Is vomiting a DCS symptom?

[RonFrank]

I'm betting you got a really Great price too! :shocked2:

If you were boat diving in Coz, and were not on reef the entire time, I'd complain. I've NEVER had that happen. Granted I've done about 25 dives in Coz, but every one was on reef the entire dive with the exception of the shore dive we did off of Caribe Blu.

If the DM did not allow for a slow ascent, and adequate SS, you could consider complaining about that as well. However IMO, that is more up to you then them. If the DM wants to rocket to the surface, so be it. I'll do my normal ascent, and SS, and they can attempt to scold me on the surface, but that won't work very well!

 

[Diver0001]

Thanks, everyone.

Just curious -- would you complain about the dive guide who led the group's quick ascent and didn't stop for the full safety stop? We were on a cruise, and the dive shop is the one the cruise line selected for the shore excursion. We've used that shop several times before and have never had any problems.

Besides the safety stop issue and the fact that the guide ignored my obviously ill husband on the surface, the dive itself wasn't great. He kept going around the same spot for the last 10 or 15 minutes, no reef, just a sandy bottom with very little marine life. It was obvious to all of us he was just trying to extend the bottom time.

Unless there was a really compelling reason to get out of the water immediately then I would have simply ignored the divemaster and finished my safety stop.

On the surface it looks like your guide was more concerned with *his* day than with *your* day, which really isn't the way it should be. Ignoring someone who is obviously ill after a dive is not only bad form but just plain old fashioned stupid on so many levels..... If you were unhappy about this then by all means complain to the shop about it. Some shops take these kinds of complaints seriously.

R..

 

[hypersonic]

Ginny,

If you don't have one, I would strongly recommend a membership in DAN.

They're only a phone call or e-mail away and can answer these kinds of questions 24/7.

In September at the conclusion of four days of diving in Hawaii, I passed a kidney stone during the night. It was an uncomfortable event but not that big of deal.

I wanted to know if there was any connection to diving so called DAN the next morning. The doctor on the other end said it was not likely but suggested a visit to a clinic in Kona at my option. He gave me an address but I really did not feel the need. Later that evening, I received another call from DAN to check on my well being.

As I recall, they were willing to work on any changes we would need on our airline reservations and am not so sure they did not offer to pay for the visit to the clinic. I could be wrong on this so I hope I am not over selling their services.

Nice to know those folks are there.

 

[bryors]

Ginny:

About a year ago I was leading a group of six divers at Sund Rock on the Hood Cannel, Washington. I had the flu about a month previously but I was over it. My ears were clear but I still had problems equalizing. I never have difficulty clearing my ears. About 30 minutes into the dive I developed a headache and nausea. Soon I was glad that the discussion was held during open water training that when you vomit, do not take your regulator out of your mounth. It's not fun at 60 feet. I aborted my dive and turned it over to my daughter. It took about an hour to start feeling better when on land. I did not do the second dive that day. I talked to my Dr. about it the next time I saw him and he indicated it was classic seasickness. Even though my ears were clear my sinus cavity around my temples and elsewhere were still clogged. Now, if I have had a cold I will take a decongestant before diving. I've had no problems since. By the way, I've never had seasickness in my live other than this event.

 

[fni steve]

--SCOPOLAMINE---SCOPOLAMINE---SCOPOLAMINE-

I too have chummed on the surface after a dive.

The guys in San Diego on the Waterhorse Charters boat were not too happy about me wasting all that good soup.... but the fish did not mind.
After two wreck dives the fog came in and made for no good viz on the surface combined with the surge of the sea grass and kelp on the third dive.
dont mess around with dramamine. I got a prescription from the dr. for --SCOPOLAMINE--, its a little patch that goes behind the ear. Works great.

heres to no green faces on dive boats...
Later

 

[Drewski]

Hi All:

For everyone reading this thread, and as others have said, PLEASE use DAN as the authority for DCS advice. They can be reached 24/7/365 and, on more than 10 occasions when I've used them, always been right. Their advice is FREE and you talk directly with a Doc. Combined with their insurance package, it's an unbeatable combination. Getting medical advice on these boards is risky at best, deadly at worst. Another big problem is MISINFORMATION. How do you know anything you are reading hear is truthful or correct (no offense meant to anyone posting here, BTW!)?

That said, I've been an NAUI instructor for 25 years and a paramedic for 20 years. I do about 100 dives each year, most offshore on boats, in all conditions. In 2007, while diving with Olympus in Morehead City (George was the wheel man, RIP) on a "sporty" day, I had the occasion to treat a Type II DCS hit on a diver with initial symptoms very similar to Ginny's husband. He was a fellow instructor, very fit, diving Nitrox on my schedule. He exited the water and developed severe N&V within 5 minutes, followed by disequilibrium. In 10 minutes it became so bad he couldn't stand and couldn't drink fluids. His neurological exam was negative. Although we would have flown him, weather conditions were too severe to risk a medical flight. Ambulance transport to Duke for 6 chamber rides, "Inner Ear" Type II DCS hit.

Last summer, while diving Hatteras, for whatever reason (I still don't know) I developed acute and severe motion sickness while on the boat and underwater all weekend. I do not take anti-seasickness tablets and the sea condition was lake flat. I'd sure like to say it was sea-sickness, but it was definitely abnormal for me and would resolve the minute I could focus on something NOT moving. At one point, it became so bad, that I had to focus on fish near the hang bar to prevent vomiting underwater. If I would have continued to watch the anchor line, I'd have gurked. As it was, when I was handing up my video rig and looking at the moving boat I gurked all over the place. Very unprofessional, I know. I knew this was not DCS because my initial symptoms occurred on the way DOWN on the first dive. This was most likely caused by an inner ear issue, but the symptoms were similar to those described above. They started Saturday and resolved Sunday night. I never experienced the problem again all summer.

My point is, don't take chances. "Advice" in these forums is just that, "advice." Upgrade for free to "professional opinion" and for THAT, call DAN!

 

[ivobj]

First, I would like to reinforce the importance of using DAN to this kind of advice.

On the incident described, IMO, I would not regard it as DCS unless diving with trimix or heliox, in that case, vomiting could mean DCS, but not alone, it would follow a very severe dizzyness and vomiting would be the consequence, most probably happening even before surfacing.

The reason I mention that is because this happened to a friend while coming back from a deep dive (among other symptoms of DCS type II), as helium is a very thin gas (only Hydrogen would be thiner), helium bubbles can penetrate the middle ear making the diver to completly loose orientation with imediate and VERY STRONG dizzyness, which will cause something similar to motion sickness and vomiting as a consequence. Usually helium bubbles would penetrate the middle ear only if you make big effort to equalyze and have a high concentration of helium, which was the case (trimix 8/80), this dive was a 170 mt deep cave dive.

I believe the accident was documented in GUE and fortunately, after many hyperbaric chamber sessions, my friend recovered completely.

 

[dpaustex]

You sure it wasn't too many margaritas the night before??

Just kidding.

Sounds like his head had somehow cooled too quickly. The brain reacts oddly to that. I'm no doc (an old former EMT), but I'm wondering if it was a combination of too-quick ascent from depth, and some ear issues, that manifested itself in upchucking. Motion sickness will do that, too, due to inner-ear imbalances.

I don't thing I'd hammer the DM, except through non-tipping?

 

[ivobj]

You sure it wasn't too many margaritas the night before??

Just kidding.

Sounds like his head had somehow cooled too quickly. The brain reacts oddly to that. I'm no doc (an old former EMT), but I'm wondering if it was a combination of too-quick ascent from depth, and some ear issues, that manifested itself in upchucking. Motion sickness will do that, too, due to inner-ear imbalances.

I don't thing I'd hammer the DM, except through non-tipping?

Hi dpaustex, I also tough at first this was strange, but the accident was very well documented (it was much worse than that episode alone, it was a DCS II case) and the hyperbaric doctor confimed. According to my friend, the dizzyness sensation was far worse than what is caused by motion sickness, it was in fact more like a complete disorientation.

The origin of all the problem was a discompensation in the rebreather due to the cave profile, that forced the position of the diver to be too vertical, making the pressure diference between divers lung and rebreather diapraghm to be enough to inject a little less new gas in the mixture when recycling it, leading to a mild hipoxia, that fortunately wasn't enough to put him to sleep, but confused his thinking and made him ascent without realizing he skept a number of deep stops, not until he and his buddy had symptons of DCS II, so, he undoubtly had helium bubbles in the blood, which was probably carried to the middle year.

I agree with you that this problem in the year would not occur out of the blue, but in this case he was already with severe DCS, with his blood taking the helium bubbles around his body.

 

[jkaterenchuk]

I fully support and reinforce the two poster that have referred you to DAN. Your question should go to their help line. Especially, considering they offer their consultation service for dive inquires like yours for free.

Additionally, if you do not already carry dive insurance then you should strongly consider the personal cost to you of a trip to a recompression chamber. That could have been the result of your incident had the dive master been more attentive to your husbands condition and/or a doctor had made an evaluation later after the dive. People have and do get signs and symptoms of DCS even if they are fit. There are internal conditions such as a PFO the a diver would most likely never have knowledge that they have and can cause a DCS hit on a simple conservative dive profile.

My last point is that you should consider that many of the poster on SB find it very easy to give advise. Its just a few key strokes and often they no nothing about what they are talking about, or heard it from someone else, or think they are an expert in one or more areas. The moral is that when it comes to your health you should consult a medical profession not other divers.

John