Nose bleed while diving

[joker31]

I wouldn't worry too much about the occational nose bleed after diving. Remember the blood vessels in the nasal cavity and sinuses are very fragile. A rapid pressure change while diving (decent) can be tolorated by some better than others. My dad gets nose bleeds after most dives. He and I have both been diving A LOT since we were first certified in '96. He has never had any other issues.
My suggestion is to slow your decents and ascents. As long as you have no pain or other symptoms then you should be fine.

As for the coughing up blood......... Thats not OK! Listen to Cave Bums advice.....

 

[scubadude79]

I just had the same problem this past Saturday. I'm an experienced diver, but sometimes do have a bit of difficulty equalizing. After our first dive, my buddy noticed that I had a little bit of blood running across my face when I took my mask off. As we weren't exactly sure of what happened, we took the prudent step of calling off the rest of the dives. Still had a good day, hanging out and shooting the B.S.

As the day went on, I noticed that my sinuses were feeling blocked. By Sunday morning I realized that I had a cold, and my sinuses were blocked because of that. That wasn't allowing me to equalize properly and I ended up with a slight nosebleed. So, after a few days of recovery, I should be back to normal.

I learned two things, it's good to have an observant buddy and never be afraid to call off a dive.

Good job, and you saved yourself some other potential problems since you decided to call the dive. If your body is telling you something, then you probably shouldn't ignore it. Thumbs Up!

 

[kat.hayes]

I called DAN yesterday and they were very helpful and gave me as much help as they possibly could without being able to physically see me. I got back from the specialist this morning and I caused trauma to my ear and was prescribed steroids and antibiotics. I was told that I will not be able to dive for at least 2-wks. I have a follow-up appointment next week.

Thanks to everyone for providing the great information and advice!!!!

 

[lespaulsf]

I called DAN yesterday and they were very helpful and gave me as much help as they possibly could without being able to physically see me. I got back from the specialist this morning and I caused trauma to my ear and was prescribed steroids and antibiotics. I was told that I will not be able to dive for at least 2-wks. I have a follow-up appointment next week.

Thanks to everyone for providing the great information and advice!!!!

Cool Kat I went to my Doctor on Friday who dives and he told me my ears looked alot better but were still a little cloudy and slightly red. He said I most likely caused a little barotrauma to my ears. He put me on steroid nose spray and told me to take it everyday especially 1 week before I was planning to dive. I told him I take ZYRTEC but he said this is not enough to get my eustation tubes open from the allergy swelling I have. He said the steroid spray would open me up. He also suggest that I could take a decongestant nose spray a day or so before I dive to really clear me up but warned not to do it for more than 2-3 days because it can become addictive. So my next dive is June 6. I'm confident I will go slower and make sure I'm going at my own pace down to the bottom!

 

[DandyDon]

This is odd because I didn't have this problem when I was doing my certification. I didn't have much blood but enough that I knew I was doing something wrong. Why does equalizing have to be so difficult to learn?

It's not. This 45 video has helped many tho: Doc's Diving Medicine Home Page

This sounds more serious. I think you should call Divers Alert Network (DAN) at 1-800-446-2671 (toll-free). It's free and that's what they are there for, to give medical advise to divers as a public service. It never hurts to call and there's no obligation.

Be safe! Give 'em a call. Bruce

Yep, glad the reply was a good one. Coughing up blood always sounds bad, especially after diving.