Shelly&Greg
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I have questions about Pulmonary Edema. I am a 36 y/o woman in good cardiovascular shape. I was taking my open water certification in Santa Rosa, NM, at an altitude of 5000 feet. The outdoor temp was 85 degrees and the water temp was 61 degrees. I was wearing a 6.5 mm Farmer John and hood.
My first dive was to 40 feet for 20 minutes. My second dive was to 32 feet for 25 minutes. The problem happened on my 3rd dive of the day. We descended to 20 feet to do skills testing. My descent was fine, however a minute or so after reaching the platform, I felt short of breath. I concentrated on deep breaths and shortly thereafter I started coughing. I felt rattling in my chest and told my Instructor I wanted to ascend (he was unaware of the rattling; he just thought I was breathing quickly). He had me lay across the platform to try to slow my breathing. A few minutes passed and finally I told him I had to surface.
We ascended very slowly and when we surfaced, he had me lay on my back and towed me to the side. I still could not catch my breath and was coughing. I got very hot and told my Instructor I had to get out of the water. I knew that I would faint soon so I crawled up to a flat area and laid on my side until the ambulance came. I was couging up a frothy liquid (sputum) and could not get enough air.
The ambulance arrived, administered oxygen, and transported me to the hospital. They gave me Lasix (sp ?) to urinate and kept me on oxygen overnight. I was released the next morning. I was very tired and got winded easily.
I have an appointment with my Dr. to be cleared for heart/lung disease, of which I have no history.
If I have no heart or lung disease, my questions are:
1. Can I dive again in warm water w/o fear of reoccurence?
2. If I had ascended when I first felt the "rales," would I have recovered on my own accord (i.e., not going to the hospital). I was underwater for approximately 5 minutes after first feeling the "rales."
3. How long does it take to be at 100% lung capacity after pulmonary edema to this extent (2/3+ of lung filled with liquid).
My Instructor and Dive Company have not ever seen this with any of their students. I have contacted DAN and they have limited information on the subject.
Thank you for your assistance.
My first dive was to 40 feet for 20 minutes. My second dive was to 32 feet for 25 minutes. The problem happened on my 3rd dive of the day. We descended to 20 feet to do skills testing. My descent was fine, however a minute or so after reaching the platform, I felt short of breath. I concentrated on deep breaths and shortly thereafter I started coughing. I felt rattling in my chest and told my Instructor I wanted to ascend (he was unaware of the rattling; he just thought I was breathing quickly). He had me lay across the platform to try to slow my breathing. A few minutes passed and finally I told him I had to surface.
We ascended very slowly and when we surfaced, he had me lay on my back and towed me to the side. I still could not catch my breath and was coughing. I got very hot and told my Instructor I had to get out of the water. I knew that I would faint soon so I crawled up to a flat area and laid on my side until the ambulance came. I was couging up a frothy liquid (sputum) and could not get enough air.
The ambulance arrived, administered oxygen, and transported me to the hospital. They gave me Lasix (sp ?) to urinate and kept me on oxygen overnight. I was released the next morning. I was very tired and got winded easily.
I have an appointment with my Dr. to be cleared for heart/lung disease, of which I have no history.
If I have no heart or lung disease, my questions are:
1. Can I dive again in warm water w/o fear of reoccurence?
2. If I had ascended when I first felt the "rales," would I have recovered on my own accord (i.e., not going to the hospital). I was underwater for approximately 5 minutes after first feeling the "rales."
3. How long does it take to be at 100% lung capacity after pulmonary edema to this extent (2/3+ of lung filled with liquid).
My Instructor and Dive Company have not ever seen this with any of their students. I have contacted DAN and they have limited information on the subject.
Thank you for your assistance.
