Hey everyone. Got some questions. Went diving down to about 40ish feet. Was good. On accent. Had some weird pain in my head. Kinda hurt a bit. Once I got out of the water. I was good about 7 minutes later. Decided to go down to 60 feet and could t make it past 20 feet without getting down crazy pain my forehead region. Any ideas? I went to the doctor and my sinus cavities were all impacted. Had sinus surgery. Now I’ve developed nasal polyps. So I guess my question is. Do yall know what caused the weird pain? Did I ascend to quickly and get a reverse block? Also do any of yall have nasal polyps and dive? Any help would be great!!
Please help. There are no diving ent any where in my state
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llamadiver
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Call Diver Alert Network. 929-684-2948 option 4.
They may be able to find a physician in your area, however there are few dive medicine ENTs in the US. A regular ENT will suffice since this is a pressure related issue and all ENTs have the prerequisite medical training to handle pressure related issues.
Good luck.
They may be able to find a physician in your area, however there are few dive medicine ENTs in the US. A regular ENT will suffice since this is a pressure related issue and all ENTs have the prerequisite medical training to handle pressure related issues.
Good luck.
As far as what you did wrong, the thing that stands out to me is going back for a 2nd dive after having problems on the first one.
In addition to whatever conditions caused the first block still being present, you probably had some swelling and inflammation caused by first block, making that second dive even more likely to end in drama.
Learning when to pull the plug early or sit one out can be as important as the underwater skills.
In addition to whatever conditions caused the first block still being present, you probably had some swelling and inflammation caused by first block, making that second dive even more likely to end in drama.
Learning when to pull the plug early or sit one out can be as important as the underwater skills.
From your description it sounds like reverse sinus block on your first dive and sinus block on your second. Not that I'm advocating ascending quickly, but healthy sinuses will equalize on ascent whether you ascend quickly or slowly so your ascent rate was probably not a factor. You mentioned sinus surgery; what was the indication for the surgery? Re nasal polyps, to my knowledge they could put you at risk for sinus block depending on size and location. Tagging @doctormike for his thoughts. Concur with @llamadiver in that any ENT should be able to help you. If you're looking for a diving-specific ENT you might consider contacting the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center hyperbaric clinic in Palmer.
Best regards,
DDM
Yeah, I obviously can't diagnose your particular problem without an exam and a CT scan, but if you have sinus disease, polyps AND have had surgery, that sure sound sounds like a frontal sinus block, as @Duke Dive Medicine said. Basically anything that obstructs the normal ventilation of any air filled space puts you at risk for barotrauma - ears, sinuses, etc...
So the question is - was this a transient problem related to an acute infection and swelling of the lining of the sinus ventilation pathways, or was this something chronic like polyps? Mucosa is the tissue that lines the nose and sinus cavties. Polyps are just the name given to mucosa that has become so swollen that it actually becomes a mass that can block the nasal airway and sinus ventilation pathways.
Whether or not you can dive, and whether this can be managed with time, medication or more surgery depends on the details - your anatomy, the condition of your nasal and sinus mucosal lining and the specific size and location of any polyps. So you might want to touch base with your sinus surgeon and see if they want another CT. That's really the only way to map this out if it's anything chronic or if there is concern about a complication. I'm assuming that your symptoms have gone at this point? In rare cases there can be serious complications of frontal sinus barotrauma.
So the question is - was this a transient problem related to an acute infection and swelling of the lining of the sinus ventilation pathways, or was this something chronic like polyps? Mucosa is the tissue that lines the nose and sinus cavties. Polyps are just the name given to mucosa that has become so swollen that it actually becomes a mass that can block the nasal airway and sinus ventilation pathways.
Whether or not you can dive, and whether this can be managed with time, medication or more surgery depends on the details - your anatomy, the condition of your nasal and sinus mucosal lining and the specific size and location of any polyps. So you might want to touch base with your sinus surgeon and see if they want another CT. That's really the only way to map this out if it's anything chronic or if there is concern about a complication. I'm assuming that your symptoms have gone at this point? In rare cases there can be serious complications of frontal sinus barotrauma.
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