Headaches and diving

[1MyWay]

I have noticed a painful and somewhat recent development in diving with air to depths below 100'. I recently returned from Truk and all of the dives were between 100' and 170'. Helium is not common on the island so I was diving air or EAN 30%. I would develop the headaches about half way through the dives. No one else experienced the headaches, so bad air may be ruled out. This is not the first time this has happened, but this was the most recent. The headaches usually go away a couple of hours after the dive. I drank no alcohol and had plenty of water.

 

[TSandM]

At those depths, increased work of breathing begins to become significant. One of the big advantages of He mixes is reduced viscosity and easier flow. If you mixed the increased work of breathing with any exertion underwater (current?) it would be easy to imagine some CO2 retention, and one of the major symptoms of that is headache.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi 1MyWay,

The following is a nice orientation to dive-related headaches:

Diving Medicine Articles: Headaches and Diving
DAN Divers Alert Network : Headaches and Diving

Happy holidays,

DocVikingo

 

[Dr Deco]

Before reading any replies, carbon dioxide retention was my first impression.

 

[TSandM]

I actually got my first taste of CO2 retention headache diving in the caves in Florida recently. Diving against heavy flow is a lot of work, and I didn't adjust my breathing, and ended up feeling pretty horrible with a bad headache and nausea post-dive. It was a powerful incentive to fix the problem.

 

[DocVikingo]

Before reading any replies, carbon dioxide retention was my first impression.

Ditto.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[1MyWay]

Thanks for everyones info. Sorry for the slow reply, I have not had power in almost a week. I did not consider CO2 retention, but now it seems pretty obvious. I guess it would only make sense, because my dives have gotten deeper and deeper. I think I have reached my limit on air.

 

[fairybasslet]

I was getting a couple of headaches diving the Coral Sea and GBR last week. I realized that my mask was too tight. I loosened it a little and no more headache.

 

[dschonbrun]

No-one has asked about your setup... were you using traditional scuba, or a CCR?

as for the C02 concentration... I find it's good to expell all my air completely and refill every couple minutes. I do rise and fall breifly... but it reduces the incidence of C02 Retention sickness.

 

[DocVikingo]

I was getting a couple of headaches diving the Coral Sea and GBR last week. I realized that my mask was too tight. I loosened it a little and no more headache.

Quoted from the DAN article linked in my post above:

"Some quick-fix solutions that may be useful (and are good diving practice anyway) include:

1) Loosen your mask strap to avoid pressure on the nose, forehead or cheekbones. If necessary, change your mask to a more comfortable one."

Happy holidays.

DocVikingo