Metallic Taste

[cavediver08]

Hey everyone,
About 2 years ago, on my first dive away from my instructor... I experienced this metallic like taste in my mouth during the dive towards the end... I wasn't exactly sure what it was from, this was a very shallow dive, under 50 ft the entire time. I was diving my apeks XTX 100, I've never experienced the taste since.. Was this possibly just due to anxiety away from my instructor for the first time?.. Never really thought much about it, but after reading some posts it brought back some memories.

 

[alykitcat]

I dont know what in terms of scuba gear could cause this, but spinal fluid/ brain fluid has that metallic taste and in rare cases it can leak under pressure

 

[fisherdvm]

I wonder if your gums or sinuses are bleeding.

 

[Scubadaddy]

Not that I'm an expert or anything, but were you using a different tank or fill location?

I recently read about 'lipoid pneumonia' (sp?) in my OWD book, which can be caused from poorly maintained air compressors that put oil residue inside the tank.

Just a longshot in the dark. I don't know what oil tastes like.

 

[theITdiver]

I wonder if your gums or sinuses are bleeding.

I am with fisherdvm. in my Ow classes I was using a rental reg (supplied with the classes) and it had a very cheap mouthpiece on it that had square edges on the inside of my teeth. Usually part way through a confined water session, it would have scraped my gums raw and I could taste a little blood. Now i own my own regs and have a much more comfortable mouthpiece on my AL Legend, and I am thinking about changing to a seacure to help jaw fatigue. Could also be bleeding in your sinus areas from the dried air causing them to crack.

 

[cavediver08]

Thanks for the replies. Honestly it may have been sinuses, now that I think about it I was a bit congested but not enough to cause any pain. I'm not sure. I used the same shop as I always use for air/eanx, but I just don't get it.

 

[tep]

A metallic taste can also be caused by amalgam (silver-mercury) fillings and gold crowns. This is almost always a symptom of a filling or crown that needs to be replaced.

 

[cavediver08]

I do have fillings that were done when I was younger...

 

[TSandM]

alkitycat, I'm not sure where your information comes from about cerebrospinal fluid. Although I have to confess not to have tasted it, I would be quite surprised if it has a metallic flavor, as it is clear, colorless, and contains no metalloproteins. In addition, CSF does not leak under any normal circumstances. CSF leaking into the nose or mouth is an indicator of a fracture of the cribriform plate, which is the thin area of the skull above the nose. It's not a trivial injury, and I would be extremely surprised if it would occur in any normal diving-related activity. It usually takes a major blow to the face to do it.

By far and away the easiest way to get a metallic taste in your mouth as a new diver is to get some minor barotrauma and get some blood in your mouth. Blood is very metallic-tasting, because of the iron in the hemoglobin.

 

[mempilot]

Blood has a metallic taste. If you had a slight bloody nose or sinus issue, you may have 'backwashed' some blood. No big deal, but make sure you equalize twice as often as you think you need to.