Maxillary sinuses

[Laurence Stein DDS]

Hi DocVikingo,

The reason I used the 1000mg figure is because aspirin is availble in several different doses.

"Regular strength" is the 325mg/tablet and "extra strength" is usually 500mg/tablet. The enclosed instructions will say one or two tablets per dose.

Ecotrin 650 mg/tab is recommended at a max daily dose of 3 gm daily in three doses. This is a single dose of 1000mg.

http://www.ecureme.com/eMyHealth/data/Ecotrin_Enteric_Tablet.asp

Not that I've figured out how to take Ecotrin 650 in a way that will equal 1000 mg. Other extra strength formulations are 500mg/tab.

Sorry for any confusion.

BBG, as for free diving and scuba in the same day. If repeated free dives result in nasal congestion, why not simply do free diving OR scuba diving but not both on any given day? That way, if you manage to booger up your ears free diving it won't affect your scuba diving and scuba diving won't add injury to insult.


Larry Stein

 

[bluebanded goby]

Thanks again for the replies from Larry and DocVikingO.

While seeing my family doc today about something else, we discussed this sinus situation and the various meds I've tried. Instead of Flonase he suggested trying Nasarel, which he felt was "better." After getting my prescription filled I see from some web research that Nasarel is supposed to be moisturizing, but it looks as though it may not be as strong as Flonase. Well, I'll give it the old college try and see.

I mentioned to him the use of aspirin before freediving to keep down sinus swelling. My doc said this sounded interesting, but he suggested ibuprofen instead of aspirin (on the theory that "aspirin kills platelets, whereas they come back faster after you take ibuprofen").

Regarding Larry's question about why combine freediving and scuba on a single day, it's a good point. I'm only just now easing back into scuba after taking quite a while off after a pair of chamber visits due to funny twinges in my arm (dive doc concluded probably nerve compression due to age-related osteoarthritis in my neck), and I'm trying to avoid repetitive scuba dives for a bit. This is easy to do in shorediving here, but the dive boats tend to visit Catalina and other Channel Islands for three- or four- dive outings. Thus it would be very handy to freedive for the first few dives and then cap off the day with an easy, shallow scuba dive. If I do try more combined days of this type, I'll probably stay very shallow on the freediving (the sinus problems usually trigger after a couple of dives beyond 20 ft or so).

Anyway, thanks again for the input. If you have any perspective on aspirin vs. ibuprofen for prevention of sinus swelling -- or Nasarel vs. Flonase -- I'd be interested to hear it.

 

[Ladydiver]

Hi BBG,

I was wondering, is your ENT someone that is knowledgeable in diving related issues? It may be worth your time and effort to find someone that regularly handles this type of issue and would probably be a much more productive for you than trying to go back and forth with the information from our Docs here on the forums.

Just an idea. Good Luck.

 

[bluebanded goby]

Hi Ladydiver,

You make a valid point. My HMO doesn't have a dive medicine department (although some of its doctors, such as my family physician, are occasional recreational divers). So I do end up sometimes looking for information elsewhere and getting the HMO doctors to get the work done. I have an excellent non-HMO hyperbaric specialist I see now and then, for example; I get him to tell me what I need, and then I go to the HMO doctors with a laundry list. If I were on my own I'd probably quit the HMO and use the hyperbaric guy as my family physician, but the HMO works out better for my family overall.

I hope it's not appearing as though I'm expecting the physicians here to diagnose me via the net. I'm well aware that that's not possible, but I do pick up a lot of great ideas here to explore with my non-virtual doctors ... ;-)

 

[scubamax]

If you are a member of DAN, you can contact them for a referral to a diving ENT specialist in your area. Although you may have to go out of your HMO, it should be a good investment to work with an expert.

Scubamax

 

[DocVikingo]

.. contact DAN, and get a response, without being a member.

Of course, DAN needs money to finance this service, so those seeking such advice would want to support it with a membership.

You should also be aware that DAN's medical referral base is quite thin in many regions, especially outside of very major cities. The name of a dive medicine qualified ENT is by no means assured in most areas.

The contact point at DAN is---> http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/

Best regards.

DocVikingo