mask squeeze; can i still dive?

[sonar]

Hey guys,

I got a pretty nasty mask squeeze at the moment and I kept diving for 3 days after. It seems to have become slightly worse. At my first dive in a year I kinda forgot to exhale through my nose which caused it. During all my later dives I was really focussed on it so that will not have caused the fact it got worse.

Is it save/wise to continue diving or should I quit for a day or so?

(yeah I know, )

It is only in my right eye and it seems to have grown a bit; like 10% or something after the first day

 

[H2Andy]

stop right now

you can't make it better by diving, and you certainly will make it worse

 

[sonar]

damn

thats bad news

Stop till its all gone or just stop till it's hardly visible anymore?

 

[H2Andy]

i would say stop until it's no longer uncomfortable for you to dive

 

[Riger]

OK, here is a learning opportunity for me.

I thought mask squeeze was the event that happened at depth and was managed by releasing the pressure by letting air out through the nose. I know that the OP eluded to that.

It sounds to me as if the OP is suffering from a medical condition called "mask squeeze", can anybody kindly explain the biology of the condition.

Thanks in advance

Richard

 

[H2Andy]

take a look at this:

DAN Divers Alert Network

 

[diver 85]

That's a subconjunctival hemorrhage(apparently no lid ecchymosis--ie 'black eyes') you're probably speaking of(white of the eye looks blood red????)......Most of the time the only hurt thing is your diving pride...Seriously though, how do you expect a bunch of ignorant people here to tell you what you should or should not do.....Go see an eye doctor & let him/her tell you what to do.....You might be very surprised with the advice given to you.....

 

[Riger]

That's a subconjunctival hemorrhage(apparently no lid ecchymosis--ie 'black eyes') you're probably speaking of(white of the eye looks blood red????)......Most of the time the only hurt thing is your diving pride...Seriously though, how do you expect a bunch of ignorant people here to tell you what you should or should not do.....Go see an eye doctor & let him/her tell you what to do.....You might be very surprised with the advice given to you.....

Thank you for the response, however, excluding the OP who asked the question and me who only asked what it meant, the only people giving advice are you and H2Andy.

As it turns out, you have both given the same advice (go see a doctor), what makes you less of an "ignorant" person than H2Andy, or do you consider yourself ignorant too? Just asking.

Best Regards
Richard

 

[smellzlikefish]

If it is truly mask squeeze, keep diving and put a couple puffs of air into your mask through your nose as you descend. If you continue to have problems, see a doctor.

 

[TSandM]

"Mask squeeze" is the process which can lead to a variety of symptoms. You can get bruising around the eyes or where the mask sits, due to breakage of capillaries in the skin. You can get hemorrhage in the soft outer lining of the eye (the "subconjunctival hemorrhage" alluded to above), which is neither painful nor dangerous, but quite unsightly. You can get nosebleeds or sinus bleeding, which is a bit more of a concern. Without knowing what your particular symptoms of "mask squeeze" are, it's hard to advise you. But if it is a subconjunctival hemorrhage, there is essentially no significant risk associated with this, and continuing to dive, as long as you adequately equalize your mask while doing so, should pose no issue.