another of the same hood I have in large size, I think I will use the material from and glue extra on the one I use. It is extra large. My head is not that big, but I don't like so tight. Also I noticed that anyway with helmets some don't fit well. With any size, the length of head and width of head, I found they try making for the general population. The length was a problem, but with helmets you might be able to adjust padding. Maybe a custom hood, but I had a wetsuit vest made custom a long time ago. The shop was the worst. I should have just used credit card company dispute. Custom drysuit was done right, but that is different when seals are trimmed to size.